Is Bonds really that big of a cheat?

Question

Now I don't condone using steroids, but I don't think that it has contributed to every single home run that Bonds has hit since he supposedly starting using them.
Big Papi made the point that I have thought all along. The only area that it would've helped Bonds is to hit a 440 ft. home run instead of a 425 ft. home run. Other than that it doesn't help at all. You still have to get a good pitch put a good swing on the ball. How does steroids help with that? Steroids doesn't help improve your home run swing, it doesn't improve hand-eye coordination.
Like I said all it can improve is his bat speed so that he hits a 440 ft. shot instead of a 425 ft. shot.
I know a lot of you are going to say he's an ****** and a cheater. Then why is Sammy not getting bashed like Bonds? He supposedly used steroids and he was once caught with a corked bat. Now Sammy is a cheat, simply because he was caught cheating.
What do you think?

Answer 1

He was a hall of famer before any of this, Now if you look at the big picture, No he's not because most of the pitchers are useing now to..It helps pitchers heal alot quicker there is a reason why there all pitching into ther 40's now...Bonds is just chasing the record of all records and people dont like it...Now steroids would help bat speed slightly and strenght but lets face it if some odinary joe started juicing he's not going to all of a sudden jump on to MLB team and start hammering homer.People seam to think Seroids are some magic potion it's not..

Answer 2

The question is:

If everybody else is doing it, does it still count as cheating?

I'm sure that if you did a completely anonymous poll of players during the last decade, an overwhelming number would admit to using steroids at some point in time. There were no regulations, rules, etc. Don't ask, don't tell. Steroid use helped renew fans' interest in the sport. After the '94 strike, interest was at an all-time low. McGuire/Sosa saved baseball with their juiced slug fest. Now people will sit there and claim that steroids are ruining the sport? Hypocrites!

Answer 3

The reason that Bonds is ridiculed and frowned upon more so than every other player suspected of using performance enhancing drugs is because of the place in history he's about to take. The all-time career home run record is one of, if not the most, hallowed records of all time, in any sport. Bonds is eventually going to become the holder of that record. Had McGwire or Sosa gotten to the point where they threatened the record, you'd better believe that they'd be getting negative publicity as well. What doesn't help Bonds' case is the negative relationship he's had with the media for just about his entire career. He's never been too friendly to anyone, even back in his days in Pittsburgh. He's just of the the guys that's easy to dislike, for various reasons.

Answer 4

There are a lot of good answers on here already, especially from Craig. I was going to say something similar: In terms of Bonds' home run record chase, his most remarkable feats have been his ability to connect on such a high percentage of good pitches and his ability to keep performing at such a high level so late in his career. Steriods directly enhances both feats (increased bat speed - which translates to slowing the game down for him; and a quicker recovery time which helps him train and perform like a younger man). The only other thing I wanted to address is the idea that there's no proof that Bonds used steriods. In leaked grand jury testimony, he admitted to using The Cream and The Clear. He didn't deny using these, he only denied knowingly using them. If you really believe he THOUGHT he was taking flaxseed oil, good for you. But Bonds did admit to a grand jury he took the steriods. And that's all without bringing up a whole book full of documented "proof" detailing Bonds' steriod history.
This is why Bonds is getting bashed as an ****** and a cheater right now, more than Sammy or McGuire or anyone else. He's a handful of home runs away from owning not just one but two of the most important records in sports. It's not all his fault. He was competing against pitchers who were juiced up against him, and he was watching the stats of other stars get inflated because they were juiced, and baseball did nothing about it. But he's a documented cheat and baseball is getting stuck with a documented cheat as its face for the ages.

Answer 5

I don't like the fact the players were juicing. But due to a lack of a steroid policy it wasn't against MLB rules until recently. So he and everyone else technically wasn't cheating then but I still believe he and others are using HGH today.(HGH is the holy grail of performance enhancers and requires a blood test to detect which MLB doesn't do) And while it alone doesn't make you hit homeruns...

the fact some supplements such as HGH allow players to at a high level for longer increases the totals. Also using HGH decreases the recovery time needed to come back from injury. So while it's true performance enhancers alone don't make you a great hitter they do give both hitters and pitchers an extra edge players of the past eras didn't have.

Answer 6

First off, I'll say that I think Bonds was a HOFer before the whole steroids thing. Still, I believe he has cheated.

I think you're underestimating the impact of improved bat speed. It doesn't mean only that he hits it 440 instead of 425 - it also means that he hits a lot of balls for homers that he may not have even hit before. The improved bat speed also allows him to be more patient at the plate, getting ahead in counts and forcing pitchers to throw him fat strikes that he can hit out.

Also, steroids help with stamina and durability because they help you recover more quickly both from workouts and from injuries. That means Bonds can push himself harder and play through minor injuries, because the steroids have allowed him to recover more quickly.

Frankly, I'm sick to death of the whole steroids issue. I only wish that Bonds would admit to having used them, even if he didn't really know what he was doing. I think it would help put much of this discussion behind us, and it might help with his HOF chances. As it stands now, I can see plenty of writers keeping him out of Cooperstown.

Answer 7

It was not against the rules in baseball when Bonds used them. They should have tested for it when reliable testing became available and not when congress made a big deal about it. Bonds did not cheat since it was not against the rules. He did however have an unfair advantage over players of earlier decades. That said it is not like Bonds took steroids and did not have to work. He still worked out to get bigger and put in effort to get stronger. People should have an issue with baseball for not enforcing it earlier and not Bonds because it is not something that will help you greatly.

Answer 8

Bat speed is a major component of all the skills necessary to be a great hitter. Yes, Barry certainly has great hand-eye coordination but bat speed is what allows a hitter to wait on a pitch a little longer. That is what allows him to identify the pitch better than someone who must start his swing earlier to compensate for his slower bat speed.

Answer 9

I just think it's so funny how so many people want to HATE Barry Bonds but when Mark McGwire's steroid scandal came up it was hot for a few days, maybe even a few weeks but eventually everyone was willing to forgive and forget. Most people don't even think about McGwire's scandal anymore. We've been talking about Bonds for well over a year (maybe more?)
Could people still be on Bonds because he broke McGwire's record in 2001?

Answer 10

ONE home run because of steroid use makes him a cheat and makes anything he does non existant to me.