They planted spied in scoreboards to steal signs of the opponent. They would hold on to uniforms to slow down baserunners.
Ever Heard of the spitball? Baseballs being scuffed? Corked bats? Using vaseline, razors, articles to scuff the ball?
If you deny this you are no baseball historian. McGwire, Bonds, Sosa.....on to the Hall of Fame. Mantle would have done it if he thought it would have improved his bad knees.
These guys used beer to cool off before there were airconditioned clubhouses. These guys WOULD have taken any competitive advantage available to them....and you know it!
2007-08-31 03:11:15 · 11 answers · asked by Pastor In Kentucky 3 in Sports ➔ Baseball
well mickey mantle used greenies (ampetamines) that are now banned by MLB........hell most players until yesterday were using speed.
phil niekro put anything you could imagine on his ball to help it break. hundreds of pitchers have done that too.
with the whole steroids thing..........until 2003, MLB had no steroid policy. if there is no rule, how can you break it? it wasn't cheating. juiced up hitters playing against juiced up pitchers and fielders.
2007-08-31 03:19:21 · answer #1 · answered by joe 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Most past players didn't use "dirty tricks" for a competative advantage. Sure some pitchers used spitballs and scuffballs but most didn't. Sure some batters corked their bat (ie Babe Ruth) but most didn't. Stealing signs is part of the game if not done in a dirty tricks way (like the NY Giants did against the Brkln Dodgers).
McGwire and Sosa don't belong in the Hof F,
Bonds does.
2007-08-31 10:14:07 · answer #2 · answered by spalffy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
quote this is what you said: "These guys WOULD have taken any competitive advantage available to them....and you know it!"
and YES some players would have done that, but the point is is that they didn't have have those "competitive advantage[s]" and that what makes the Hank Aaron record so sacred! it isnt tainted by performance enhancers and that is all that matters. it dosen't matter what they WOULD have done it matters what they did do without cheating. the spitball and corked bat stuff i only know a little bit about and therefore i am not really going to get into that. in every era of baseball there is some form of "cheating involved" but like that other guy said you are really stretching it here. but perfomannce enhancers users in the HOF is ridiculous. Bonds*
2007-08-31 04:16:34 · answer #3 · answered by feenafee 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yeah but when they got caught they admitted it, took their suspension and moved on.
And how is using beer to cool off a competitive advantage.
gaylord Perry and others doing these infractions do not have the same impact on the game as a the percentage of people using illegal substances. A percentage we will never know because they are always ahead of the testing and the players union will do everything in their power to protect the cheats and screw the honest players.
And they did have a steroid policy. they were banned, they didnt have a testing policy. The union always rejected one. they would rather protect the smaller % of players than represent the majority of clean players. At least when Neikro and the others were cheating they had a means of trying to stop them. the past testing policy was like telling an umpire he could go to the mound to see Neikro but he couldnt look in his glove.
2007-08-31 03:21:59 · answer #4 · answered by The Lorax 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
They would have and did do anything that they could to get an advantage, even if it was just a percieved advantage. As the home team they would try to make things difficult for the visitiing team, some teams turned off the hot water in the showers for the visitors thinking that a colder player would not be as loose as a guy who soaked in a hot shower...the early part of the 1900's was full of cheaters.
2007-08-31 04:08:45 · answer #5 · answered by bdough15 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
All that stuff they used to do was in good baseball tradition. Steroids is an UNFAIR advantage! At the age Mickey Mantle retired, Bonds blew up to double his size and doubled his stats. Is that the same as stealing signs? NO!!!!!!!
2007-08-31 05:06:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I say no. Old school baseball players loved and respected the game to no end.
In addition to that no commissioner back then would even entertain the thought of letting players get away with it.
I can pretty much guarantee that any player caught using would have been banned from the game.
2007-08-31 04:30:56 · answer #7 · answered by Numba 1 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Baseball is a competitive enterprise that necessarily attracts competitive people. Gaining an advantage, any advantage (even some of those expressly prohibited), is an appealing option that no doubt some would exploit.
And this is how it has been, is, and will be.
2007-08-31 04:02:40 · answer #8 · answered by Chipmaker Authentic 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Players have been looking for an extra edge since the games beginnings. 'nuff said. So lets get off our high horses about the steriods already.
2007-09-03 08:40:32 · answer #9 · answered by mikecubbie69 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your not trying unless your cheating.
You are absolutely correct with the past, but little media coverage kept most of what you are saying quite to the public.
I still say no to the hall for anyone who used perfoming enhancing drugs.
2007-08-31 03:29:20 · answer #10 · answered by rhuzzy 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋