I gave by two-cents worth in a earlier post, and here’s Bruce Jenkins’ take on it. The San Francisco Chronicle writer makes some really good points. Scroll down to the The Cheers Don’t Lie headline and start reading.
You’ve got to admire Bronson Arroyo’s candor about the subject. The Cincinnati Reds pitcher told the Boston Herald he took androstenedione and amphetamines before both performance-enhancing drugs were banned by baseball. Here’s the link to a story in MLB.com on Arroyo.
Arroyo said he took andro from 1998-2003.
Arroyo said he took andro from 1998-2003, but stopped when he heard the products could be laced with steroids. Andro was banned from baseball in ’04.
“Nineteen ninety-eight was a big year for Mark McGwire. That was when he had the stuff sitting in his locker,” Arroyo said. “Everyone was aware of the fact that he took that stuff and said he was taking it. So everybody went out and tried it. I tried it in the Arizona Fall League. I thought I could hit my head on the rim (playing basketball). (Pitcher) Mike Lincoln and I would go to 24-hour Fitness every night, shoot hoops and work out until midnight-1 a.m. I felt unbelievable on this stuff. I took it through 2003, until they told me that stuff would give me a positive test. So I didn’t take it anymore.”
And how about this headline in the Huffington Post: It’s Time to Realize That Every Baseball Player in a Steroids’ Suspect. “Steroid-use thus makes fools of fans and of all non-participants who study or follow or report on the game,” writes Robert E. Murphy. “I am thinking particularly of broadcasters and sportswriters.” The media didn’t see this story coming, and some that did, had to have decided not to investigate it. Writers work hard to develop reliable sources and reporting tough stories sometimes turns those sources off.
