SocraticGadfly: MLB: Asterisks, stripped records or what?

February 17, 2005

MLB: Asterisks, stripped records or what?

So, should proven Major League Baseball steroid losers be stripped of any records they hold or awards they won? Should asterisks be put next to their names?
None of the above, says Gordon Edes, a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and a reporter for the Boston Globe.
"That's inconceivable to me. Like it or not, steroids were not a banned substance at that time in Major League Baseball. That would be like rewriting the rulebook after something happened. But I do think it could impact judgment when it comes down to Hall of Fame voting."

This in response to former Red Sox slugger Mike Greenwell indicating he now feels cheated out of the 1988 American League MVP award by Jose Canseco.

In a word, Gordon, bullshit. Use of steroids for non-medically indicated reasons was just as illegal then as today. And players knew it.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the baseball world, current St. Louis Cardinals and former Oakland A’s manager Tony LaRussa None of the above, says admits he knew Mark McGwire had a “helper” when he was with the A’s. In addition, Washington Post sportswriter Thomas Boswell has claimed LaRussa was his source for a 1988 story about steroids in baseball.

So, Does Big Mac now get ready to change his denial of steroid use?



And fans, this Bud’s not really for you

What about MLB itself, where security chief Kevin Hallinan denies FBI Special Agent Greg Stejskal told him about steroid usage in baseball a decade ago.

If Commissioner Bug Selig had any integrity, he would immediately suspend Hallinan, announce an investigation, and use this as leverage to tighten up MLB’s steroid testing, and maybe try to get amphetamines thrown in there too.

But, I’m not holding my breath.

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