Game Day: Partial Sports Writings.
But back to Boswell. I recently spouted off about making evidence-free accusations of PED-use, and I stand by such spouting. But in this case, Boswell has apparently been sitting on evidence of a Hall of Famer using what Boswell believed to be PEDs for over 20 years.
I know that Boswell reported as early as 1988 that Jose Canseco used steroids—and his reports were basically ignored by all but a handful of booing fans that fall—but why haven’t we heard anything about this Hall of Fame player before now? Given all that has transpired in the past decade, wouldn’t information about a Hall of Famer’s PED use have been extremely relevant to the national discussion? I’m not saying Boswell just tell the mikshake story and leave it at that, but why not interview the player about it? Why not do some more reporting on it? Why wasn’t this out there before last night?
I won’t accept “what happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse” as an answer here. Because if what everyone who goes on about steroids says is true, they damn nigh destroyed the national pastime. In such an instance a reporter seems more than justified—indeed, he seems obligated—to followup on what he saw in the clubhouse and get the story out there. If not in 1988, then certainly by 2002 when the steroid story broke big.
But that didn’t happen. What has happened, if what Boswell says is true, is that a PED user was elected to the Hall of Fame by baseball writers who currently believe that the world will end if a PED user is elected to the Hall of Fame. Mr. Milkshake has a plaque in Cooperstown, but because of the perceived need to keep the Hall of Fame pure, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire won’t get one anytime soon.
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EDIT: and I'm not just talking about greenies, either.
Maybe Cal was using the free six month promotional offer supply in 1999, and then was too cheap to take it beyond that. Given his otherwise anemic batting production for the last ten years of career, he could have used Geritol more than steroids.
the clues Boswell gave to the player's identity -- a guy who (a) is already in the Hall of Fame; and (b) who hit more home runs after Jose Canseco arrived in the league than he ever had before
Hitter inductees from the appropriate time window:
Reggie Jackson
Mike Schmidt
George Brett
Robin Yount
Carlton Fisk
Kirby Puckett
Dave Winfield
Ozzie Smith
Gary Carter
Eddie Murray
Paul Molitor
Wade Boggs
Ryne Sandberg
Cal Ripken
Tony Gwynn
Rickey Henderson
The guys with the biggest HR jumps on that list are Puckett, Sandberg, and Wade Boggs (1 season only). Rickey Henderson's HR history is too erratic to call it a match. Cal Ripken may be the go-to suspect since Boswell's been in Washington for the last 90 years, but Ripken's one stickout HR season (34) doesn't stick out that much; he had seven other 25-HR seasons.
But, yeah, I'm sure someone is in the Hall who took steroids. Maybe several someones. And they'd be nutso to admit it.
Also, why must erratic HR numbers indicate no usage. PEDs may increase overall HR numbers but they certainly aren't going to stabilize them.
My money's on Ralph Malph.
agreed--oral anabolics were not that common nor that popular--for many reasons. It could have been a protein shake supplemented with DHEA or andro, both of which were perfectly legal
EDIT: or creatine
Well played, sir.
Why Schmidt? He's been fairly non-judgemental about the shole steroids thing and modern players and he's never struck me as a guy who put himself on a pedsetal. As for Boswell's mystery man, I'd bet a decent sum of money it's Kirby Puckett.
Pain -- Boggs, Fisk, Schmidt.
Reggie Jackson --- I think this would enhance his rep for me. Bad ass who does what he likes.
Mike Schmidt --- I'd be torn. Such a great player but given his preachiness since retiring could be amusing.
George Brett --- would bother me.
Robin Yount --- ditto
Carlton Fisk --- wouldn't really be surprised at all. How did he last so long?
Kirby Puckett --- steroids would sort of be a minor character flaw for him
Dave Winfield --- no feelings one way or the other
Ozzie Smith --- would be fun to start using backflip ability as PED gauge
Gary Carter --- ha ha! stupid Met.
Eddie Murray --- again, no real feelings
Paul Molitor --- Novel steroid excuse: "I thought that was heroin in the syringe!"
Wade Boggs --- Chicken stanazolol
Ryne Sandberg --- Come on, doesn't anybody understand why Ryno is so against PEDs?
Cal Ripken --- I'm not a huge Cal fan, but this one would bug me. I did really enjoy watching the night he broke the record.
Tony Gwynn --- proof that PEDs don't increase HR without concommitant training
Rickey Henderson --- this would probably bother me, too. It's nice to think that a leadoff HR guy wouldn't also be a juicer. Also, wouldn't surprise me.
This could also explain a lack of followup at this point. No one wants to dig around in and then crap on a dead guy, no matter what the violation.
that's the beauty of it; he used to maintain his speed and no one noticed. :)
I wouldn't be stunned senseless to learn that Rickey Henderson ever used steroids... but I'm not sure Canseco deserves total credit for Rickey's massive leap in homers from 24 to 28.
A dark horse candidate: Dennis Eckersley, who suddenly and suspiciously crushed 67% of his career homers... in 1986. DUM dum dum dummmm!!!
Wait, are there criteria I'm missing? I would be so sad if it couldn't be Nolan Ryan or Jim Rice. I didn't see the interview.
Pain - Boggs, just because he is my favorite player on the list
Interest - Ozzie, Gwynn - I like both players but I think it would be fun to see the two guys who probably least meet the narrative about what a steroid user is to be "outed."
Then you should live in Chicagoland because WTTW's broadcast feed completely conked out when Leyritz stepped to the plate and didn't turn return until the Yankees dogpiled to celebrate winning the '96 Series.
This is the biggest load of crap since Tommy Lasorda.
Dennis Eckersley.
Edit: Dammit, didn't see Gonfalon's post.
I meant Schmidt would be the one who would cause me the most pain if outed as a user. I've always admired the way he persevered above the abuse he took early in his career and worked hard to make himself a better player (particularly on defense) even after becoming a star.
In one of his '80s books, Boswell included a piece of Fisk about what an incredible job Fisk did recreating his body in his mid-to-late 30s. The man once called Pudge engaged in intensive weight lifting to improve himself, allowing him to hit 37 homers at age 37 despite playing the most punishing position on the diamond.
I ain't sayin' Fisk took anything, but it's similar (or better) evidence against him than is often used against many 21st centuries suspects.
You're not doing schadenfreude right! :)
Certainly would be far from his worst character flaw.
Figures this would be the post sweeping in from Europe with your big fancy international words.
Typical American peasant...
Well, he definitely got bigger as his career progressed.
Of course, Cal Rikpen still is a good candidate as the drugs are supposed to help you recover faster and avoid injuries and who avoided injury like he did?
And a bit of time talking about the Yankees' triumphant return to the postseason the prior year, without mentioning the great Mariner comeback and defeat of the Yankees at all.
More importantly, where was any mention of the Marlins and their wild card World Series win? By themselves, an expansion team winning so quickly or a second-place team going all the way would be of major historical importance, but together even more so. There was a brief note that the playoffs expanded in that decade, but without any specifics.
There wasn't enough on the public financing of new stadia, either. That's a way more significant issue than steroids. The new parks were discussed and dismissed pretty quickly with barely a whisper of comment.
I am not bright. D'oh.
I took a nap yesterday and when I woke up, I was still so tired it took me almost 30 seconds to realize where I was. Has that happened to anyone else? It was an eerie feeling especially since I was just on my livingroom couch. (Alcohol was not involved, surprisingly.)
Actually, didn't Rickey say Rickey never lifted weights? He talked about being naturally lucky to have his physique and doing nothing but pushups to stay strong.
Really? Griffey scoring on Edgar's double is one of the iconic images of the 90s, IMO.
Obviously editing means making choices, but there totally could have been an "expansion teams step up" segment with the Jays WS titles, the Mariners breakthrough, such as it was, under Griffey and in 1995, the Marlins, the Diamondbacks, etc.
It used to happen to Marcel Proust.
First thing that sprang to my mind.
QFT
Whew. Good to know I'm brilliant and insane and not just insane.
Griffey under the dogpile
And ARod is right next to him.
I've always pegged Ripken as more of a "Greenies" suspect. And I have to believe we would have found out by now if he had used juice for any sustained amount of time- it would be the great white whale.
Rickey makes too much sense, as I totally can see him saying to Boswell the words "Canseco Milkshake", even if it was simply some protein chocolate milk or something.
I have to think that it would be Kirby Puckett, as nobody would follow up on it, since, y'know, he's dead.
I can see justification for the 95 ALDS as a means of introducing the Expanded Playoffs, Complete with Wildcard, into baseball's storyline. It was the first year of 8-team playoffs, and one could argue that having such a memorable series gave some credibility to this new creation (while overlooking the absolutely inexplicable format that allowed the third and fourth best teams in the AL to meet in the first round while 1 and 2 squared off in the other park, with 2 holding HFA).
There is probably a great story to tell with that series as the backdrop. You had guys like Rivera, Jeter, A-Rod who weren't really anything special yet but about to break out plus some established stars like Griffey and Johnson about to explode further. Add in Mattingly in his final year and you've got a compelling story.
I may be misremembering, but didn't he say he probably would've used steroids if they had been around?
I remember this being Schmidt's stance, too. My impression is that he's sort of the anti-Dale Murphy about steroids. (Well, Canseco is the anti-Dale Murphy, I guess.)
I may be misremembering, but didn't he say he probably would've used steroids if they had been around?
You're not misremembering. There have been several threads on Schmidt's comments along those lines.
I swear it's not an Albright link.
it wouldn't bother me if it was boggs though. he's kind of a creep. the margo adams thing and all that. i know a lady from orlando who has had to work with him for his appearances at charity events and such and she said he routinely gets hammered and is hard to work with, or at least that was the case when she was in the business.
But without the spyglass in the outfield.
Marlins fans (both of them) should be most peeved, but there definitely needed to be more on the expanded playoffs. Burns could have covered the M's run along the way; without the wild card to shoot for, they never would have hung in to win the division. The great Miami selloff should have been covered at the end of such a segment.
He didn't mention the 114-win Yankee team either, did he? Even just a sentence at the end of the McGwire/Sosa wrapup would have sufficed.
Part two ought to have something on the statistical revolution, or that'll be another miss.
It was very early in the episode last night, but they did show Griffey scoring, although it was not in the context of any kind of discussion of the 1995 ALDS in general; I think it was part of a discussion of how baseball's expanded, added teams to the playoffs, etc.--a general overview at the start of how things have changed since the original Baseball series ended in 1994... But the clip of Griffey scoring was shown behind some narration that had nothing to do (really) with the visual.
I can imagine Rickey doing steroids, but I can't imagine him keeping quiet about it for all of these years. Is he even bright enough? If Cal took them, it didn;t make him look or play any younger. I am now the same age he was when he broke the streak, and I can't get over how old he looked at only 35..... he could have passed for 50, easily. Although now he looks 70. His dad was the same way.
How do we know Rickey is dumb?
Not that it surprises many here...
Given that the top of the 10th ended with the '98 HR race, it's a bit early to say The Flip was left out.
He didn't mention the 114-win Yankee team either, did he?
Mentioned that the Yanks won three more titles after the '96 Series. The biggest surprise for me was how little time was spent on the Yanks.
Part two ought to have something on the statistical revolution, or that'll be another miss.
I'm pretty sure it's supposed to, actually. I find that surprising.
Just like it says in the Bible: "They have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves."
First, he fits all of Boswell's description. He hit 40 home runs in 1990, which was 33% more than any other year in his career. (Henderson only matched his career high that season.)
Second, Sandberg, in his HOF speech, decried the use of steroids. That struck me at the time as very weird. I now think it was likely a Ted Haggard moment.* Ryno does protesteth too much, methinks. His words about steroids sounded eerily similar to FP Santangelo's preachy words I had heard FP utter--just before FP admitted that he was in fact a juicer.
Third, Sandberg, in his "prime years" from age 26-28, he was a good hitter, but not great. After 1989, from age 29-32, he becomes a Hall of Famer. In that 4-year span he hit 122 home runs, 43% of his 16-season career total. Like a lot of players in that era, he was also noticeably more muscle-bound.
*It does seem to me that the folks who make a lot of noise about how anti-gay they are very often are doing so to make people think they are not gay when they are. Just recently, four young male accusers -- not one, but four! -- accused Bishop** Eddie Long of Atlanta, a gay-hating minister who has enriched himself preaching the Gospel of a deity who said "the meek shall inherit the earth," of essentially being a closet homosexual who abused his position of authority to have gay sex with them. (I don't know if he raped anyone.)
**How big of a blowhard do you have to be to give yourself the title of Bishop? Eddie Long is not part of a larger church or synod which consecrated him a Bishop. He merely looked over the chess board and said, "Edddie, you look like a Bishop to me!" Queen Latifah had already snagged her piece on that same chess board. Then she came out as gay.
I figured its an AL player because Boswell would have had more access to them in the pre-Nationals years.
But surely Ozzie is not Boswell's man. He does not fit those numbers.
And they also had a conscious and explicit fire sale after winning their first one. The reintroduction of the fire sale after decades of dormancy (**) is plain as day one of the most important trends and events of the "Tenth Inning," though from all indications Burns missed out on that one, too.
(**) With minor apologies to the 1992 or 1993 Padres who truly ushered in the new age, if not with quite the same zeal and honesty as the 1997-98 Marlins.
Sandberg on PEDs would not be surprising. Sandberg on PEDs via Canseco and using the term "Canseco milkshake" seems much more far-fetched.
Folks here seem to have glossed over Boswells "so they were already spreading in 1988" part. And hasn't Canseco also claimed there's an HoFer who did roids?
But, really, none of the candidates are particularly good fits to the information. The ones with "big" HR spikes had no obvious connection to Canseco; the ones with obvious connections to Canseco (i.e. Rickey, Reggie) didn't see a big HR spike. Maybe what Boswell means is that Canseco's usage was already so well-known among players that the "Canseco milkshake" was known far and wide.
Or he's being coy and it is Eckersley. :-)
Does not bode well for King Kaufman
After poking around a bit this morning, I found out that Boswell actually mentioned the phrase "Jose Canseco milkshake" for the first time in 1988, in his interview with Charlie Rose. That definitely changes my opinion about who the most likely HOFer is, but I think most of the analysis is still pretty fair. Instead of Rickey being my #1 guy, he's now just at the top of the list alongside Cal, Dawson, and maybe someone like Fisk...
Here's more on Boswell & the 1988 quote.
I can probably come up with a narrative for why we should suspect every single one of these guys and the pitchers as well. The lesson I take from that fact is that any narrative about any player that doesn't include a positive drug test is worthless.
I think that's right. It's probable that many people in baseball connected with steroids in the late 1980s -- including players, team trainers and outside-trainers -- knew or suspected that Canseco was a steroid fiend. As such, once one person coined the "Canseco shake" term, it became the argot of many who were not teammates, friends, neighbors or training partners of Canseco.
I agree with you here. It was probably a legal-but-morally questionable substance, not a hard steroid.
Also, fans didn't "boo." A few of them taunted Jose about it. But nobody took it seriously. Not fans, writers, other players, or ownership. Which just shows how much revisionism has taken place since.
You betcha!
Also, fans didn't "boo." A few of them taunted Jose about it.
A handful? A few? Not quite. Thousands of them chanted "steroids, steroids" at Jose Canseco.
That may have been done largely in the spirit of fun, like when fans threw an inflatable Madonna doll at Canseco a few years later. Canseco even flexed a muscle in response to the 1988 jeering, although he certainly wasn't jocular when denying the charge on camera during a special cutaway interview.
But as long as we're decrying revisionist history, let's not pretend that there were just a couple of lonesome chemists whooping it up at the Fens.
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