HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Mar 3, 2004 As federal investigators continue their work looking into the Bay Area Laboratory Co- operative (BALCO) the charge has been leveled that Bonds was on steroids and human growth hormone supplied by his personal trainer, who got them from BALCO. Bonds has steadfastly denied the charge, stating that Major League Baseball could "test me every day if they choose to." There have been outcries in several quarters that all players found to have been using these types of substances should have an asterisk placed by their names. Now let me say that I in no way endorse the using of substances that are proven to have consequences to a human body, and can carry legal ramifications by so doing. If he has been using illegal substances as defined by the law, and it can be proven in a court of law, the he should be punished to the full extent of the law, or at the very least, go into court-ordered rehabilitation. Now having said that, I say this talk of performance enhancement matters more when strength and speed are the deciding factors between winners and losers, like track and field. It matters in the NFL. It matters somewhat in the NBA. But it really doesn’t matter much in baseball. Baseball, more that any of the other major sports , takes skill to play. You can bulk up and be the strongest man on earth, but if you can’t catch up to the curveball, you won’t hit it. You can enhance your speed, but that won’t help your timing as to when to try to steal a base. And neither speed nor strength will catch a ball for you. Speed will get you there. Strength will help you grip the ball, or make the leap on the outfield to try to catch it, but they will not help you in the timing of the jump. This is especially true of hitting. Using performance enhancing drugs will not help you recognize what the pitch is. It will not help you know when the right time is to swing the bat. It will not put the sweet spot on the bat on the ball at such a place so that the ball drops fair, either in play or in McCovey Cove. It may help you hit it farther, but making that initial contact requires excellent eye-to-hand coordination, a sharp sense of timing, and the ability to recognize what pitch the opposing pitcher has thrown so that you know whether to simply take it or swing at it. Bonds does all these things, and as a result he makes better contact than most players. Next opportunity you get, watch his hitting. He consistently will put the sweet spot on the bat (which is 3-4 inches from the top of the barrel, the opposite end of the handle.) No other player I have seen in my lifetime was or is that good in making that initial contact. Did he or didn’t Barry Bonds take steroids? In the scheme of things in the baseball world, it probably would not make much difference either way. Except any legal ramifications that could cause him to be incarcerated and not on the field. ------------ About the author: Paul Carter is unique; he thinks that a Grant Green jazz guitar solo, The Federalist Papers, an El Greco painting, the National Football League, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are all interesting. When not working a home business, he is a graphic artist. Email Paul Carter: paulcarterdesign@earthlink.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
