Guys like him are just dead to me, literally ... like, he could break Bonds' record and I doubt I would even care, because Bonds' record was tainted, too.
I remember one of my very favorite pulls ever ... back in like '05 or '06, Target had some discounted two-pack blisters of '04 Flair baseball ... it even said "Look for Alex Rodriguez rookie cards" on the little red sticker.
I had walked up there (about a mile from my house), and on the way back I told myself I wasn't going to open them until I got home.
So, the anticipation was awesome ... and it was even sweeter when I actually pulled one.
Not bad for two packs — just 16 total cards out of a 200-card set!
Now, I just look at that card and it makes me sad.
I mean, the only other guy still active that even has a chance is Pujols — and as much as I like him, I mean, it just wouldn't surprise me if he did something, too.
That's not fair to him, but think of the era and the teammates he broke in with back in 2001 ... I'm guessing any young player would be pretty impressionable, right?
That's the problem with this whole thing — guilt by association ... Bagwell, Piazza, etc.
And everyone says, "oh, Biggio, he did it the right way!"
Why, because he didn't hit a lot of home runs, so he's automatically not a juicer?
I'm just saying — to me, basically everyone that has played in the last 20 years or so is either guilty or guilty by suspicion/association.
It's not right and it's not fair, but how/where/when do you draw the line on this stuff?
What if a guy juiced really hard for one or two years in the middle of a 15-year career and then quit ... do you still look at him overall as a legit player, or is it all or nothing?
I can only hope that guys like Trout and Harper are clean, have always been clean and will stay that way.
I remember one of my very favorite pulls ever ... back in like '05 or '06, Target had some discounted two-pack blisters of '04 Flair baseball ... it even said "Look for Alex Rodriguez rookie cards" on the little red sticker.
I had walked up there (about a mile from my house), and on the way back I told myself I wasn't going to open them until I got home.
So, the anticipation was awesome ... and it was even sweeter when I actually pulled one.
Not bad for two packs — just 16 total cards out of a 200-card set!
Now, I just look at that card and it makes me sad.
I mean, the only other guy still active that even has a chance is Pujols — and as much as I like him, I mean, it just wouldn't surprise me if he did something, too.
That's not fair to him, but think of the era and the teammates he broke in with back in 2001 ... I'm guessing any young player would be pretty impressionable, right?
That's the problem with this whole thing — guilt by association ... Bagwell, Piazza, etc.
And everyone says, "oh, Biggio, he did it the right way!"
Why, because he didn't hit a lot of home runs, so he's automatically not a juicer?
I'm just saying — to me, basically everyone that has played in the last 20 years or so is either guilty or guilty by suspicion/association.
It's not right and it's not fair, but how/where/when do you draw the line on this stuff?
What if a guy juiced really hard for one or two years in the middle of a 15-year career and then quit ... do you still look at him overall as a legit player, or is it all or nothing?
I can only hope that guys like Trout and Harper are clean, have always been clean and will stay that way.