Yes, but if they were banned for spurious reasons, then then the whole issue of what's fair or not comes into question.
Not really. Ban 'em all. Boom. Level playing field. Fair for everybody. It doesn't get much simpler than that.
To me these drugs are nothing more than supplements...far less dangerous than aspirin and the common cheeseburger in real impact on the avg person's health who'd take them.
I'm not a doctor or anything so I'm not going to take specific issue with this. I wouldn't be surprised if there's evidence to the contrary though.
Also, there are other pitchers who were good in their 30s who didn't take anything over the decades. Clemens' numbers aren't wildly different through any part of his career.
If you look at his stats, the guy won the Cy Young both when he was 24 and 42 (and a few other years too) and his numbers for both years are
really similiar. Obviously also really good. Now, maybe Roger Clemens is just naturally a superhuman exception to the rule, but pitchers
don't put up career numbers like that when they're 42. Also worth noting, the guy was up to his eyeballs in steroids at the time.
Now, if taking steroids is about as dangerous and consequential to performance as popping aspirin, as you claim, why the hell was he jeopardizing his career for basically nothing? The answer is people take steroids because
it provides a clear advantage. I've heard Jose Canseco make similar arguments to what you're saying, and quite frankly, it's all bullshit. They aren't doing it because it's fun, they do it because, assuming you already had some natural facility for the game, steroids make you better.
Steroids can't make it easier to hit a 93mph fastball, but if you connect with one and you're artificially stronger, you might be getting an extra 50 or 75 feet on your fly balls. A lot of those are going to leave the yard. Advantage.
But none of that really matters. The bottom line is there's doubt. Are Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds as good as their numbers suggest? It's impossible to tell because they were cheating. Ergo, fuck those guys. They can go tell sob stories with Pete Rose. You commit gross violations of the rules, you get what you fucking deserve.
