British Reactions to Baseball's Steroid Era Explained!

[@DNReacts]

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[@vtjbproductions]

When they talk about Roger maris hitting 61 home runs, then they show the quick picture of him and the fan who caught the home run ball, that fan is my grandfather , Sal Durante who was 19 when he caught Roger Maris’ 61st home run.

[@DNReacts]

No way?? That’s crazy, do you still have it?

[@JayTeeAyy]

Where’s the ball at now?

[@vtjbproductions]

@@JayTeeAyy the baseball hall of fame for a while now, my grandpa offered it back to Roger after the game and Roger told him to keep it and make money, my grandpa sold it and it made its way to the hall of fame

[@Darmesis]

Super-cool fam story! 👍

[@vtjbproductions]

@@DNReacts noo, my grandfather offered it back to roger in the locker room after the game, Roger told him to sell it and make some money, my grandfather was 19 at the time. He sold it, and it eventually over the years made it to the baseball hall of fame

[@willantvan]

My grandmother was a massive Sammy Sosa fan during this era. The thoughts of this era basically boiled down to "Our juiced up guy beat your juiced up guy." Also, I believe that Jose Canseco, when asked who he knew did NOT use steroids, simply responded "Ken Griffey Jr."

[@officialzacht]

My dad was a Canseco guy for sure 😂

[@darrinlindsey]

To be honest. During the 1998 season of McGuire and Sosa, we, as fans, didn't know that steroids were to blame. It was just a magical season of watching two guys battling for something that many thought was one of the unbreakable records.

[@keithcain8333]

Not sure about that. There were telltale physical signs from several players indicating they were on the gas. To me it's all irrelevant. Owners, teams, players and the league new about it and made money. The media new about it. It is pure hypocrisy to now blame the players and ban them from the Hall. Shame on those voters and shame on the hypocrite fans that try to act so pure.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Speak for yourself, I know many that knew, we openly joked about what baseball would look like without ‘roids.

[@shalakabooyaka1480]

Say whaaaaat?! Who was naive enough to think they got that big that fast naturally? I was in HS and we all thought they were juicing. A decent portion of our HS teams were juicing, baseball and football.

[@darrinlindsey]

@@shalakabooyaka1480 There's a big difference between "Fans didn't know" and "Thought they were"

[@Hexon66]

Of course everyone knew. At least those who were willing to accept what was going on.

[@erikbyrge2024]

RIP Dick Butkus the Chicago Bears Legendary Linebacker Pro Football Hall of Famer one of the toughest players to play in the NFL 1942-2023

[@areguapiri]

Definitely the toughest linebacker ever.

[@jweezy101491]

I have a story about Barry Bonds. I grew up in San Francisco, and won some raffle thing which resulted in a meet and greet with Bary Bonds. He was a very nice guy in that interaction. I have a signed bat on the wall.

[@alexsolo4085]

He was a good dude. He just hated the media, because they always like to stir the pot

[@philgoad5587]

Barry Bonds without a Bat is definitely worth a watch for how crazy Bonds was during that time

[@cygnusx-3217]

My dad used to call Sosa, when he was with the Chicago White Sox, a weak hitting journeyman player. This was an accurate appraisal. When he bulked up to the size of a bodybuilder and starting hitting more HR's than Babe Ruth, we knew something was up.

[@derpderpin1568]

And everything was better for it. Steroids need to come back. Modern steroids are immensely safer and are used constantly for injury rehab with no downsides.

[@danl.909]

@@derpderpin1568 Bull. Shit. If steroids are allowed, it has the effect of forcing all players to use them to protect their jobs from the juicers.

[@Fly-The-W]

@@danl.909 Exactly. Steroids need to continue to be harsh punishments for players using.

[@MrArgman]

​@@danl.909what's wrong with that? players are already forced to do tons of things to stay competitive. if they don't like it they can go work at the gas station with you

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

When he said Barry Bonds was an ‘all around mean person,’ I think he wasn’t saying he personally felt that way, but that was the way it was looked at by the fans & media. There was definitely some sarcasm happening there.

[@erikbyrge2024]

Hank Aaron was a all time great player he did all in Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves/Brewers gold Goves all Star 1957 MVP and World series champion!

[@michaelsmith-iu1be]

And still home run king as far as i'm concerned.

[@Hexon66]

@@michaelsmith-iu1be Sadaharu Oh - 868

[@beaujac311]

What I liked about this guys take on the steroid era is that he put Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens on equal footing. Some people only try to put Bonds on the spot.

[@Wheelio]

It also helped that both McGwire and Sosa were in commercials on TV back then all the time! Even if you didn't watch baseball, you knew who those two were. I still remember those McDonald's commercials with Mark promoting the Big Mac lol.

[@peterwest323]

An interesting comparison can be made between Hank Aaron's late career power and Barry Bond's. Whereas as most players lose considerable power after the age of 35 (accelerating a decrease that typically begins after 32), Aaron actually experienced his peak power year at age 37 and didn't "fall of a cliff" until age 41 - that's why he hit 755 HR while Willie Mays topped out at 660. Bonds' power production curve mirrors Aaron's closely. BTW, a lot of Barry's jerkiness towards the media can be traced to how they treated his father, Bobby, late in his career. But, anecdotally, I knew well someone who grew up with Bobby and his sister (an Olympic sprinter herself) and their father (Barry's grandfather).......well, something about the apple not falling too far the tree is apt here.

[@beaujac311]

Hank Aaron said that later in his career he sacrificed other stats trying to hit more home runs to break Ruth's record. I can't remember which stats because I read his book a few years ago. Willie probably would have surpassed Babe Ruth too if he had not missed almost two seasons due to being called up to serve in the military.

[@urbanshammer]

Love seeing your guys learn more about baseball history! As to your point whether Bonds received too much hate for his role in the Steroid Era, I would give two reasons why he is still seen as the symbol of cheating. First, while his relationship with the media is understandable to some degree, he was often seen as a surly and grumpy player by casual fans (whose perceptions are admittedly shaped largely by media itself) and fellow players. Many other players who were later found to be on steroids were more charismatic and well-liked than Bonds was. The second reason is that during the early 2000's when the scandal started to really heat up, Bonds was THE guy. Many other steroid players were good -- even great -- but he was so transcendentally good that is became impossible to separate him from the substances which helped him. One thing this video doesn't really touch on at all was how this scandal helped out our perceptions of Ken Griffey Jr, who was maybe the only one of the top 5 or so sluggers of the 90s that has never been chased by steroid allegations. His reputation as a "clean" player made him more beloved than he even was before, and I wager that a lot of folks mildly inflate his perceived skills to compensate for the inflated stats of the players who did take substances. I'm sure his name has come up for you two before, but if not, you should check out Dock Ellis, who pitched a no-hitter while on LSD.

[@michaelsmith-iu1be]

I don't think Juniors skills are inflated at all. Injuries late in his career held him back.

[@areguapiri]

Griffen Jr. became rich and lazy late in his career.

[@urbanshammer]

@@michaelsmith-iu1be He definitely is an all-time great, for sure. What I meant by that is his purity in the mind of baseball fans makes him far and away the most beloved player of his era, which is great for him. As sports fans though we often tend to conflate the love we feel with their objective skill. I am a Mariner fan, but I wouldn't rate him as far and away the greatest player from his era. Maybe 2nd or 3rd -- if that distinction is even relevant at all.

[@perrytilton5221]

I was born in '94 so the "steroid era" is what I saw first growing up. That's all I knew when I was interested in the game. It was cool hearing these massive guys hitting bombs, but I loved watching the small guys, like the every day man, like Ichiro and Lincecum dominate in there prime years they were in.

[@NDiT4_1]

7:43 one of my favorite clips of all time is Shohei Ohtani hitting a ball through the roof of the Tokyo Dome 😂

[@SirLuciferVampiro]

At one point in Baseball history, hitting 50 hrs a season was considered harder to do than throwing a no hitter. In 1990, when Cecil Fielder hit 51 hrs, he became the first player to hit 50 or more hrs since 1961....Within a few years in the 90's, 50+ was no longer rare, and thus the steroid era truly began.....

[@srellison561]

One thing not mentioned here is that not only were many players juiced, but the balls were also juiced in the late 90s.

[@derpderpin1568]

And the entire sport was drastically better because of it.

[@KevinQuinn81]

15:05 - Daniel Vogelbach is a total folk hero of the every man baseball fan. Dude is the archetypical DH. Pure power hitter, doesn't field and isn't expected to run. However, the things that set him apart are he has a hell of an eye and works a lot of walks and has a good on-base percentage for a guy his size and position. Additionally, he's always hustling. When he does have to run and legs out a double or scores from second on a single, everyone loses their shit and rightfully so. He is a favorite of mine and also UrinatingTree. If you ever hear Tree spout his exploits, you'll be laughing for days. 17:47 - No, McGwire was traded from the A's to the Cardinals in 97 and set the home run record in 98. He finished his playing career after the 01 season and Moneyball was set in 02. 19:31 - Jason and Jeremy Giambi were brothers on the 01 A's which was the season that proceeded Moneyball. Jason left for the Yankees in 02 and he's the one that Brad Pitt (as Billy Beane) was trying to convince everyone that they could use more than 1 player to replace his production. Jeremy was traded in May of 02 to the Phillies. intelligence that was only turned around by the genius of Billy Beane disciple Sandy Alderson which led to them getting to the World Series in 2015 but that was ultimately pissed down the drain again in no-time. We were all SUPER glad to get life-long Mets fan and actual good hedge fund manager Steve Cohen as owner after the 2020 season which is why we've been able to spend so much the past few years. Hopefully, that gets back to translating to on field success but we actually have hope and direction for the first time in a long time.

[@bleachedbrother]

The guy in the tub was Rickey Henderson (base stealer).

[@DNReacts]

Love this, thank you for letting us know! 🙏

[@shermanmi]

In hindsight, the steroid era is probably one of the dumbest massive controversies in sports history.

[@keithcain8333]

And by far the most hypocritical era in sports history.

[@shalakabooyaka1480]

And one of the most exciting times in sports history!

[@areguapiri]

Agreed. The hysteria makes no logical.

[@ORagnar]

3:30 McGwire wasn't secretive about the bottle in his locker. He wasn't hiding it. o

[@rodneysisco6364]

The guy in the tub with the newspaper was Rickey Henderson , not Cecil Fielder

[@jwestphal1978]

If you don't know Hank Aaron he's also an important part of baseball history. Just like football in England, baseball in America has a long history and not all of it is good. I'm just happy it's finding new fans as time goes on. I wasn't great as a child but I knew everything because I studied the game and the players through books. The history behind it all I feel is important. I don't know much about the Premier league's history past 20 yrs. I don't have the opportunity to consume content in real time. But I love the game. I know the history of the game! I'm unfortunately more of a world cup/Olympics viewer, meaning team USA men's or women's! I would love to become a QPR fan, but I won't be able to watch a single game this season. I chose an old favorite I suppose, if I were to become a fan. I've also just learned being a Bill's fan that getting into a premier league game is rather time consuming for an American nube. You guys could literally walk into the country illegally at this point, not that you would....and go to any stadium in the country and buy a ticket at the window if it's not already sold out. I understand hooliganism. We have it to an extent but it's not the same. Just to get from one city to another can take hours. NYC to LA is gonna be about 5 hours by plane! And that's just air time! I love that you guys have gotten deep into this sport as well as the other 3 major leagues in North America! Keep learning the history! Then you guys will start getting frustrated and making complaints because you'll be a complete fan! Love the content!

[@DNReacts]

Love this. Thank you and we really appreciate the support 🙏

[@phunkjnky]

In August of 1998, my friends and I had tickets to see the Cardinals at the Mets. McGwire had been stuck at 48 home runs, and got unstuck the night before. They were making up a game that was rained out, and it had become a double-header. The crowd booed McGwire mercilessly until he homered in each game, then the stadium erupted in cheers and flashes from cameras. I turned to the guy next to me when he hit his first home run, number 50, and said "You just watched history. He's the first player ever to hit 50 home runs three seasons in a row.. not Babe Ruth, not Hank Aaron..." I don't know how I feel about that today.

[@NoobGamer-co1ug]

The player from moneyball you were thinking of was Jason Giambi. His name was also thrown into the steroid ring when it became publicized

[@apexbot9931]

Two guys that are a definite must react for you gents, tyrann mathieu LSU highlights and deanthony thomas

[@DNReacts]

Appreciate the suggestions, thank you 🙏

[@stoneyopinion767]

5:46 That's Ricky Henderson, who continued to play and be successful at small ball when homeruns were all the rage.

[@DNReacts]

Love that!

[@a00141799]

Banger!! Most of us were blissfully ignorant of what was going on behind the scenes during the Steroid Era of baseball and just thought we had the great fortune to witness a period of extraordinary increase in player development and performance. I'm from the old school and feel like the records and great accomplishments from long before there was even a such thing as steroids, need to be protected from these juiced athletes with their unnatural abilities. That picture of thin and wiry Joe DiMaggio perfectly illustrates the contradiction of the Steroid Era. In my opinion, baseball is the most skill based game we have. In baseball, you can be a very average athletically. You don't have to be in world class shape fitness wise, but you must possess extraordinary, nearly inhuman relaxes and skill. MLB players make it look easy, but baseball is incredibly difficult to play at the major league level. Its too bad that the vast sums of money at stake changed our game into one where anything goes as long as it produced a big paycheck. ♣

[@NolmDirtyDan]

This is what we've been waiting for!!

[@DNReacts]

I learnt so much!

[@jdlstoryteller]

Some guys who we have reason to believe didn't do steroids during the era you should cover: Chipper Jones Ken Griffey Jr. Fred McGriff Tom Glavine John Smoltz Tony Gwynn Jim Thome Cal Ripken jr. Frank Thomas Eddie Murray Vladimir Guerrero Sr. Barry Larkin Craig Biggio

[@FuckYoutubeAndGoogle]

5:49 The guy in the tub is Rickey Henderson, he was saying that Rickey was the only guy who kept playing small ball when all the steroid guys took over.

[@AlexValadez]

The homerun record chase was so much fun. Everyday people were checking in or asking if either hit another. At the time I didnt know about steroids until all of this was brought out into the open. That definitely changes things in my eyes and cancels out those new records for me. Especially everything with Barry Bonds. He was such a great player before, its a shame. It may seem unfair but I do hope none of them ever make it into the Hall of Fame.

[@areguapiri]

But you are OK with all of the players from the brutal segregated era being in the hall of fame?

[@karlamartin4417]

Please, please, re-watch your video and pause at 17:44. Look at the middle of the video you paused. 😂😂😂 The mouth imposed on another player is CLASSIC!!! 😂😂

[@scottqt11]

small footnote, you mentioned players hitting home runs through the roof- Ohtani did that in Japan lol, you should check it out

[@Ordzo88]

Slammin' Sammy still my favorite childhood Cubbie!

[@phunkjnky]

I don't know if anyone else has answered this, but Barry was hated by his teammates everywhere.. and I think he wanted you to hate him. All the athletes usually have a regular, folding chair at the locker, Barry had a Sharper Image recliner. When I was younger, I had a software update at the company I was at. I worked with their onsite support for a couple of weeks. He was a college teammate of Bonds at Arizona State University. He was hated then. He had a gold Trans Am, and would sometimes go home for the weekend, and then accuse his teammates of taking out out while he was gone. He was right. They hated him, and hated how good they knew he was.

[@benjaylehman]

I just went to Cooperstown in late august! There is some stuff from Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa, like equipment and things but no plaques

[@robertg262]

You need to hear Vince Scully calling the play of Hank Aaron's breaking Babe Ruth's record.

[@symple2020]

My biggest problem with this era was the 755 from Bonds. Its not the 73 home run season but the amount of homeruns he got during this era to beat the all-time record. And I grew up a Cubs fan watching Sosa :(

[@areguapiri]

Babe Ruth hit all of his in the segregated era, playing against only white guys. Think about that, my friend.

[@RealDiehl99]

Wow! You guys produce some long videos. Thanks for putting in the extra time to keep your fans entertained!

[@DNReacts]

You’re welcome, really appreciate the comment! 🙏

[@-EchoesIntoEternity-]

check out Ronald Acuna Jr from the Braves, MLBs first ever 40/70 man this season

[@stoneyopinion767]

17:46 Maguire and Canseco were with the A's in the late 80s. Moneyball was early 2000s.

[@DNReacts]

Ahh okay thank you for the info and letting us know 🙏

[@joestone5048]

Great reaction video guys. . Please do more baseball history. How about one that encompasses from the beginnings in 1840s to.present.

[@andrewlipkin7127]

Jose Canseco has an identical twin brother named Ozzie Canseco who did not juice and was also a major league player. You can look up Ozzie’s career to get a glimpse of how much the roids helped Jose

[@areguapiri]

How do "you" know Ozzie did not use steroids?

[@phunkjnky]

Because organized baseball has been around for so long, a certain amount of its own history always ask "Why now?" When baseballS (with a capital S) are leaving the park at unprecedented rates and distances, a lot of fans tended to ask "Why now?" You've had about 150 years to do this, why now? We heard all kinds of theories and conspiracies, including they are wrapping the ball tighter so it spins less from the pitcher, and flies farther when hit. BECAUSE of this era, a lot of American fans start to get leery of ANY player in ANY sport who just starts smashing records out of nowhere.

[@connorbrown2194]

i don’t know the man but in clips following his career barry seems like a rather soft spoken guy that just didn’t like the media intruding on him doing his job

[@SDRube14]

Have you guys done "Field of Dreams" yet? Amazing movie and also kind of covers the black sox scandal. I gotta get on your Patreon... you guys may be the first to get me to do that! Thanks for the reactions gents!

[@DNReacts]

It’s actually winning our December movie of the month poll on Patreon! If you do join, make sure you vote for it, as it’s only winning by 2 votes!! Appreciate your support 🙏🏼

[@emilsitka9537]

Jim Bouton wrote in his book Ball Four, "If you had a pill that would guarantee a pitcher twenty wins, but might take five years off his life, he'd take it."

[@gregcable3250]

The thing that they left out, and this is in partial defense of those players, is that weight-training--real weight training, got accepted and much more widespread so that these players were not just getting all of that muscle from PEDs, they had to work really hard in the weight room to maximize that effect. Muscles don't grow like that without hard weight training. Look at the players now--many are really jacked-up but are not using illegal PEDs as they did in the 90s, because lifting weights for strength is now widely accepted. The shame is that those players of the 90s could have done great things--maybe not what they did, but still great-- just by doing the weight training and requisite appropriate diet. One can find clips of those players from the 90s working hard in the weight room back then.

[@auckalukaum]

Your Spanish is so excellent you couldn't pronounce WAH-keen an-DU-har. :) Great video!

[@DNReacts]

😂😂😂 Love this lol. Thank you 🙏

[@lovesgucci1]

5:56 is Ricky Henderson

[@homelessjesse9453]

Okay. LOL! As a long time SF Giants fan, Barry Bonds never did himself any favors. He was aloof. He was distant. Especially to the media. But that does not mean he was a bad person. He just had the misfortune of playing in an era in which production meant everything. Bonds still belongs in the HOF. But I do agree it comes with an asterisk.

[@srellison561]

Even Roger Maris has an asterisk, because his season was longer than Ruth's.

[@dennislopez1272]

Great reaction, gents. The hypocrisy of the steroid era is the thing that pisses me off the most. The whole thing was just stupid. Everybody was doing it. Hitters and pitchers. So, was it really cheating if both sides were doing it and those in power didn’t care to do anything about it?

[@Wyrmwould]

My disgust and disappointment with MLB over the steroid scandal was equal to the excitement I felt during the Babe Ruth/Roger Maris single season home run record chase. I walked away from MLB for over a decade because of this. I felt betrayed by my favorite sport, but I came to realize that baseball is larger than MLB.

[@derpderpin1568]

Steroids literally made the sport better and they should absolutely come back especially now with how drastically better and safer modern steroids are. They're used in every sport for injury rehab as it is because they're amazing.

[@craxanshards3139]

Growing up I was a huge Cubs fan. I lived in Chicago in the 90's and went to games all the time. That 98 season you could still go to the field and buy a ticket cheaply and get great seats. I loved Sosa, had no idea he was cheating. I just assumed he just worked out a lot. One of my close friends at the time said, do you think they are using steroids how are they so big? It had never even crossed my mind at the time. Also, around the same time people were saying the ball was "juiced", and that was why so many home runs were being hit. After it all came out I stopped watching games, haven't watched one in about 20 years, since the 04 season when the Cubs let the wildcard slip away from them because of horrible managing by Dusty Baker. Just ruined my love for the Cubs, and being a fan for over 30 years at the time. People warned me growing up, don't be a Cubs fan they will break your heart. It proved true.

[@rallycapandstanding]

Did 2016 at least heal that?

[@c1ph3rpunk]

2016 was pretty damn magical.

[@srellison561]

Too bad you didn't stick around for 2016. It was a season of redemption.

[@Mkproduction2]

How Great were Atlanta's big 3. Maddux,Glavine and Smoltz.. They are all Hall of Famers that had to face these monsters day in and day out. They should have that they did this in the steroid era added to their Cooperstown plaques. Rick Charleston SC

[@jwestphal1978]

You guys paused the best starting pitching group of the 90's ! Worth a watch as well if you don't know them! Idk if they did steroids? They never got bulky if they did.

[@MrJeddYoung]

A good summary - thanks for posting this.

[@Beltran15x]

mcguire was long gone from the As in 2001

[@GreenJeepAdventures]

I thought it was a "Complete Breakfast" that gave them their powers? I feel better after even just a piece of toast and some coffee. Imagine what 2 eggs with bacon, ham, androstenedione and potatoes would do for you.

[@James-dh6ld]

It was a nickname for McGuire x Canseco who played for the A's, The Bash Brothers.

[@jaykaufman9782]

More needs to be said of the players who didn't use steroids. They're the real victims, especially the non-steroid-users who never reached the majors, or were relegated to the bench, or were sent down to the minors, or who just walked away and retired. And more needs to be said of the stars who succeeded while playing clean: Ken Griffey Jr, Jim Thome, Curt Schilling, et al. You can't allow players to cheat, because in the end, this forces everyone to do so to keep pace. Congress forced the MLB to pull the plug before the situation got truly out of hand, when only half (?) the players were steroid users. And Bud Selig needs to be as despised as Bonds McGuire, Sosa, Clemens, et al.

[@NIKONF1.8]

Been waiting on this one ! Great as always Guys, Keep it up

[@DNReacts]

Appreciate it Evan, hope you enjoyed, thank you for the comment 🙏

[@joshpavlik3343]

No McGwire was already gone from the As by the late 90s hence 98 he was a cardinal during the homerun race. The Moneyball As were the 02’ A’s team

[@rick5440]

When most players are using steroids, it only makes sense for the rest to use them as well in order to remain competitive. You fall behind if you don't. More players in the minor leagues use PEDs than the majors, its where they need to separate from their peers.

[@NonLinearExistence]

As much hate as Barry Bonds gets, during the 1993 all star game, my mother met him. She was standing near the field during warm up. Barry Bonds walked over, out of no where and said "Would you like an autograph miss?". Before he finished speaking people were mobbing and pressing her so hard against the barricade she couldnt breathe and started crying. Barry then yelled "Get the F*ck Back! The lady cant breathe!". She said everyone moved back he signed her hat and jogged off. I was only 5 and was not there when it happened, but I remember later on when he was getting alot of heat for steroids my mom would always stick up for him and tell people how nice he was to her.

[@hockeyfan-seyeyy]

When this was happening, I always thought they juiced the ball to make it travel farther. Steroids never entered my mind. I can see how steroids can make you stronger, but you still have to be able to see and hit the ball. Does it strengthen your eyes and timing. These players were great players, but the league has always kept cheaters out of the hall like the Black Sox players and Pete Rose so I respect that.

[@areguapiri]

Who cheated?

[@kentgrady9226]

It's a bit tedious and time consuming, but not difficult. If you research players' hitting statistics, you can get a strong idea of the percentage of players on PEDs during that era. If, in 1991, they were power hitters, managing 25-30 home runs per season (not crazy, but respectable), and by 1999 were cranking 45-50 per season, they were juiced to the gills. Those 15-30 extra home runs on steroids would have been fly outs at the warning track in earlier seasons. Likewise, a pitcher whose velocity improves dramatically in his late 30s, or a base runner who suddenly doubles his stolen base output, is almost certainly on gear. I have no idea what the true numbers were. Like you, I've heard a wide range of estimates. My guess would be that the percentage was pretty high amongst those who remained at the highest level for a long stretch of years. Steroid use was common enough that it filtered down through the lower leagues, college, and even high school - in any number of sports. It begs the question: if everyone is cheating in the exact same way, is anyone actually cheating?

[@neiledwards5391]

Not necessarily true about the old guys saying it used to be a pure game. One of the oldest sayings in baseball culture is "if you aint cheating, you aint trying"

[@estern001]

There's a video of Shohei hitting one "through the roof" literally.

[@lonelyboydrip]

keep em coming! love it

[@DNReacts]

We will do! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@mountainbikemayhem1833]

The main ‘steroid’ guys were obviously Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Clemens, and ARod. With the exception of Sosa, the others were likely HoF players. Sosa was more or less an average player before the juice. McGwire hit 49 hrs his rookie year and would have been a generational power guy without steroids. Bonds and Clemens were first ballot players long before the late career steroid usage. ARod, in my opinion was a bit different than those guys. I feel like he juiced because of insecurities. He was a much hyped player in Seattle, and signed what was at the time a historic contract of something like 10 years for $300 million. A contract that put pressure on him to feel like he earned it…and when he had a few mediocre seasons, he started using PEDs to live up to expectations. His problem was he felt he had to stay on them to perform, and is probably the biggest player to actually ‘fail’ a drug test. Several other big names failed a test (Manny Ramirez), but he was probably the biggest. In fairness to the juiced bombers of the era, I may be wrong, but I think more pitchers failed the tests than any other position. The last thing I want to say is that one all time great hitter played during this era, and is untouched by the accusations of PEDs…Ken Griffey jr…the all time sweetest swing

[@danl.909]

Cheating is as traditional in baseball as base stealing. But there’s cheating that’s just smart play-like sign stealing-and there’s cheating that cannot be allowed, like using some kind of tech to enable sign stealing. Chemical enhancement of players is one of those "cannot be allowed" kinds of cheating.

[@areguapiri]

Calling other men "cheaters" lacks masculinity.

[@JHamilton791]

I have a hard time believing the author of the piece was around during the steroid era. I'm in my 40s and I was a kid/teenager at that time. I believe the fallout from the controversy severely hurt baseball's popularity over the following decade.

[@carlosvaladez2186]

Another 🔥 reaction. Life long Dodger fan here. I hated Bonds, mostly because he was a Giant, then because he cheated. I never met him, but felt there was a general dislike from players.

[@areguapiri]

How did he "cheat"?

[@jeffrey.a.hanson]

Why Barry was hated- 1. Barry was the A-Rod to teammate Jeff Kent, who was SF’s ‘do no wrong’ Jeter. 2. Barry didn’t even try to endear himself to fans. (Not in videogames) 3. Barry simply took it one step too far. - Akin to if Ronaldo took something today. Suddenly outpaced and outclassed Prime Ronaldo in all facets of the game, leaving Messi in the dust as the 🐐.

[@WahooSerious]

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the steroid era

[@coyotelong4349]

A lot of people did. Everybody loves home runs and power pitching But it shouldn’t take PEDs to make baseball entertaining

[@WahooSerious]

@@coyotelong4349I do agree and I love the game either way, but it’s hard to not admit that era was really fun to watch

[@arnoldcox9128]

1998 was the first time that I remember watching baseball and it was very exciting, but of course steroid era will forever have a huge dark cloud over it

[@heathkeim3394]

To be fair, the Andro pills found in McGwires locker were in fact legal. At the time, it could be bought at any Walmart. A buddy of mine bought some and gave it a try.

[@nicholasicetrain1382]

Daryl Strawberry said on coke the baseball looked like a basketball lol

[@DNReacts]

😂😂😂

[@gabegood8989]

This ERA ending my watching baseball(18 at the time) until 08 when the Phillies made the world series.. still really don't pay attention until August then I start to watch again. It is still just so slow(will listen as background noise as I play video games). It's playoffs I really care about.

[@jwestphal1978]

Ok, second thing I need to comment on, because it's crazy, it's relevant, and it just happened! The Black Sox, if you guys didn't know were found to have thrown the World Series, at least 8 of the starting 9, and it became a huge scandal. To this day, they're banned from baseball and they're all deceased. During this series, it was apparent and obvious that it was happening, you have to remember that no one but the owners made real money at that time. Attendance to the games diminished as the series wore on. Tampa Bay just set the lowest attendance record for a play off game since the Black Sox! 2023/1919! The difference, no one in Florida cares about the Rays! It's sad actually.

[@Noraaxu]

I think him saying Barry was an all around mean person was the perception of the fans of baseball at the time of him not his actual interpretation of who Barry was.

[@B4rry16]

Barry Bonds is still a GOAT I don't care cause everybody was cheating. He was hitting dingers off of juicing pitchers

[@CCbaseball2015]

This!

[@Griebss]

Also, roids won’t give you the plate discipline Bonds had. That was all him

[@DNReacts]

He was great without the roids, but we will never know how great he could have been without them unfortunately!

[@B4rry16]

@@DNReacts Barry Bonds was a Hall of Famer before juicing. He just added a second Hall of Fame career after he turned 35. The MLB is covering their asses by screwing these players over while letting frauds like La Russa in.

[@mikephillips1043]

Since this was a steroids video 1 guy who waa caught was Manny Ramirez. You HAVE to watch a video about him. There was a quote called manny being manny because his fun and mistakes he made on the field. Probably the beat pure right handed hitter in the past 50+ years. Also had a cannon for an arm you did not want to test him.

[@fidge54]

One of the reasons that fans (like me) resent Bonds so much is that he's one of the few (like Roger Clemons) who absoliutely refuses to to this day to admit that he ever used streroids. And we all know that he's totally full of shit. He had no respect for the game, then or now

[@lovesgucci1]

Jose Canseco not only outed other players for roids but called out Alex Rodriguez for cheating on Jennifer Lopez… on Twitter!!

[@ZaKRo-bx7lp]

As much as MLB and the players were criticized for this, the steroid era lives on as the most exciting time in baseball. Nothing comes close.

[@fidge54]

Right. If all you understand about baseball is watching a ball fly over a fence. Find another sport to watch, I suggest pro (phony) wrestling

[@oidiv3316]

Surely you need to do the Barry Bonds without a bat video

[@ORagnar]

6:40 p.m. Mark McGwire hit 49 home runs in his rookie season before he used steroids and ballooned up in size. That was a record for rookies at the time. o

[@dynamodan8216]

In the Black Sox scandal, Shoeless Joe played the best stats out of either team. If batting .400 is throwing, I want every player on my team to throw.

[@timbeatty8411]

I still love all these ball players. I don't care what drugs you take, you try and hit 102 mph fastball. It takes talent and Love of the game. And it was fun to see 70 home runs in a season LOL.

[@jpgcne]

About the 1919 Chicago Whotesox scandal aka "Blacksox" see the 1988 Hollywood movie "Eight Men Out" pretty good film you may enjoy

[@tls5870]

Matt Williams did not have 54 home runs ever

[@falcon82100]

No one ever talks about the benefits that pitchers would have gotten by recovering from starts quicker?????

[@scottqt11]

If you guys are readers, highly recommend reading "Juiced" by Canseco. Great book

[@phillipdenny896]

No one really knows how many players were juicing. Best estimates are "probably more than half" but yeah we'll never actually know for sure. The incentives, at least at the start, certainly encouraged players to abuse the system until an example was made out of them.

[@michaelb.3982]

Watch "Lyle Alzado-A Football Life " You both would really like it..sad story and a steroid lesson too..Best football life episode in my opinion..

[@stoneyopinion767]

A good friend of mine from high school died of a heart attack at age 49. After high school he became a body builder, and won several competitions. He used steroids heavily, and they ended his life early, due to his weakened and shrunken heart.

[@totallydougie9386]

Have we done Doc Ellis's no hitter on LSD here yet?

[@PatDooleyWrestling]

Moneyball took place during the Athletics' 2002 season, five years after McGwire left for the Cardinals and ten years after Canseco went to the Rangers