Between 2006-2011 (6 years) Averaged 153 games, 43 HRs, 132 RBI, & a 273 batting average. Between 2012-2015 (4 years) Averaged 108 games, 17 HRs, 67 RBI & a 234 batting average This season while earning $25M, in 62 games he has 11 HRs, 25 RBI & is batting 151 RYAN HOWARD.
Rick you know we can make that kind of contrast with just about every hero in the game that stuck around a couple years too long
sure. but i think its too easy to blame drug use alone. some guys peak early and then decline for a variety of factors (injuries, eye sight changes, personal/external focus changes, etc.). we still live in a society of laws, and innocent under proven guilty is a cornerstone. i'd also like to see "slander" get more attention & punishment. that'll cut down on the idle chatter and wide speculations. i got news for you, we're going to know in a couple years that lasik and tj surgery are probably the most significant performance enhancements to impact player's stats.
Sigh..not sure why we keep going down this same old road...according to you, the only way for Baseball to discipline players for PED use is to actually catch them jabbing a needle in their ass...and sorry, but referring to TJ/lasik as "significant performance enhancements" is quite a reach and so is comparing them in any way to drug use. But yeah, while we're at it, let's also bar any player who wears glasses/contacts/shades too. Unlike steroids, TJ/lasik do not give players an unfair advantage over other players. Hell, you might as well include any surgery after injury (ACL, MCL, UCL, etc.) as "performance enhancers" and tell the player "We sorry you blew out your knee, but under the rules you'll have to retire from Baseball and resort to bagging groceries as a living". (see Mickey Mantle)
