Hey in 1998, I would walk into the gym (24hour Fitness) and a life size cardboard cutout of McGwire hawking Andro and pro-Test Supplements. GNC in the same mall had similar ads and products. As for Bonds, he stands out due to the federal charges and conviction, and the larger sin of 756.
...the problem for baseball and the union as far as testing goes, is how in the hell can they somehow keep pace with the chemists that make new versions of the stuff as well as masking agents?
Look there's always going to be something, Hey I remember people scratching there heads over Kirby Puckett when he jumped from 4 HRs to 31 HRs in the almost the same # of ABs. I think it was 1985 to 1986. Thats a 27 HR difference. Hell Bonds increase was only 24 & he was already known as a HR hitter. Which is the real shame in itself, he didn't even need the shit. What a waste.
there will always be snitches too leading to investigations of "clinics" that will hopefully keep bringing down cheaters
...^^^if they want to cheat and take the risk, they will....I'm talking about the chemists who keep making the stuff...by the time the testing program is updated to the newest masking agents, these chemists are one step ahead with a new formula that won't show up in a drug test...or how about the "lozenges" ARod and Braun and others were taking? You pop one in your mouth an hour before the game and by the time the game is over all trace of it is gone from your system.
oh I am aware of that, but for the most part these guys are idiots and eventually they get will tell the wrong person and another ring gets taken down. Will it ever go away? No. As you said the guys creating masking agents will always been one step ahead, one year ahead, one generation ahead, you just would hope that anyone who sees or hears of a fellow player cheating will drop a dime and expose the cheat.
Yup, never going to get ahead of the chemists, the demand is way too high. And not just from athletes. I have one compound that was just licensed to a biotech that turned around and did a deal worth up to 3/4 Billion dollars. Why? Because this compound transforms adipose tissue into lean muscle and promotes lean muscle growth without exercise. This is a big deal for the obese, MD patients, people with ALS, or the crippled/paralyzed. But you can bet your paycheck this will also be used as a PED. Mechanism of action is a natural pathway, WADA asked us to devise a test and we said its impossible. Time to embrace modern chemistry and supplement all players to a biochemically level playing field.
With the home run number WAY down compared to 6-7 years ago, they must be doing something right. And I'll bet anything that it'll be a cold day in hell before anyone starts hitting 60+ HRs again. Low maybe mid 50s yes but the bullshit years that guys like Sosa & McGwire were putting up year after year we'll never see again.
...the other thing to consider is how accurate the testing will be without also producing some false positives?...if a player is mistakenly fingered as a user, the stigma will still be there. ...maybe that's why they want to keep it "confidential", at least until the player can be called in for another test/interview to make sure.
