News Flash: Bonds Wasn't The Only One!

As Barry Bonds approaches the home run record, I find myself become more frustrated with the "reporting" and "analysis" in the various sports media.

By listening to sports talk radio, reading the sports columnists, or even watching the theoretically unbiased SportsCenter, it is apparent that the media wants the nation to feel upset about Bonds breaking Aaron's record.

I find this school of thought hypocritical and lacking journalistic integrity.

First, what bothers me about the sports media portrayal of Bonds breaking the record is that they focus on the steroids issues.

While there is a considerable amount of physical (er, visual) evidence against Bonds, by paying attention to the sports media, one would be lead to believe that Bonds was the only player who used steroids. And while Bonds is certainly not a media darling, the same press is giving passes or not even including players who numbers are even more skewed than Bonds.

Those who have followed the sport realize that Bonds has good power for most of his career until he skyrocketed to hit 73. But there are countless others who witnessed their power totals dramatically decrease in less than a two seasons. Mike Piazza went from hitting 33 home runs and having an slugging percentage of .573 in 2001 to hitting 20 home runs and a slugging percentage of .444 in 2003. (I skip 2002 because Piazza only had just over 200 at-bats that year due to injury.) Piazza slugging percentage has only been higher one over the past four seasons. Many will attribute this to Piazza playing a demanding position, yet once again, his detractors are few.

Even this morning, WFAN 660AM's Richard Neer all but dismissed the fact that New York Mets outfielder, Shawn Green's power numbers fell because of some type of performance enhancing drug and chose to chalk it up to age. Neer stated that there was no proof of Green using steroids and that it would be improper to make any guesses without sound evidence. To him, I present that Green hit 42 home runs in 2002 and had a slugging percentage of .558. The following season, Green hit 19 home runs and had a slugging percentage of .460.

One could look at the dramatic differences in players such as Javy Lopez had seasons where he jumped from an injury plagued 2002 where he hit11 home runs to 43 in his final season with the Atlanta Braves to 23 in 2004 with Baltimore to 15 in 2005. Yes, he too was a catcher, but it is hard to despite the steep decline.

And for the record, I was a huge fan of Javier Lopez since the Braves brought him up full-time in the strike shortened 1994 season.

A player who gets full immunity from the steroids era is current New York Yankee pitcher, Roger Clemens. The statistics show that pitchers have tested positive more often than the everyday players and one cannot help but look at how Clemens was given up for dead by the Boston Red Sox...then got even better as he got older. And last summer when Clemens was named by Jason Grimsely as someone who used steroids, the media immediate came to Clemens' defense by discrediting Grimsely stating that Grimsely played for many different teams and was never well liked by his teammates.

The same was said when Jose Canseco's book came out. I guess he really didn't know what he was talking about.

With Bonds just outside of the famed record, it would be fantastic if the media announces the period from 1987 - 200 for what it really is: The Steroids Era.

It was a period of time when many of the game's biggest stars, and not so big stars, used performance enhancing drugs to improve their level of play. For the sports media to claim that they "missed the boat" on this topic proves that either (a) they were not true journalists in investigating the story or (b) they were complicit in covering up the widespread use of steroids. I know that as a kid in Davenport, Iowa, my friends all knew that and spoke about Mark McGwire and Canseco using during during their rookie seasons and beyond. It was obvious that the Philladelphia Phillies of the 1993 were on the juice. And what ever happened to Brady Anderson?

Essentially, steroids did not start nor end with Barry Bonds and BALCO.

And at the end of the day, it's only a baseball record.

Unlike others, I know that I will be clapping when Bonds hits 756.

Even if it is him.