Joel Sherman’s column on Mike Piazza sums up how I feel about Piazza in light of the steroid age. Sherman likes Piazza and wants him to be clean. He has no evidence to suggest otherwise. But it’s hard not to wonder about a 62nd-round draft pick who sets an all-time record for homers by a catcher.
I really hope Piazza is clean, also, and not just because I’m a big fan of his. If something comes out on Piazza, I’m going to have to reevaluate how I look at PED cheats. Because I’m just not ready to stop being a fan of his.
It’s easy when the big names in the Mitchell Report from your team are people like Mo Vaughn. Seeing Todd Hundley’s name was disappointing, but his best years were not memorable ones for the team as well.
Lenny Dykstra will always be a major figure in Met history, but by all accounts he did not start to bulk up until well after the 1986 season. He did hit 19 of his career 81 homers during a pennant-winning year, but that was in 1993 for the Phillies.
It’s fun to sit back on this side of things and watch the parade of Yankee apologies, but it’s hard to imagine that no Met stars were (or are) ever involved.
If only MLB would try full disclosure for a change. Release the other 103 names, but also emphasize that these were just the guys who got caught and that the problem was much more widespread. Estimate a number – 50%? 80% of players were juiced?
Until then, many fans will go for 100%, not just because it’s as likely as any other, but because then it won’t hurt as bad when it’s one of your favorite players who has to make the apologies.
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