Scott Gray (CT) Commentary - Brady Anderson the Steroids Poster Child

[TheBee]

The idea that 1996 was the beginning of the steroid anything is ridiculous. I personally knew guys doing roids at my little podunk gym in Harford County in the late 80s and early 90's (and they were using a cream...I want to say it was called DMSO? To try to avoid injection...I just remembered that it made them smell), and I also knew a player at Huntsville AA who was telling us back in the late 80s about his A's farmhand teammates who were using.

[Tx Oriole]

Sorry if my comments digressed too far from topic.

Brady is on the list of players that I hope and pray were not users.

Never read anywhere he was. This guy that put this out is a BoSox fan I would

imagine. Why doesn't he list Manny.

[primetime]

I think Davey Johnson is a better canidate for the poster child of steroids. Anyone see what freaking homerun numbers he put up in Atlanta?:scratchchinhmm:

I always use Davey Johnson as a classic example of the fact that sometimes, baseball players just have good seasons. Things break their way, they see the ball, they get a lot of good matchups, they're part of a good lineup, etc.

I know it's a popular assertion and quite frankly an easy accusation to make regarding Brady but it's really not right to do the whole "guilty until proven innocent" thing or guilt by association.

Brady was a strong, in shape dude; there are tons of people who work out and take care of their bodies but have never touched steroids. And simply because he had a monster year where he hit 50 homers is evidence of nothing except that he had a good year. Brady always hit doubles, he was in his 4th year of being a full time player, had a short RF porch at home to work with and he hit at the top of stacked lineup, loaded with big time power hitters. But it couldn't possibly be anything like that, it has to be PEDs.

I know I'm probably naive when it comes to PEDs and all that, I probably give too much benefit of the doubt, but I just hate that fans and media ALWAYS go to that place whenever any ball player excels. As a lifelong fan of not only the Orioles but the game in general, I hate the laziness and snarkiness that goes along with the assumptions of PED use.

Did a lot of guys cheat the game over the last 20 or so years? Of course. Are there guys still cheating? Of course. I just choose not to throw out the PED every time a player has a slight upturn in numbers.

[radar303]

He did them, can't prove it for certain... but to deny it is just plain silly. If I am on a jury I don't need a video of a murder. We all should be logical and figure it out. Remember a couple of things about that 50 home run season. He strained his quad... but came back quickly and the big one.... appendicitis. Wasn't plucked out but was told to not fly, stay in the hospital and have surgery. He declined because he had better medicine than the doctors(speculation but logical).

No doubt he was locked in all year... but the added bulk allows warning track power to go OVER the fence... that is what defines the steroid era. I remember Dave Duncan(when he was an Oriole) hit balls to the warning track almost every game he played. Palmer pitched to the park and would have guys fly out to deep center. If you have a little extra juice(pun intended) the ball goes farther.

Remember this about the steroid era(in the words of Kevin Millar) "It sure was easier to hit it over the fence when we were on the jucie" Direct quote that I heard in batting practice.

[Jagwar]

Personally I like how Scott Gray says Brady Anderson is the poster child for the Steroids Era because of his 50 HR season...

... yet the OpEd's photo shows Anderson popping out to the infield.

[Jagwar]

Yaz was on the juice when he won the triple crown because he hit 16 homers the year before and then hit 44 to lead the league. He was obviously on Brady's one year steroid cycle because he dropped back down to 23 next year.

What an idiot this guy is.

You know, Scott Gray is not usually one to produce this type of crap. His commentary is typically non-controversial, and usually separates what he thinks from what he knows. As I listened to the beginning of his commentary, I thought it was going to basically criticize the Red Sox organization for placing impossible expectations on Anderson, when all scouts and coaches weren't confirming the hype. Once he said Brady "succomed" to the pressure to use steroids, he completely lost credibility on the subject.

What he should have said was "Wouldn't it have been great to have Brady Anderson patrolling CF for the Red Sox during that decade, without lofty expectations that he had to be the next Yaz?"

[OFFNY]

I always use Davey Johnson as a classic example of the fact that sometimes, baseball players just have good seasons. Things break their way, they see the ball, they get a lot of good matchups, they're part of a good lineup, etc.

I know it's a popular assertion and quite frankly an easy accusation to make regarding Brady but it's really not right to do the whole "guilty until proven innocent" thing or guilt by association.

Brady was a strong, in shape dude; there are tons of people who work out and take care of their bodies but have never touched steroids. And simply because he had a monster year where he hit 50 homers is evidence of nothing except that he had a good year. Brady always hit doubles, he was in his 4th year of being a full time player, had a short RF porch at home to work with and he hit at the top of stacked lineup, loaded with big time power hitters. But it couldn't possibly be anything like that, it has to be PEDs.

I know I'm probably naive when it comes to PEDs and all that, I probably give too much benefit of the doubt, but I just hate that fans and media ALWAYS go to that place whenever any ball player excels. As a lifelong fan of not only the Orioles but the game in general, I hate the laziness and snarkiness that goes along with the assumptions of PED use.

Did a lot of guys cheat the game over the last 20 or so years? Of course. Are there guys still cheating? Of course. I just choose not to throw out the PED every time a player has a slight upturn in numbers.

Yeah, they were the first team ever to have 3 players hit 40 or more home runs (Davey Johnson, Darrell Evans, and Hank Aaron) in a season.

Also, I believe that Fulton County Stadium was known as a hitter's park at that time, unlike Johnson's previous home of Memorial Stadium, where he played from 1965-1972.

[awannabegeek]

He did them, can't prove it for certain... but to deny it is just plain silly. If I am on a jury I don't need a video of a murder. We all should be logical and figure it out. Remember a couple of things about that 50 home run season. He strained his quad... but came back quickly and the big one.... appendicitis. Wasn't plucked out but was told to not fly, stay in the hospital and have surgery. He declined because he had better medicine than the doctors(speculation but logical).

No doubt he was locked in all year... but the added bulk allows warning track power to go OVER the fence... that is what defines the steroid era. I remember Dave Duncan(when he was an Oriole) hit balls to the warning track almost every game he played. Palmer pitched to the park and would have guys fly out to deep center. If you have a little extra juice(pun intended) the ball goes farther.

Remember this about the steroid era(in the words of Kevin Millar) "It sure was easier to hit it over the fence when we were on the jucie" Direct quote that I heard in batting practice.

I am often amazed by the hubris of some people. It is "plain silly" that someone doesn't share YOUR opinion?

The "proof" that Brady used that I have heard is...he hit 50 HR's out of the blue and never did it again...so that somehow proves he was on steroids? So he hit 50 and just said, "Well I don't need to do that again"?

[howboutthoseos]

I am often amazed of the hubris of some people. It is "plain silly" that someone doesn't share YOUR opinion?

The "proof" that Brady used that have heard is...he hit 50 HR's out of the blue and never did it again...so that somehow proves he was on steroids? So he hit 50 and just said, "Well I don't need to that again"?

Agree. If it's "plain silly," there wouldn't be people with differing opinions. You're insulting fellow posters. THAT'S just plain silly.

[El Gordo]

He did them, can't prove it for certain... but to deny it is just plain silly. If I am on a jury I don't need a video of a murder. We all should be logical and figure it out. Remember a couple of things about that 50 home run season. He strained his quad... but came back quickly and the big one.... appendicitis. Wasn't plucked out but was told to not fly, stay in the hospital and have surgery. He declined because he had better medicine than the doctors(speculation but logical).

No doubt he was locked in all year... but the added bulk allows warning track power to go OVER the fence... that is what defines the steroid era. I remember Dave Duncan(when he was an Oriole) hit balls to the warning track almost every game he played. Palmer pitched to the park and would have guys fly out to deep center. If you have a little extra juice(pun intended) the ball goes farther.

Remember this about the steroid era(in the words of Kevin Millar) "It sure was easier to hit it over the fence when we were on the jucie" Direct quote that I heard in batting practice.

I hope you are never on a jury. You're better suited to a lynch mob. It is never silly to base a judgment on factual evidence, rather than conjecture based on inaccurate knowledge. You are clueless about what you call "juicing" and how it works.

[Mondo Trasho]

After that 1996 season, Brady Anderson played 5 more seasons in which he would play 130 or more games, hitting 18, 18, 24, 19, and 8 homeruns.

If he juiced in 1996 and stopped, why? If he didn't stop, why did the homeruns stop? The first possibility is totally baffling. The second implies that maybe steroids aren't as effective as the critics claim.

Of course, the other (and seemingly more plausible) possibility is that he never juiced but merely had a great season.

It just seems odd I guess to me that somebody who allegedly was "obviously juicing" would have no evidence implicating him. Despite the fact that at the time, two newspapers were covering the Orioles: the Sun and (the much more influential) Washington Post.

Most on here know that I don't care about PEDs, "let them use" I say. So, I don't care if Brady used them or not. I'm just thinking about this logically.

[atomic]

I don't know why you guys are so strongly defending Brady. When the actually started testing for steroids almost the entire Orioles team was caught. Brady did bulk up into a huge guy suddenly. Steroids were rampant in baseball back then. Some estimates as high as 90 percent. It would be much less likely that he wasn't on steroids.

You hear guys like Mike Bordick coming out anti-steroid now but he was a small guy one year with no power and the next year he comes up muscled up and he is suddenly hitting home runs.

Anderson was widely rumored to be on steroids the year he hit the home runs. This isn't looking back and revising history. I don't know if he was but I would be totally shocked if he wasn't. The rumours were just as strong back then as they were about Mcguire.

[awannabegeek]

I don't know why you guys are so strongly defending Brady. When the actually started testing for steroids almost the entire Orioles team was caught. Brady did bulk up into a huge guy suddenly. Steroids were rampant in baseball back then. Some estimates as high as 90 percent. It would be much less likely that he wasn't on steroids.

You hear guys like Mike Bordick coming out anti-steroid now but he was a small guy one year with no power and the next year he comes up muscled up and he is suddenly hitting home runs.

Anderson was widely rumored to be on steroids the year he hit the home runs. This isn't looking back and revising history. I don't know if he was but I would be totally shocked if he wasn't. The rumours were just as strong back then as they were about Mcguire.

Mike Bordick with his monster 20 and 16 HR years.

So did Wade Boggs use steroids when he hit 24 HR

I can speak for others, but I'm not defending Brady as much as I am attacking the logic behind the accusations. Career years happen.

I know because he is a modern baseball player the example doesn't hold much weight (I guess) but even look at Jacoby Ellsbury...people have career years where everything just seems to go right.

[Mondo Trasho]

I don't know why you guys are so strongly defending Brady. When the actually started testing for steroids almost the entire Orioles team was caught. Brady did bulk up into a huge guy suddenly. Steroids were rampant in baseball back then. Some estimates as high as 90 percent. It would be much less likely that he wasn't on steroids.

You hear guys like Mike Bordick coming out anti-steroid now but he was a small guy one year with no power and the next year he comes up muscled up and he is suddenly hitting home runs.

Anderson was widely rumored to be on steroids the year he hit the home runs. This isn't looking back and revising history. I don't know if he was but I would be totally shocked if he wasn't. The rumours were just as strong back then as they were about Mcguire.

McGwire was actually caught with a bottle of Andro in his locker. Steroids might have been a "rumor" but him using supplements was a known fact.

If Brady Anderson did use steroids, and assuming steroids help you hit homeruns, why did Brady Anderson stop hitting homeruns? Did he stop using steroids? If so, why? Did Anderson stop because he had a bigger conscience than Sosa, McGwire, and Bonds? Did he continue using them but it turned out that steroids aren't as effective as critics claim, and thus the homeruns stopped?

I'm just trying to think about this logically. If steroids boost your homeruns totals and that's why ARod, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Canseco, etc, all his homeruns for years, why did they only impact one season of Brady Anderson's career?

[weams]

Yaz was on the juice when he won the triple crown because he hit 16 homers the year before and then hit 44 to lead the league. He was obviously on Brady's one year steroid cycle because he dropped back down to 23 next year.

What an idiot this guy is.

This is the best post. Fantastic.