Syringe Tossed Near Bonds

[nickel]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/04/04/sp_giantssyringe115.jpg

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/04/04/sp_giants040112db.jpg http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2006/04/04/sp_giants040461db.jpg




Laid-back San Diegans don't hold back on Bonds
Tuesday, April 4, 2006

San Diego -- San Diego fans are supposed to be laid-back. Downright soft, in many cases. Constant sunshine does that to people. It zaps the need to be overly intense. Down here, it's more favorable to lighten up than tighten up. It's the mood and the lifestyle, and people are proud it's the norm.

Well, if Barry Bonds continues to be treated as he was treated Monday by these fine folks, he and the Giants are in for a long year.

Opening Day broke into open season on the Giants' left fielder, who was booed with every movement and was the target of derisive signs and chants as he appeared in his first regular-season game since "Game of Shadows" was released two weeks ago and Major League Baseball's steroid investigation was launched one week ago.

"Hey, if that's what they want to do, embarrass themselves, then that's on them," Bonds said of Padres fans. "That has nothing to do with me at all. I just have to play baseball."

Bonds specifically was addressing an incident that occurred after the eighth inning -- an empty syringe, with no needle attached, was thrown onto the field as he headed to the dugout along the third-base line. He scooped up the needle with his glove, transferred it to his left hand and tossed it into a photo well.

"I just picked it off the field so no one would get hurt," he said.

There were other examples. One fan held a sign that read, "BARR-ROID." Another: "Bonds is the greatest hitter of this era." Except "hitter" was crossed out and replaced by "cheater." Other signs simply had asterisks, a suggestion that Bonds was assisted by performance-enhancing drugs while hitting some of his 708 home runs, the third most in big-league history, ranking behind Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.

The noise was especially piercing in the sections around left field. Down in the corner, behind a see-through fence, dozens of fans normally are allowed to stand on a little field-level walkway and watch. But on Monday, things got nasty. Fans held signs with anti-Barry messages, in some cases grossly personal. Soon, security ordered the signs removed.

Fans in the area continued to taunt Bonds, who at one point waved and smiled. BALCO was the general theme of most chants. Eventually, fans no longer were permitted in the area. Just to make sure, Richard Anderson, the Padres' executive vice president of ballpark management, stood guard.

Only those who arrived early were allowed to stay, and nobody stopped one loud-mouthed guy who, while downing beers, constantly ragged Bonds from extremely close range.

The area will be off limits the rest of the series, a stadium employee said.

All the negative comments were benign compared with someone packing a syringe and heading to the ballpark with the intention of heaving it onto the field in full view of Bonds, one of the poster children of the Steroid Era who has refused to comment on the investigation.

"That's pretty stupid," said new Giant Mark Sweeney, a former Padre.

"That's a little bit much," said center fielder Randy Winn, who was unaware of the syringe episode. "If you want to heckle, that's one thing. But throwing something like that on the field, that's taking it a little too far."

Luis Garcia, the Padres' director of media relations, said stadium security knew nothing about the syringe.

Instead of a festive opener, it was ugly for the Giants and not simply because they lost 6-1. The whole Bonds mob scene was an obvious distraction, and teammates quickly lost patience over repeated questions about the team's reaction to the fans' reaction. It didn't help that ESPN camera crews dominated the clubhouse, shooting for Bonds' weekly show that debuts tonight.

At one point, a Giants public-relations official halted a group interview with Sweeney, requesting questions be focused on the game instead of on the Bonds situation. A reporter asked the official if he was editing interviews. The official later apologized.

If the fan abuse is this bad in San Diego, how will it be in New York or Philadelphia? Los Angeles or Pittsburgh?

"It's going to be like that everywhere," shortstop Omar Vizquel said.

Before the game, manager Felipe Alou offered a challenge to anyone intending to chastise Bonds.

"Those who feel clean, go ahead and throw the first rock," Alou said. "If you're clean, if you haven't done anything wrong or been accused of anything wrong, go ahead and start the show."

By the way, Bonds capped months of intense rehab by appearing as the cleanup hitter in the Opening Day lineup, and he blasted a ground-rule double on the first pitch he saw from Jake Peavy. Bonds scored on a two-out single by Lance Niekro.

"Luckily, I'm still playing," Bonds said. "Thank God I'm still out there."

It was a personal victory in defeat.

In the end, it wasn't the story.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/04/SHEA.TMP

[johnnymk]

Before the game, manager Felipe Alou offered a challenge to anyone intending to chastise Bonds.

"Those who feel clean, go ahead and throw the first rock," Alou said. "If you're clean, if you haven't done anything wrong or been accused of anything wrong, go ahead and start the show."

....................................................................................................

What a dumb thing to say!!

[MJordanash]

Go figure, steroids...didnt think any professional players used those.

[MikeD]

I guess if you're a Pads fan you don't have much to cheer for...so you **** on the other team's players. :shrug:

It still amazes me that fans will accept nearly every "cheater" except Barry. Pretty hypocritical stuff...

[VTGreg]

Regardless of whether you think Bonds used steriods, fans throwing stuff onto the field is unacceptable. I hope the fan was kicked out of the stadium and if he is a season ticket holder, had his season tickets revoked.

The idea that fans are entitled to behave this way has got to stop before more people are injured. And the media and fans wonder why there are more incidents involving players retaliating by going after fans in the stands. It's only a matter of time before another incident similar to what happened at Auburn Hills happens again.

[RIVERWIDOW]

I guess if you're a Pads fan you don't have much to cheer for...so you **** on the other team's players. :shrug:
It still amazes me that fans will accept nearly every "cheater" except Barry. Pretty hypocritical stuff...

I cheered a h*ll of a lot for my Padres when they won the Nat League West title. All the Giant fans had to cheer for is a CHEATER. And dont lump me in with all the fans who accept it. They should all be kicked out of the game, the record books and the Hall Of Fame. Even Caminiti!

[eSDee]

I guess if you're a Pads fan you don't have much to cheer for...so you **** on the other team's players. :shrug:

Except to cheer for the defending NL West champs :thumb:


It still amazes me that fans will accept nearly every "cheater" except Barry. Pretty hypocritical stuff...

I agree. I was there yesterday and I didn't boo Bonds even though I think he is a cheater as well. I agree with what you all said about the guy throwing the syringe. He should be kicked out/banned from Petco. There are idiots in every stadium and ours just took this opportunity to shine. I don't really think that Padres fans are "laid-back" but that could be related to the level of drunkeness at the game. Padres fans have always booed Barry, and because of the new allegations it did nothing but fuel the fire. It's not going to get any better for Barry either. He should seriously start to consider retirement.

For me I don't care about Barry anymore. He's going to always have an asterisk by his name in my baseball history book no matter what happens from here on out. However I do feel sympathy for him because as much as I love baseball, I remember that it is only a game. Barry cheated at a game. He didn't kill anyone. But he is being treated like he did.

[VTGreg]

I cheered a h*ll of a lot for my Padres when they won the Nat League West title. All the Giant fans had to cheer for is a CHEATER. And dont lump me in with all the fans who accept it. They should all be kicked out of the game, the record books and the Hall Of Fame. Even Caminiti!

And do you favor kicking out all the players that cheated regardless of how they cheated (not just kicking out those that used steriods)?


As far as Bonds retiring, I think he actually thrives off of all of the animosity. If he stays healthy this year, I would not be at all surprised to see him hit 50-60 HRs and bat close to .400. It would really be interesting to see how everyone reacted to this achievement since he would be achieving them while clean.

[ShawnLee]

Haha. Bonds is going to be getting this anytime he plays in CA outside of San Francisco.

Seeing him at Dodgers stadium, though, you see him almost thrive on getting booed, so I wouldn't be surprised if a part of him doesn't enjoy it.

[RIVERWIDOW]

And do you favor kicking out all the players that cheated regardless of how they cheated (not just kicking out those that used steriods)?If you are speaking of say Pete Rose . Yes I have totally thought for years he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame.All others who gambles on their sports should go too. I cant think of any other way someone could cheat. Maybe throwing a game but I think that would be impossible to prove. :thumbdown

[VTGreg]

If you are speaking of say Pete Rose . Yes I have totally thought for years he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame.All others who gambles on their sports should go too. I cant think of any other way someone could cheat. Maybe throwing a game but I think that would be impossible to prove. :thumbdown

What about doctoring a baseball? Using amphetamines? Corking a bat? Those are just a few that come to mind.

Rose didn't cheat, he bet on baseball, which, while against the rules is not cheating.

[TofuNinja]

right or wrong I laughed when I read about this last night.... Hey if kobe can deal with all the rape crap he still gets, Bonds can deal with this....

[RIVERWIDOW]

What about doctoring a baseball? Using amphetamines? Corking a bat? Those are just a few that come to mind.
Rose didn't cheat, he bet on baseball, which, while against the rules is not cheating.

Did he strike out on purpose to lose a game and hit the spread. Did he have a throwing error to throw the game?? The possibilities are endless in the ways he could have cheated in the name of gambling. And yes, IF YOU CHEAT you should be gone. No matter your form of cheating. Although if you were to tell Gaylord Perry that his throwing a spit ball is the same as Bonds doing steriods , he would surely laugh in your face. :2far:

[TofuNinja]

Did he strike out on purpose to lose a game and hit the spread. Did he have a throwing error to throw the game?? The possibilities are endless in the ways he could have cheated in the name of gambling. And yes, IF YOU CHEAT you should be gone. No matter your form of cheating. Although if you were to tell Gaylord Perry that his throwing a spit ball is the same as Bonds doing steriods , he would surely laugh in your face. :2far:

I believe that Rose only Gambled while he was the manager of the Reds. So if he doctored anything it would have been putting or not putting in players. He couldn't strike out on purpose or throw an error.... I could be wrong though.

[eSDee]

I believe that Rose only Gambled while he was the manager of the Reds. So if he doctored anything it would have been putting or not putting in players. He couldn't strike out on purpose or throw an error.... I could be wrong though.

:stupid: Yep. That's right.

[Grubbie]

And yes, IF YOU CHEAT you should be gone. No matter your form of cheating.

Why don't you just ban the sport because of cheating? Cheating IS part of the game of baseball. So Sosa should have been kicked out of baseball due to a corked bat. Every pitcher who has had pine tar and other gunk hidden or razor blades to scuff the ball should be kicked out of baseball? Every catcher who when taking the ball out of his mitt and tossing it back to the pitcher scuffs it on his shin guards should be kicked out of baseball? Every player who steals signs should be kicked out of baseball? Every player that used greenies to get up for games should be kicked out of baseball?

Give me a break, you are taking it a little far. Nobody can prove how much steroids somebody took in the past, it wasn't against the rules of baseball since they were too stubborn to introduce testing. They are starting to crack down on steroids and other performance enhancing drugs with their new policy which is a step in the right direction. HOWEVER, cheating is part of the game an always will be. Players will find ways to get an edge in the game by stealing signs, scuffing balls, having the grounds crew doctor the field.

[TofuNinja]

when you say use greenies to get up for a game.... you are not talking about those toothbrush shaped dog breath chews are you...... and if you are... you can get high on those?

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f259/tofuninja13/greenies_sm.jpg

[Grubbie]

when you say use greenies to get up for a game.... you are not talking about those toothbrush shaped dog breath chews are you...... and if you are... you can get high on those?


LOL, I meant greenies as in amphetamines. They have been more rampant in baseball then steroids over the last 25years. The new MLB drug testing policy now covers amphetamines, which was a surprise when the MLB announced the policy.

[VTGreg]

Did he strike out on purpose to lose a game and hit the spread. Did he have a throwing error to throw the game?? The possibilities are endless in the ways he could have cheated in the name of gambling. And yes, IF YOU CHEAT you should be gone. No matter your form of cheating. Although if you were to tell Gaylord Perry that his throwing a spit ball is the same as Bonds doing steriods , he would surely laugh in your face. :2far:

The allegations of Rose betting on baseball were while he was a manager, not a player. In addition, he has never admitted to and in the Dowd report was never found to bet on the Reds.

Gaylord Perry may take offense to that comment, but it is an example of breaking the rules to gain an advantage, which is my definition of cheating. You said you wanted to throw out every cheater so I wanted your definition of cheating.

Professional athletes are always pushing the envelope and trying to get an edge. I'm sure numerous players used Andro a few years back before it was made illegal and determined to be a steroid. Look at all the players that used Ephedrine based products that increased your metabolism, now most of those are not available without a prescription. The line between gaining a competitive advantage and cheating will always be very blurry.




Nobody can prove how much steroids somebody took in the past, it wasn't against the rules of baseball since they were too stubborn to introduce testing.

Is it true that steriods weren't a banned substance in baseball before last year? I thought that as well but heard that they were a banned substance, MLB just didn't test for it.

[Jeffbx]

Why don't you just ban the sport because of cheating? Cheating IS part of the game of baseball.

I think they should. Cheating should not be an accepted part of ANY professional sport. It's not tolerated in the Olympics or at the high school or college level. It shows poor sportsmanship, poor team play & only highlights who's the best at cheating, not who's the best athlete. I think it's unacceptable.

If I were in charge, I'd give everyone fair warning about steroid use, give them a couple of months to clean up, and then require testing of every player for them to continue playing. Anyone caught using is out for the season.

Heh - which reminded me of this video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4266007620012430600&q=lan+party+cheat&pl=true

[VTGreg]

I think they should. Cheating should not be an accepted part of ANY professional sport. It's not tolerated in the Olympics or at the high school or college level. It shows poor sportsmanship, poor team play & only highlights who's the best at cheating, not who's the best athlete. I think it's unacceptable.

If I were in charge, I'd give everyone fair warning about steroid use, give them a couple of months to clean up, and then require testing of every player for them to continue playing. Anyone caught using is out for the season.

Heh - which reminded me of this video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4266007620012430600&q=lan+party+cheat&pl=true

But cheating is tolerated at the high school and Olympics level. Not necessarily in the form of athletes using steriods, but athletes doing things that break the rules and give them a competitive advantage. For example, linemen in football, high school, college and the nfl, will spray their jerseys with Pam so that they are slick and can not be grabbed. This is not legal and is cheating but should they be banned from the sport if they are caught doing this?

I would also like to take the opportunity to once again point out the fact that Barry Bonds has never failed a drug test or been confirmed to have used steriods.

[Jeffbx]

This is not legal and is cheating but should they be banned from the sport if they are caught doing this?

Absolutely. Maybe not banned from the sport, but suspended for a season without pay.

I don't see why the same rules that apply to everyone else shouldn't apply to athletes. It should be the same as any other part of life... you decide to cheat, you should be prepared to face the consequences.

Get caught cheating on a test, fail the class. Get caught cheating on your spouse, hello Mr. Lawyer. Get caught cheating at a LAN party, get physically thrown out. Why should we look the other way when athletes cheat?

[Grubbie]

I think they should. Cheating should not be an accepted part of ANY professional sport.


I'm talking more then just steroid use. If you use, you should get punished, but if you steal signs? That is what I am talking about.



Is it true that steriods weren't a banned substance in baseball before last year? I thought that as well but heard that they were a banned substance, MLB just didn't test for it.


Yes, steroids were never an illegal substance since MLB didn't test for them and had no policy against them. If baseball caught a player using roids in 99 they couldn't do anything against them. That is why the owners are at fault or responsible for part of the problem. They could of demanded testing back in the early 80's 90's but they didn't.

[TofuNinja]

hey without cheating, Professional Wrestling would be dead ;)

[Jeffbx]

I'm talking more then just steroid use. If you use, you should get punished, but if you steal signs? That is what I am talking about.


Yes, *any* cheating should have a consequence. Whether it's using a corked bat or taking steroids or throwing a game or greasing up a baseball - if there's a rule against it, there should be a punishment for breaking the rule. And if I were in charge, it would be a harsh punishment, not a slap on the wrist. I have a very low tolerance for granting special treatment to athletes.



hey without cheating, Professional Wrestling would be dead ;)


Well, of course choreographed sports would be exempt!

[TofuNinja]

hahaha kewl. Long Live Pro Wrestling! ;)

[MikeD]

hey without cheating, Professional Wrestling would be dead ;)

SCSA says..."You got a problem with that?!?!"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ef/StoneColdSteveAustinPortrait.jpg/200px-StoneColdSteveAustinPortrait.jpg


As for Bonds, the damage is done. Odds are that he breaks the HR record, and that people will also put an asterisk beside his name. Each individual can view him as they choose...there will be haters, and there will be his fans. It's pretty much a done case now.

In any event, it is interesting to see how people feel about other athletes cheating. It amazes me that Bonds is absolutely persecuted, but this type of stuff happens all the time and people choose to overlook it. Cheating is cheating; if it's viewed negatively once it should be every time.

Should we wipe Sosa's name off the all time list because of his corked bat? Should we remove McGwire's name from the all time list? Should these guys been banned from the Hall? How about Raffy Palmiero?

If anyone thinks that every member of their favorite team is clean and has never cheated...well that's just being naive. Yet you still cheer for them day in and day out. Villifying Bonds, while still cheering on others who cheat, is hypocritical. Maybe we should be throwing syringes at some of these fans as well...

[nickel]

As for Bonds, the damage is done. Odds are that he breaks the HR record, and that people will also put an asterisk beside his name. Each individual can view him as they choose...there will be haters, and there will be his fans. It's pretty much a done case now.

In any event, it is interesting to see how people feel about other athletes cheating. It amazes me that Bonds is absolutely persecuted, but this type of stuff happens all the time and people choose to overlook it. Cheating is cheating; if it's viewed negatively once it should be every time.

Should we wipe Sosa's name off the all time list because of his corked bat? Should we remove McGwire's name from the all time list? Should these guys been banned from the Hall? How about Raffy Palmiero?

If anyone thinks that every member of their favorite team is clean and has never cheated...well that's just being naive. Yet you still cheer for them day in and day out. Villifying Bonds, while still cheering on others who cheat, is hypocritical. Maybe we should be throwing syringes at some of these fans as well...
the syringe, well turkey baster, throwing was wrong. no matter what fans shouldn't be allowed to throw things onto the field.

[Merlin]

Well I guess I gotta be the first one to say it....."You stay classy San Diego!" :hehehmm:


the syringe, well turkey baster, throwing was wrong. no matter what fans shouldn't be allowed to throw things onto the field.
While I agree that throwing things onto the field is wrong let's not get this too blown out of proportion. I was only a small harmless peice of plastic. We're not talking about Philadelphia throwing D size batteries at him or anything like that. So let's all just settle down a bit.



Yes, steroids were never an illegal substance since MLB didn't test for them and had no policy against them.
Let's keep one important thing in mind...steroids are illegal. Not just in baseball but in the country. Baseball should not have had to ban something that was against the law. That would be like baseball having to ban murder...the laws of the land should already have covered it. Since its players are obviously breaking the law left and right it had to implement a testing program. So just because they were never tested for or explissetly banned before does NOT mean that they were fine to use.

[Merlin]

It still amazes me that fans will accept nearly every "cheater" except Barry. Pretty hypocritical stuff...
I don't know, Jason Giambi went through Hell last year trying to get his career back. He even held a press conference to apologize to fans (think Barry would ever try that? No, me neither). And Palmerio...when he tested positive pretty much everyone possible threw him under the bus. And Big Mac is laying pretty low.

So no, I don't think other players are getting a free pass while Bonds suffers. Bonds thumbs his nose at all of us so he sure as hell is going to get it.


It would really be interesting to see how everyone reacted to this achievement since he would be achieving them while clean.
Barry doing it while clean....wow that is one hell of an assumption. Yeah, he'll be tested for crappy steroids and come up clean but it is pretty well established that the stuff he took (alledgedly :hehehmm: ) won't show up in a standard test.

I'll give you that he is under so much scrutiny right now that he would be crazy to try and take something even if it does not show up on a standard test.

[Merlin]

...So Sosa should have been kicked out of baseball due to a corked bat.
If you get caught red handed using a corked bat like he did you should have to sit out the rest of the season.

As for the other forms of cheating....doctoring the baseball just does not happen anymore. The damn thing only lasts on average 3 or 4 pitches. You could not possible hope to doctor that many balls and get away with it.

As for Gaylord Perry.....He did a lot less cheating than you think. Since his retirement he has said many times that he very rarely did anything but he let everyone think he just to stat in the head of the opposing hitters. It was mostly a psyche job.

[VTGreg]

Barry doing it while clean....wow that is one hell of an assumption. Yeah, he'll be tested for crappy steroids and come up clean but it is pretty well established that the stuff he took (alledgedly :hehehmm: ) won't show up in a standard test.


Now that they know about Balco and "the cream and the clear", I'm sure they have come up with a way to test that. Of course someone may have developed another designer steriod that can't be tested for.

[Merlin]

If I were in charge, I'd give everyone fair warning about steroid use, give them a couple of months to clean up, and then require testing of every player for them to continue playing. Anyone caught using is out for the season.

They pretty much had a full year to get cleaned. Why do you think MLB and the Players Association took so long to work out the particulars of the testing? It was so players could get clean. The writing was on the wall and pretty clear for anyone with half a brain to see.


Now that they know about Balco and "the cream and the clear", I'm sure they have come up with a way to test that. Of course someone may have developed another designer steriod that can't be tested for.
To test for that you need to do a blood test and baseball has no plans for that. Right now it is the piss test only. No cream, no clear, and no HGH in the piss test.

[Grubbie]

Let's keep one important thing in mind...steroids are illegal. Not just in baseball but in the country. Baseball should not have had to ban something that was against the law. That would be like baseball having to ban murder...the laws of the land should already have covered it. Since its players are obviously breaking the law left and right it had to implement a testing program. So just because they were never tested for or explicitly banned before does NOT mean that they were fine to use.

I was going to say something about them being illegal but it was not the point. If MLB DID find and had proof of a player taking steroids before testing was in place, they COULDN'T suspend them. MLB had no authority to suspend players or kick them out of the league for taking illegal substances since it was against the collective bargaining agreement that the owners had with the players association. They could the information over to the Feds and let the Feds arrest the player.

Even though roids were illegal, MLB should have had testing in place way before it became a problem. I have read quotes from Towers(GM of the padres) stating that back in the 90's if he suspected a player was on roids, he couldn't do anything. Management and owners had to look the other way.

I am not saying it was right for players to take them and they were fine to use. I am just stating the facts that MLB couldn’t do anything about it until they implemented testing.

[Merlin]

I was going to say something about them being illegal but it was not the point. If MLB DID find and had proof of a player taking steroids before testing was in place, they COULDN'T suspend them. MLB had no authority to suspend players or kick them out of the league for taking illegal substances since it was against the collective bargaining agreement that the owners had with the players association. They could the information over to the Feds and let the Feds arrest the player.

Even though roids were illegal, MLB should have had testing in place way before it became a problem. I have read quotes from Towers(GM of the padres) stating that back in the 90's if he suspected a player was on roids, he couldn't do anything. Management and owners had to look the other way.

I am not saying it was right for players to take them and they were fine to use. I am just stating the facts that MLB couldn’t do anything about it until they implemented testing.
But could have done something. Back in the day the commissioner could have used the good old Best Interests of the Game clause and suspended someone. But they didn't. Then steroids be came part of the system and it was too late.

Testing or not if one or two player were caught they could have been delt with. But by turning a blind eye to the problem baseball allowed it to grow into something substantial.

And yes, the commish knew full well what was going on but thought the bigger players put on a better show. It is only thanks to public outrage that something is changing.

[Grubbie]

If you get caught red handed using a corked bat like he did you should have to sit out the rest of the season.

As for the other forms of cheating....doctoring the baseball just does not happen anymore. The damn thing only lasts on average 3 or 4 pitches. You could not possible hope to doctor that many balls and get away with it.



Studies have shown that a corked bat actually is worse then a normal bat. There is a history of how long a player gets punished for corking a bat and a season is way to long. No matter how bad you want cheaters punished, the players association would never go for a suspsension more then 15games for a 1st time corker.

Doctering a ball doesn't have to be done by the pitcher. A catcher and scuff the ball on the metal clips on his shin guards when throwing the ball back to the pitcher. Even if the ball only last for 3 or 4 piches, one scuff can be used for funky movments on a ball for those 3 or 4 pitches. You might not need to scuff 60 balls but only 1-4 for certain times in a game. Scuffing isn't that much of a problem but pitches can get away with using sweat on the ball when they are sweating like crazy in the summer.



I just think people want to have a 100% clean game which will never happen. There has been cheating in baseball since the game was inveneted. If you want all the cheating out, does a player get in trouble for not telling the ump they missed the call? The right thing to be would tell the ump they were wrong, but what player is going to hurt their team like that?

[Merlin]

Studies have shown that a corked bat actually is worse then a normal bat. There is a history of how long a player gets punished for corking a bat and a season is way to long. No matter how bad you want cheaters punished, the players association would never go for a suspsension more then 15games for a 1st time corker.
Oh I agree completely with what you are saying here. You're right about the history and the like. However, if *I* were in charge the penalties would be much more severe.



Doctering a ball doesn't have to be done by the pitcher. A catcher and scuff the ball on the metal clips on his shin guards when throwing the ball back to the pitcher. Even if the ball only last for 3 or 4 piches, one scuff can be used for funky movments on a ball for those 3 or 4 pitches. You might not need to scuff 60 balls but only 1-4 for certain times in a game. Scuffing isn't that much of a problem but pitches can get away with using sweat on the ball when they are sweating like crazy in the summer.
Oh sure the ball can be doctored in a number of ways, some of them perfectly "natural" afterall a baseball does live a pretty violent life. The only thing I was attempting to say, and of course this is just an opinion, is that pitchers today wouldn't bother with it. The game is too closely watched and they spend so much time perfecting their craft. If they thought they could consistently get away with it then they would spend the time and effort to develop the skill. But right now I seriously doubt and MLB pitcher spends time honing that skill. As such, I really doubt it is a part of the game.