Are there any past Braves on the 104 name government steriod list?

Maybe not Andruw, but I’d say Sheffield, Giles, Javy, possibly Kelsco, and probably some relievers that made their way through here.

big cat still on the team at that point?

I’m positive (no pun intended) there are some Braves on that list.

This whole steroid mess is an unfortunate black eye, but I try to stay realistic about it. The stakes for these players were incredibly high – millions of dollars on the line – and professional athletes are extremely competitive anyways. If I were in the situation they found themselves in, I would be very tempted to take something to get an edge.

Furthermore, we don’t really know just how much these “PEDs” actually enhanced performance. Ever since the deadball era, the overall trend in baseball has been towards more home runs. During the so-called steroid era, the only period that seems anomalous in terms of HR/G seems to be from 1999-2001. The following data is for the NL only.

HR/G

1991 – .74
1992 – .65
1993 – .85
1994 – .96
1995 – .96
1996 – .98
1997 – .97
1998 – 1.00
1999 – 1.13
2000 – 1.17
2001 – 1.16
2002 – 1.01
2003 – 1.05
2004 – 1.11
2005 – 1.02
2006 – 1.12
2007 – 1.05
2008 – 1.02

The HR rate per game in the NL has essentially been the same since 2002, save for blips in 04 and 06. The only sustained period of 1.10 or higher HR/game in the NL was from 1999-2001.

Oddly enough, this isn’t even close to the biggest power surge baseball has ever seen. The obvious one was when the game transitioned from the deadball era to that of the lively ball. However, from 1950-1964, HR/G in the NL spiked percipitously, up to almost twice what it had been in the previous decade and significantly higher than it would get until the 1990s.

Overall, I tend to feel that the role of steroids has been blown out of proportion. Most of the guys who are accused of having inflated numbers – McGwire, Bonds, Palmiero, Clemens, and now A-Rod – were incredible talents to begin with. I would consider it highly unlikely that steroids would take an average hitter and turn him into a .300 hitting, home run mashing machine.

Furthermore, I think we’re forgetting how “inflated” the numbers of many of the greats are. Nobody blasts Koufax for pitching off of a significantly higher than regulation mound, few impeach the character of Perry for his spitballing ways, and hell, Don Sutton was well known for doctoring the baseball. Jim Rice is only in the hall because he played in a hitter’s park. Amphetamines were probably even more widespread than steroids for much of the game’s history – they could well have had some effect on the performance of those who used them. The unique characteristics of each era and park tend to inflate or deflate certain numbers, and that’s simply something we need to account for. 500 home runs in the 40s and 50s is significantly more impressive than it is in the 90s, but there is no good reason for keeping someone like McGwire out of the hall just because of that. Last I checked, he didn’t violate the rules of Major League Baseball by using in the late 90s.

I apologize for going off topic there! I just got on a roll and couldn’t help myself. The way Baseball has been blasted for this stuff while the NFL gets a free pass tends to get under my skin.

no way chipper juiced… you should be banned from the site for that comment… potentially putting chip in the same category as McGwire, Palmiero, Bonds, and A-Roid is unfair to say the least.

1997 HR 7
1998 HR 24
1999 HR 20 Braves
2000 HR 19
2001 HR 37

…that in the Mitchell report, at least, there were a few former Braves, but also the years they were reportedly using PEDs were after they had left the team? I’d be surprised if it was a big thing in the Atlanta clubhouse.