The ideal means of use of a steroid is heavy weight training, which further bulks-up musculature and further "Muscle-Bounds" the athlete. Such training is counter-productive to baseball player effectiveness, even with out steroids, and acts as a Electro-chemical resistor slowing neuro-muscular stimulation/communications. Bad for baseball players, especially hitters. In short, steroids are not a drug for baseball players to reach optimum performance levels and in addition they make players more susceptible to injury-career ending injury and such injuries increase with athletes to which speed and preciseness are essential. They are far more appropriate for linemen in football and weight lifters, side effects and danger aside.
Since the primary goal of use of steroids is for Bulk, for strength and bulk-muscle endurance, they tend to bulk-up muscles, tightly and compactly. Muscle-Bound is the slang term and it is certainly correct. Muscle-Bound is indeed "Tying-up" the user, interfering with necessary skills need for connecting with a sphere traveling at 100 mph, with a cylinder traveling at 1=25-150 mph (the bat). Professional and Amateur golfers, not very well muscled as are weight-lifters, football players or even baseball players, yet in joint tournaments and in individual play, Professional and Amateur golfers drive golf balls farther than professional baseball, football and Basketball stars/players, including those who have been accused of Bulking-up on steroids to it a baseball farther. Now why is that? Further Bulking up blocks neural transmission of reflexive actions, and the bulking up slows reaction time, that is something known even to children who play sports. They know the very bulked-up boys are often slower. In addition one of the side-effects of steroids is blurred vision, not an advantage in trying to hit a 100 mph sphere, with a 125-150 mph cylinder, where when the two curves touch, less than ¼" of both are making contact, and in which thousandths of a second is the required reaction time for hitting a baseball from release from the pitcher's hand to bat contact, of curve against curve as tangents. The raw truth is that if a baseball player, either as a hitter or a fielder is outstanding while using steroids, it is in spite of their use, not because of their use.
The effects of anabolic steroids on physical performance NOT clear! Some show benefits in weight gain and strength, others do not. None have shown a benefit to those to which lightening fast reflexes and eye-hand coordination, such as need in hitting a baseball, even a tennis ball, or a golf ball (of which three the base ball needing the fastest reflexsive actions) all have shown steroids to be a hindrance to such needed performance demands. In short, it is harmful rather than helpful to the performance of a baseball player. Neither does it help a tennis player. There is nothing about steroids that makes it easier for anyone to see and time hitting a baseball thrown at any speed, and there is a good deal about steroids which makes it more difficult to hit a baseball thrown at any speed and exponentially more difficult to hit a baseball thrown at high speed and especially harder to hit one which is breaking in any direction.
Steroids are a barrier, a hindrance to the performance of baseball players or any other athletic exercise that requires speed of reflexes, eye-hand coordination, or any such speed necessary eye-hand coordination and/or explicit, or delicate dexterity at speed.
Well controlled, double blind studies have displayed conflicting results about strength gains. In studies showing beneficial effects, body weight increased by an approximate average four pounds, lean body weight by about six pounds (fat loss accounts is the reasons for the discrepancy between gains in lean mass and body weight), bench press maximums increased by about 15 pounds, squats by around 30 pounds (these gains are only for those studies which have shown POSITIVE or beneficial effects, they were not so rosy for the equal number of studies that showed no effect to negative effects). Almost all studies have failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect on maximal oxygen consumption or endurance capacity. Anabolic steroid studies have typically lasted six to eight weeks and have usually used relatively untrained subjects. BABE RUTH 1914-1919 AB=1110, HRS=49, HRS per ab=22.65, 19-24 yrs old 1920-1921 AB 998, 113 Hrs, HRS per ab=8.83 25-26 yrs old 1920-1921 BA=.377, SA .846.5, OBA .494 AV-TB 422.5 1922-1926 AB=2311 194 hrs, HRS per ab=11.91-age 26-30 1922-1926 BA=. 358. SA= .690, OBA=.480, AV TB=264 1927-1928 AB=1976 hrs 114, HRS per ab =9.43 age 31-33 1927-1928 BA=.345, SA=.741, OBA=.474, AV TB 394 1929-1932 AB=2008 182 hrs, HRS per ab= 11.0, age 34-37 1929-1932 BA=.355, SA=.697.5, OBA =.477, AV TB=351
1)-BABE AT SUPER-BASEBALL, MEAGER PITCHING LEVEL OF 1987-2007 ADD 15-20 POINTS TO BA, AND 300 HOME-RUNS FROM HIS .342 LIFETIME BA, TO .357-.362, AND HIS HOME RUNS FROM 714-1014. RBI's go to 2600
2)-Ted Williams, Remove time lost at war, add SuperBaseball era, 1987-2007, add three more .400 seasons 27 points to his BA, 350 HOMERUNS FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF 871 HOMERUNS MAKING HIM SECOND ONLY TO RUTH AND A LIFETIME BA OF .369, WHICH WOULD BE A RECORD, PUTTING HIM 3 POINTS ABOVE TY COBB. Later, I will do a season-by-season breakdown of all stats
TED WILLIAMS 1939-1942 AB=2064 HRS 127 HRS per ab=16.25 20-23 yrs old 1939-1942 BA=.358 SA=.646 OBA= .483 AV TB 338 1943-1945 AT WAR 1946-1950 AB=2453 HRS 166 HRS per ab=14.77 27-31 yrs old 1946-1950 BA=.358 SA=.646 OBA= .483 AV TB 338 1951-1953 PARTIAL MILITARY SERVICE 1951-1953 AB=632 HRS=44, HRS per ab=14.36 32-34 yrs old 1951-1953 BA=.332 SA=.610 OBA=.473 AV TB=300 1954-1960 AB 2519 HRS=184 HRS per ab=13.69 35-41 yrs old 1954-1960 BA .337 SA=.617 OBA-.471 AV TB 239
SAMMY SOSA 1989-1992 AB=183,HRS, HRS per ab=14.5O, 20-23 yrs old 1989-1992 BA=.257 SA=.366 OBA= .303 AV TB 67 1993-1997 AB=2728, HRS=170, HRS per ab=16.47 24-28 yrs old 1993-1997 BA=.268, SA=.366 OBA= .322 AV TB 279 1998-2003 AB=3622, HRS=332, HRS per ab=10.91 28-34 yrs old 1998-2003 BA=.268, SA=.366 OBA= .301 AV TB 373 2004-2007 AB=858, HRS=49, HRS per ab=17.5 35-36 yrs old 2004-2005 BA=.268, SA=.366 OBA= .301 AV TB 185
2006 DID NOT PLAY PROJECTED BASED ON CURRENT STATS 2007 AB=504, HRS=26, HRS per ab=19.4 38 yrs old 2007 BA=.254, SA=.456 OBA= .312 AV TB 240
BARRY BONDS 1986-1989 AB=2082, HRS=84, HRS per ab=24. 21-24 yrs old 1986-1989 BA=.254, SA=.476 OBA= .344.5 AV TB 238.5 1990-1997 AB=3987, HRS=290, HRS per ab=13.74-25-32 yrs old 1990-1997 BA=.306, SA=.605 OBA= .436.7 AV TB 300 1998-2006 AB=3371, HRS=334, HRS per ab=10.09-33-41 yrs old 1998-2006 BA=.325, SA=.708 OBA= .496 AV TB 284 PROJECTED BASED ON CURRENT STATS 2007 AB=374, HRS=30, HRS per ab=12.50-42 yrs old 2007 BA=.294, SA=.578 OBA=.504, AV TB 216
Many other great players were reviewed for this article, a quite a few of them had a late career resurgences, but it depended a lot on health, eyesight and staying injury free. Even many who were not completely healthy, or injury free, if their batting averages slipped (as many did because they could no longer beat out infield hits or bunts, which makes Ted Williams and Ty Cobb's great last several years, with high batting averages even more amazing) but a more than a few, like Williams, hit home runs with more frequency per time at bat, but did not, however, play regularly. Williams did both hit for a high average and more home runs per times at bat. Sports related hero warnings PS: Kids And Adults: Don't Take Steroids Or Any Drugs! And When You Go On A "Date" Bring Protection. Well, Yeah Bring Condoms, But Also A Body Guard Or Two, Because Girls Are Getting Tougher And More Demanding, So If You Lack True Stud-Ability, You May Need At Least Couple Of Body Guards.
Professor Bagnolo is a Renaissance man: Cultural Anthropologist, Architectural designer, painter, writer, novelist, theologian. As a child prodigy, abed with polio for almost two years, with an off the charts IQ, reading at the graduate level by 5th grade, offered an opportunity to skip three grades at age 8. Later He was a recipient of an Art Institute scholarship at age 11, a Ford Foundation Fellowship in Anthropology and in Painting and a merit scholarship in art, and was appointed a Graduate Research Assistant position in college. He holds a triple bachelor's degree in Painting and Drawing, Anthropology, Architectural Design Advertising. MA's in Cultural Anthro, Painting and more. After being tenured he taught; architecture, anthropology, Theology, advertising, painting and drawing, entrepreneuring and Creative Profit Making. He produced a star-studded Music festival, had a radio talk show in Chicago, and cable TV show. Now, retired from Teaching, he paints, writes, and pursues other ventures.
The above bio harvested from the comments of Deans, colleagues, students, clients and collector's.
