If recent reports are to be believed, the Baseball Hall of Fame will very soon feature some of the greatest home run hitters in the history of the game who were using or accused of using steroids.

The admission of these players seemed inevitable from the start as ignoring the most dominant pitchers like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens would have left the Hall of Fame almost empty and meaningless.

From Articles.wsbt.com:

Today Barry Larkin was the lone player elected in the class of 2012, leaving Mark McGwire (583 HR, 10th all-time) and Rafael Palmiero (569 HR, 12th all-time), both perceived to be steroid users, nowhere close to election.

Sooner or later, the prevailing theory among sportswriters will have to change. If they continue to punish suspected and proven steroid users, pretty soon nobody will be going into the Hall.

Bonds and Clemens were two players who brought baseball back into the national forefront in 1990s that was far more impressive than their career home run totals.

Tags: Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, baseball, Hall of Fame, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmiero, Roger Clemens, steroid, steroids

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A drug education program will be started by the Baseball Hall of Fame for students and young adults. The program will commence in the same year when Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa will appear on ballot for the first time after left with tainted careers by steroid accusations.

“It is not intended to cast a directive to voters about Hall of Fame worthy candidates,” shrine president Jeff Idelson said.

From Pjstar.com:

The Hall plans to promote a healthy lifestyle that is free of PEDs. The program will be called “Be A Superior Example,” or “BASE” for short, and will work with the Taylor Hooton Foundation and the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society.

In the next 18 months, the Hall hopes to conduct a nationwide survey, hold a summit in Cooperstown on drugs and begin a national registry for people to pledge commitments to live free of PEDs.

“Hall of Fame voting has been a part of this nation’s fabric since 1936, and has touted the virtues of character, sportsmanship and integrity, along with the contributions to the game, as integral qualifications for earning election,” Idelson said.

Tags: Barry Bonds, baseball, drug education, Hall of Fame, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, steroid

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The former baseball slugger, Barry Bonds, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to two years probation, with no prison time.

Bonds received the sentence in a San Francisco federal court for his conviction on a single criminal count related to an investigation over steroids use in sports.

From Guardian.co.uk:

Bonds was also sentenced to 30 days of home confinement, 250 hours of community service, and must pay a $4,000 fine.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston handed down the sentence in a San Francisco federal court, and she immediately stayed it pending appeal. Prosecutors had sought a 15-month prison sentence, while Bonds asked for probation.

Bonds, 47, was convicted in April of obstructing a grand jury’s doping investigation with an evasive answer during a court appearance in December 2003. The Northern California jury was deadlocked on three other counts of lying to a grand jury.

Other baseball stars tainted by the doping scandal include sluggers like Jason Giambi and Mark McGwire and pitcher Roger Clemens.

Tags: Barry Bonds, baseball, doping scandal, Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, steroids use in sports

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Barry Larkin, still glowing over his election to the Hall of Fame, was asked about next year’s sure-to-be-controversial vote: the first appearances of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa on the Cooperstown ballot.

“All I know is playing and competing against some of these guys, they’re the best — period,” he said.

From Online.wsj.com:

The Steroids Era will be the focal point of next year’s Hall ballot, when 550-plus members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America try to assess three of the most accomplished players in the sport’s history.

For all the home runs and wins, it’s a trio tainted with accusations that their statistics were boosted by performance-enhancing drugs during a period when there were no agreed-upon penalties in baseball for the use of steroids and human growth hormone.

“It’s going to be agonizing,” BBWAA general secretary Jack O’Connell said after Tuesday’s news conference, repeating the phrase for emphasis.

“I’m not going to vote for any of the people that are linked to steroids. I could change down the road, but that’s the real strong feeling I have now,” said Hal Bodley of MLB.com, the former lead baseball writer for USA Today.

Tags: Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, baseball, Hall of Fame, human growth hormone, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, steroids, steroids era, use of steroids

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According to a sentencing memo filed in court, federal prosecutors want baseball legend Barry Bonds to serve 15 months in prison for his obstruction of justice conviction.

Defense lawyers argued in their filing that the judge should accept recommendation of the probation office that the ex-baseball player be sentenced to two years probation, fined $4,000, and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service.

From Edition.cnn.com:

Bonds, 47, is set to be sentenced on December 16 in a San Francisco federal courtroom, less than two miles from the ballpark where he broke Hank Aaron‘s major league home run in August 2007.

Jurors who found Bonds guilty in April said he was “evasive” in his testimony to the federal grand jury investigating illegal steroids use by pro athletes.

“Because Bonds’s efforts were a corrupt, intentional effort to interfere with that mission, a sentence of 15 months imprisonment is appropriate,” the prosecution said in its memo to U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.

Tags: Barry Bonds, baseball, Hank Aaron, steroids

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Days after a judge upheld conviction of the slugger on an obstruction of justice count, federal prosecutors have dropped all the remaining charges against Barry Bonds.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston was informed by via filed papers from the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco that it was dismissing the three charges of making false statements still pending against Major League Baseball‘s all-time home runs leader.

From Espn.go.com:

The deadline for prosecutors to start the process for a retrial on those charges was about 30 days away. Now, Bonds won’t face a new trial on accusations that he lied to a grand jury back in 2003 when he testified that he never knowingly received steroids or human growth hormone from trainer Greg Anderson, and that no one other than his doctors ever injected him with anything.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Parrella declined comment.

Allen Ruby, the lawyer of Bonds, refused to discuss whether Bonds intended to appeal the obstruction conviction.

Tags: Barry Bonds, human growth hormone, Major League Baseball, steroids

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The perjury trial of former baseball star Roger Clemens ended in a mistrial the judge blamed on prosecutors and said a “first-year law student” would have known to avoid.

The question of a new trial up in the air was left by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton.

From Sports.yahoo.com:

“Mr. Clemens has to get a fair trial,” Walton said. “In my view, he can’t get it now.”

Defense attorney Rusty Hardin, who had asked for the mistrial declaration, patted an unsmiling Clemens on the back as the judge announced his decision. As he left the courthouse, Clemens did not comment but accepted hugs from a couple of court workers, shook hands with the security guards and autographed baseballs for fans waiting outside.

The quick end on only the second day of testimony was the second mistrial involving a superstar player accused in baseball’s steroids scandal. Home run king Barry Bonds was convicted three months ago of obstruction of justice, but a mistrial was called on three more serious false-statements charges after jurors couldn’t agree on a verdict.

Walton called a halt to the trial under way after prosecutors showed jurors evidence that he had ruled out videotaped revelations that a teammate had said he did told his wife Clemens confessed to using a drug.

Tags: Barry Bonds, baseball, Roger Clemens, steroids

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Federal prosecutors still care deeply about steroids, and lying about their use to Congress as the aborted Roger Clemens trial shows.

The shredded reputation of Clemens remains in limbo after last week’s mistrial in the perjury case against one of baseball’s all-time greats.

From Miamiherald.com:

Charged with lying to Congress about performance enhancing drugs, Clemens joined otherwise surefire Hall of Famers Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire as the personification of the sport’s steroid era.

Bonds’ own steroid saga is likewise on hold. Back in April, a jury convicted him of one count of obstruction of justice but deadlocked on three other charges.

So, while it’s clear federal authorities still take matters of steroid use and false statements seriously, do the rest of us?

Steroidmania, which peaked with the demolition of Major League Baseball’s home run records, has ebbed as sluggers have retired and longball totals have dropped.

The fervency is tangibly on the wane in Florida, where a testing program at the high school level was allowed to lapse after one year. There is no current plan to revive it.

“I think there’s certainly some performance-enhancing drug fatigue,” said Charles Yesalis, a professor at Penn State and longtime outspoken critic of PED abuse.

Tags: Barry Bonds, baseball, Mark McGwire, Performance enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens, steroid, steroid era, steroid use, steroids

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Reds Minor League catcher Jose Raga was recently placed under suspension after he tested positive for a banned steroid.

A catcher with Cincinnati’s Venezuelan Summer League affiliate tested positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

From Web.minorleaguebaseball.com:

Raga, a 17-year-old from San Felipe, Venezuela, had appeared in six games for the Rookie-level Reds, going 3-for-13 with two RBIs. This was the 5-foot-11 backstop’s first season in the Minors.

Stanozolol is a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from testosterone that is used by body builders as well as with animals to promote muscle growth, increased bone density and red blood cell production. In baseball, it has previously been linked to Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Roger Clemens, among others.

Raga is the 30th player to be suspended in 2011 under the Minor League program, his ban coming two days after Braves pitcher Matt Suschak was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for amphetamines.

Raga has received a 50-game suspension, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball.

Tags: anabolic steroid, Barry Bonds, bone density, Jose Raga, Minor League, muscle growth, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, stanozolol, steroid, testosterone

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In the perjury trial of Barry Bonds, the former baseball player and the home run King, prosecutors finished their closing argument by painting him as a slippery superstar.

Prosecutors remarked that the ex-baseball player lied to hide his use of performance enhancing drugs.

From Reuters.com:

Nedrow said witnesses’ testimony, documents, a secret recording, drug bottles and syringes show Bonds lied to protect his reputation, recklessly thwarting a grand jury investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO).

The government agreed not to hold him accountable for his 2003 grand jury testimony — unless he lied.

“Why would the defendant testify falsely after getting immunity?” Nedrow asked. “The reason was a secret and it was a powerful secret and it was that he had been using anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. He had concern that it would taint his accomplishments.”

Bonds’ attorneys planned to deliver their closing argument on Thursday with jury deliberations set to begin as early as Friday in the highest profile U.S. case involving sports and performance-enhancing drugs.

“All he had to do was tell the truth,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nedrow said before a packed courtroom. “He chose not to tell the truth and that’s why he’s here.”

Tags: BALCO, Barry Bonds, baseball, Performance enhancing drugs

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