This is just flat out terrible, irresponsible and embarrassing. I hope they have the author, Greg Doyel, on OTL, skewering him. But they won’t.
This thing is filthy. The symbol of the Home Run Derby should be a syringe. From 2001-06, 48 players took part in the Derby. Almost half of them — 21 by my count — were confirmed steroids users or have been linked to steroids by the Mitchell Report or some other form of testimony. That includes Bret Boone, who partook in the Derby in 2003 amid one of the more shocking power trips in baseball history. Boone, a small guy who hit .223 with seven home runs and 46 RBI in 501 at-bats in 1997, was damn near DiMaggio-like in 2001: .331, 37 home runs, 141 RBI. The power surge continued a few more years, and Canseco has said Boone was on the juice at the time. And Canseco, bless him, has been more accurate about the founding fathers of the steroid era than anyone.
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So anyway … the guy from this year’s crop could be Pujols. Could be Brandon Inge, who is slugging 100 points above his career average and on pace for 37 home runs, one year after he hit .205 with 11 homers. It’ll be somebody, unless the cheaters are finally starting to wise up to the point where they realize they shouldn’t be flaunting their ill-gotten power gains at the Home Run Derby, for God’s sake.
Pathetic.
