First Hall of Famer with a PED suspension?

[BobC]

Originally Posted by packs

I answered you twice and I'm not going to read your entire post. I don't feel disparaged by you because I don't think you're really challenging me in any way.

The PED era went into high gear in 1998. Why do I think that? Because that was the year Sosa and McGwire chased the home run crown. It was the year that PEDs came into the public eye, in my opinion. The only time I can remember anyone considering something weird was going on before that was when both Brady Anderson and Todd Hundley of all people managed to hit 50 and 46 home runs in 1996 out of nowhere.

Really?

So, your answer is forget everything else, and every other player that ever cheated but is already in the HOF, and your opinion is that McGwire and Sosa are what ruined baseball, so they can't ever be in the HOF because they broke some earlier ballplayer's HR record, so forget about facts, logic, common sense, or anything else that has gone on in baseball since it began.

OK, got it!

[packs]

I brought up McGwire and Sosa in response to someone who suggested they get in first. It’s my opinion that McGwire and Sosa started the PED free fall. Bonds doesn’t hit 73 until after all the attention they got. The Mitchel Report comes into existence after. Balco is after. My opinions are in relation to modern PED use and the modern understanding of PEDs not greenies or any other antiquated method that’s not really in conversation today. That’s my opinion. You don’t have to share it and I’m at peace with that.

[steve B]

PEDs were an open book even pre-1900.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...l%20testicles.

"Galvin, however, is also known for being the first Major Leaguer ever to publicly admit using performance-enhancing drugs.

During the 1889 season, Galvin openly used the Brown-Séquard elixir, an injectable substance derived from testosterone from animal testicles. It wasn’t the same as an anabolic steroid (which had not been invented yet), but is considered a steroid precursor."

Back then the press was apparently ok with it.

Babe Ruths "bad hot dogs" episode is possibly related to a shot of a similar elixir made from sheep testicles (which was by many accounts both wildly ineffective and unsafe. ) Yes, there's claims of other adult illnesses, so far removed it's difficult to tell.

I don't think we can put all the blame on the first generation to try things that were actually effective. Sort of. I doubt I could hit a real fastball even if I got several times stronger... It would probably make a good ballplayer better.

Someone I knew who had been around PEDs in different sports said they weren't what made you stronger, but did let anyone train 7 days a week instead of a more traditional day "on" day "off" program.
Most of it helped heal minor injuries much faster.