Of course, who else could it possibly be?

Of course, BALCO got several first-place votes...

Seriously, congratulations Barry.

Yeah will it be so impressive when his 'roid use outwieghs his 'accomplishments'?

Give me a break! No one has the accuracy and power combination of Barry, steroids or not. He knows which pitches to go for, whereas that's where most batters fail. He's a legend already and always will be.

But how well would he have done without the chemical enhancements? We'll never know.

He won 2 (or 3) MVP awards BEFORE the late career bulking up, so he was already one of the best. I still think my Albert Pujols should have won, but having a coach like Loserussa who can't get far in the post season threw his chances this time around. And I don't think Albert is Roider.

Aside from the presumed guilt Barry Haters assign him, how well would Babe Ruth have done playing in an integrated, modern game?

No, Pujols didn't create as many runs as BB. The Cards didn't MAKE the postseason, if you didn't notice.

How does Ivan Rodriguez get only 5 points in the balloting? Given Lowell's injury costing him September, Pudge was the Marlin MVP.

[ November 19, 2003, 12:32 PM: Message edited by: Bill W ]

First off, we're never likely to see proof that Bonds used steroids. The suspicion may hang over him, but it'll hang over a ton of players from this era. In any event, as Fantomas says, he won several MVP's early in his career, so he would have been a great player, steroids or not.

As to Ruth--interesting question. My feeling is Ruth probably had more native talent as a hitter than any modern player. My guess is he would have still had some fantastic, dominating seasons as a young player, but would have faded young because of not taking training seriously. Modern players just work so much harder.

Turn off the vinegar for a moment, please, and read my comments--I specifically mentioned Loserussa, who is the REASON the Cardinals didn't MAKE THE POSTSEASON. He's the reason they haven't even gone to the series since 1987--Whitey Herzog took weaker teams all the way, and actually won in 1982, while Loserussa just fiddles and faddles and can't get very good teams far enough. Pujols was the outstanding player of the year--though I'll concede that Rodriguez was superb as well and sparked Florida's success--and neither one, I would bet, is on THG.

How ya figure? BB clobbered him in slugging, on-base and Equivalent Average, and played 100 more innings in LF with comparable defensive stats. Pujols had a brilliant year (even for a guy who's older than he says), but not compared to the greatest player of our time.

QUOTE

fantomas:
having a coach like Loserussa who can't get far in the post season threw his chances...

If you replaced "get far in" with "make," you would've said what you claimed to say. Turn off the vinegar and get Hooked on Phonics. I also didn't realize LaRussa (who I don't especially like) was responsible for the Cards not winning since '87, while he was winning it all with Oakland in '89.

The "coach" in baseball is called a manager.

[ November 19, 2003, 12:48 PM: Message edited by: Bill W ]