Does anybody differentiate between PEDs vs. steroids vs. HGN?
Take a guy like Clemens. Let's say he took steroid shots. Steroids don't make you stronger. Rather, they help your body heal faster. That's obviously helpful as regarding injuries, but it also makes it so guys can lift more often. They still have to put in the work, though. If you're not lifting and working out, all steroids are going to do is make you fat and puffy. Clemens was a workout machine.
HGN, on the other hand, helps build muscle mass without the insane workouts, from what I understand. It also can improve eye sight / coordination. To me, while both are bad, HGN is worse, because it's a shortcut.
I frankly think that some sort of steroid use should be legal in sports. There are side effects, but the healing effects carry substantial benefit. If a drug like that is going to cut months off of an athlete's recovery time, or make them less likely to get severely injured in the first place, I'd let all of these guys do them under a doctor's care.
Look at Rogers numbers the last 3-4 seasons in Boston, then look at his numbers the two following seasons in Toronto when Mcname testified he started Clemens on roids. His numbers aren’t terrible those last couple seasons in Boston but in Toronto out of nowhere he has the two best seasons of his career, putting up numbers he hasn’t flirted with in 12 years.
I just can’t buy that all the steroids had to do with this is help him recover faster after workouts
Why? He was healthy, and he was in shape.
The man still went out there and pitched. His workouts are legendary. Steroids allowed him to be his healthiest and to workout at an insane pace.
Like I said, give a lazy dude steroids and all that’s going to happen is they’ll be bloated and angry, with smaller testicles and a lot of acne.
I’m sorry I just can’t buy that Clemens, And Bonds for that matter, had this massive resurgence at the tail end of their careers and it was solely because of workout recovery.
Bonds used more than steroids, reportedly, and his body transformed massively. I'm sure he worked out a lot, but I think he also got some artificial muscle growth as well.
That said, with Bonds it wasn't so much a resurgence. He was a pretty consistent 30 - 40 HR hitter most of his career and averaged around .290 - .310. He was arguably a top-five outfielder of all-time before he took a single injection. He never really dipped. Rather, it was a transformation into a totally different player. He boosted his HRs and walks, while stealing very few bases and not a lot of defense.
His PED use was just so obvious to everyone. And yet... the same baseball writers who are keeping him out of the Hall of Fame are the same ones who voted him MVP four times in his steroid years.