Why do most fans assume Ken Griffey, Jr. didn't use PEDs?

[Lars]

I see your point but to say that if players get hurt they "used" is just wrong. I don't know if he used or not. But there is always someone out there looking to make money with what they know. unless Ken made the drugs himself someone had to know about it if he took them..


when he was with the reds he has already played for 11 years. that is a long time for someone who playe as hard as he did. He was getting older and old injuries will haunt you by then



so your saying he did use? he kept people quiet?



you can say that about any ball player. When i was young i smashed up my ancle playing baseball. I could not walk for 6 months. years later as a skater/biker atleast 2-3 times a year i had a cast on my foot beacuse my ancle was a mess. I was always hurting it in the smallest things. does that mean I was useing? Who knows if Ken had hurt his hammy or wrist as a kid bad and as he got older it got worse. Doesnt mean he used...

PED use affects people in different ways - who knows how possible use may have affected Griffey Jr. - possible PED use might have gotten him feeling great for the short term in his late 20's but contributed far worse to the aches and pains of a guy in his 30's.

Despite his popularity, Griffey Jr. seems like private, low key guy - if he used, he wasn't a guy to pose for a muscle magazine with his new regimen - he might be the one who was fortunate to go the right people.

I'm actually impressed he hit 630 home runs - wish he was healthy for a longer amount of time when he went to the Reds and can imagine him racking up bigger numbers, but if he used then who cares either way.

 

[vwnut13]

Does it really matter if he was using?

He'd get a free pass just like David Ortiz.

 

[matfanofold]

Does it really matter if he was using?

He'd get a free pass just like David Ortiz.

Since when does (PE)David Ortiz get a free pass?

 

[vwnut13]

Since when does (PE)David Ortiz get a free pass?

Really?

 

[matfanofold]

Really?

Really? Really?

 

[Mighty Bombjack]

If we can't hold onto the thought that The Kid never did PED's then everyone was dirty.

Or we could not care either way and enjoy the game as the beautiful entertainment that it is. It has always been a game full of colorful characters and people who will do whatever it takes to get ahead, which makes it all the more wonderful as a representation of America at its best and worst.

 

[vwnut13]

Really? Really?

Really? Really? Really?

 

[michaelstepper]

That'll do donkey


Sent from my iPhone

 

[cards01fan]

Or we could not care either way and enjoy the game as the beautiful entertainment that it is. It has always been a game full of colorful characters and people who will do whatever it takes to get ahead, which makes it all the more wonderful as a representation of America at its best and worst.

^ this, although we look at it as a game, it's not a game anymore. It's a business, it's entertainment on par with the movie industry. ( maybe higher) billions if dollars in revenue. Players have hundreds of millions at stake and if doing some PEDs help them you can bet they are going to. I for one don't blame them.

 

[zach]

Griffey didn't just have turf and wall related injuries.
He tore his hamstring tendons three times in Cincinnati.
That can be indicative of tendons not being able to handle new quick muscle growth, a common injury in steroid users.
Griffey may have been using steroids to recover from other injuries, and it caused a domino effect in causing other injuries.

I just think it's odd how all the old greats like Mays, Aaron, Jackie, Ruth, etc. played with inferior training styles, yet never had chronic injuries like almost every modern slugger.
Practically every great steroid user like McGwire, Bonds, Arod, Sosa, Manny, Juan Gonzalez, broke down and their bodies fell apart because their tendons couldn't handle the new strength.

It's really hard to believe that Griffey was just made of glass and kept injuring his hand, wrist, ankle, shoulders, hamstrings, etc.

Mays, Clemente, Jackie and Aaron played just as hard as Griffey.
It's not an excuse to say Griffey played on turf and crashed into walls when hundreds of other players did too, both now and before, and weren't getting hurt all the time.
Turf was first used in stadiums in the '60s.

Agreed. The injuries, IMO, make it a bit suspicious.

 

[bongo870]

Or we could not care either way and enjoy the game as the beautiful entertainment that it is. It has always been a game full of colorful characters and people who will do whatever it takes to get ahead, which makes it all the more wonderful as a representation of America at its best and worst.

I used to feel this way too until I watched a show once about teens and youth in baseball. a lot of kids want to be like those big guys cranking out home runs one after another being a super star. They too then turn to the drugs. But the only problem is they get the junk that is out there. These players can afford the best out there. But the youth are killing themselves trying to be like these guys (or trying to catch up with them). So that's why I care seeing these pro athletes basically saying to everyone it is ok to use drugs.

 

[bongo870]

Agreed. The injuries, IMO, make it a bit suspicious.

you have to look into so many factors before accusing anyone of doing drugs..
For basics lets look at size If you are a bigger frame person you will get hurt more slamming into a wall than others..
Willie Mays was 5' 10" and only weighed 170 pounds.
Clemente was 5' 11" and only weighed 175 pounds
Robinson was 5' 11 and only weighed 195 pounds
Aaron was 6; 0 and was 180 pounds
Ken Grifffey Jr. is 6' 2" and 230 pounds.

This is a big difference in height and weight.
Like I said I don't know if Ken used or not I wasn't there but to make them out to be drug users because they get hurt? Then compare them to the players back in the day and say yup he used? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

 

[elmalo]

It wouldnt surprise me one bit if he used them. I also couldnt care less if he did or not.

 

[zach]

you have to look into so many factors before accusing anyone of doing drugs..
For basics lets look at size If you are a bigger frame person you will get hurt more slamming into a wall than others..
Willie Mays was 5' 10" and only weighed 170 pounds.
Clemente was 5' 11" and only weighed 175 pounds
Robinson was 5' 11 and only weighed 195 pounds
Aaron was 6; 0 and was 180 pounds
Ken Grifffey Jr. is 6' 2" and 230 pounds.

This is a big difference in height and weight.
Like I said I don't know if Ken used or not I wasn't there but to make them out to be drug users because they get hurt? Then compare them to the players back in the day and say yup he used? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

I can't dispute what you're saying. However, I don't agree that slamming into a wall contributes to torn or severely pulled muscles and hams/tendons. Something else was going on there. I don't automatically say he's guilty of using. However, it does make you take a second look and question. Especially in an era where it was so widely used.

 

[miguelcabrera]

griffey was using heavy amounts

 

[gmsieb]

so is miggy.

 

[seitas]

There was a story that popped up many years ago about someone being at a dinner party with Gary Sheffield and they claimed that Sheffield openly discussed his own steroid use and implicated Griffey as well.
When the story broke Sheffield claimed that the guy from the dinner party was lying and the story went away.
Griffey was smart like Bonds, he had a father that had been through all of the MLB BS, he grew up in a locker room around players and media. He knew how to handle himself better than almost any other player.
I would guess that he took PEDs, especially with all the injuries. I am very cynical about PED use and feel that most of the players from that era took something. With all of that said, I love Griffey and him using anything wouldn't tarnish his accomplishments to me. He just happened to play during a time when PED was rampant and anyone that believes otherwise is just in denial or naive.

 

[jbhofmann]

I experienced an abrupt athletic decline and multiple injuries when I hit 30. I never took steroids and went from 250lbs to 310lbs in about a year and a half when I needed to add bulk in college.

Some people just break down. I know, I was one of those people.

 

[michaelstepper]

I experienced an abrupt athletic decline and multiple injuries when I hit 30. I never took steroids and went from 250lbs to 310lbs in about a year and a half when I needed to add bulk in college.

Some people just break down. I know, I was one of those people.

This

I too experienced the same thing. Back problems, knees, feet, and occasionally a wrist. I have never taken a thing except whey protein. I was and am quite athletic to this day (33) but as soon as I hit 30 all those problems surfaced some more often than others, and recovery time is certainly slower.


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[Austin]

I too experienced the same thing. Back problems, knees, feet, and occasionally a wrist. I have never taken a thing except whey protein. I was and am quite athletic to this day (33) but as soon as I hit 30 all those problems surfaced some more often than others, and recovery time is certainly slower.

Yeah, we all get that.
But why are Griffey and today's players getting worn down so quickly when they have the best training and medicine in history?

Yet Ruth, Mays, Aaron, Musial, Williams, Brett, Carew, Yount, Reggie, Schmidt, Cobb, Wagner, Killebrew, and most of the other great hitters and sluggers in MLB history able to play without breaking and pulling every other bone, muscle and tendon in their bodies?

Ruth was fat and ate ten hotdogs a game. Players were drunks and never trained. Yet they played hard and rarely if ever got seriously hurt.