Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Sat May 14 15:03:01 2005

> BHL
> Few right thinking coaches who prize their jobs and their players' physical well being are going to test your theory. Few right thinking parents are going to let them. Jack Mankin's rotational principles are not magic. Ted Williams thought hitting was the most difficult thing to do in sports. Like Jack Mankin he stressed hitting the ball hard, but added not going all out with certain muscles. The former 406% hitter also said that you should give in a little with two strikes on you. (These are clues why Williams was the greatest hitter of all time.)
> You may also be interested to know that Ruth and Mantle (the "Mick" averaged well over a 100 strikeouts per 154 game season) talked about swinging as hard as they could. I do not equate this with "swinging for the fences all the time." Don't ignore the great long ball hitters when they say their home runs were accidents because it does not promote your theory.
> Also don't assume that every ball hit to center field is an automatic long fly out. Center field can be a place where hits fall in front of deep playing outfielders and line drives hit the gaps for doubles and triples.
> Where did you ever get the impression that government wanted to promote baseball and any of its players? Major league baseball wanted to promote baseball. Players disgraced themselves. Evidence shows that major league baseball turned a blind eye to performance enhancing drug usage. Juiced up ball players pounding out home runs after the 1994 strike brought fans back to witness this outpouring of power.
> Government was literally forced to become involved when revelations of drug usage became public. Government wasn't kidding when it said the integrity of baseball was at stake. It is illegal to possess let alone take certain drugs. Moreover, it is cheating ,hidden from the fans, that determines the outcome of games. It was clear that youngsters were being encouraged to emulate their idols. It was equally clear that their was a snowball effect of forcing other players to endanger their health by trying to keep up with the competition by taking similar drugs.
> Don't blame government. Government was just doing what baseball refused to do to rid itself of corruption, corruption that dwarfs the Black Sox scandal and the Pete Rose affair. Lasorda has gone so far as to say that anyone who took prohibited drugs should be banned from the Hall of Fame, obviously referring to the "character" clause.

Hi JAC:

First, Tommy Lasorda is ignorant about the ex post facto principle. When applied to jurisprudence, this provision means that a person cannot be convicted that was legal in the past, but illegal in the present.

For instance, suppose sometime in the past an eighteen-year-old consumes liquor in a state where the legal drinking age is eighteen. Later, the state changes the mandatory drinking age to twenty-one. Can a prosecutor press charges against that individual, now that the laws have changed, and claimed that the defendant was an underage drinker in the court of law? No, because the drinking was at eighteen was legal in the past, even though it is considered a criminal act currently.

This logic is analogous to baseball; until a certain year, taking steroids was not deemed illegal. One must also realize that even when laws were passed against anabolic substances, it only applied to possessing these substances anywhere in the United States. The laws did not make any provisions against taking steroids in a country where it was legal, and then coming back to the United States with these drugs in a person's system. Also, until several years ago, performing under the influence of steroids was legal in baseball. Therefore, to ban a player under the current rules for engaging in shooting steroids in the past is rediculous.

In our country, I also believe that the accuser must prove the accused "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." In many cases, it is impossible to meet these burdens, and label an athlete as a drug user. I apologize, but speculation is not sufficient evidence to disgrace someone's career.

By the way, you made sense when you said that steroids users can hit the ball further than those who do not use the drug. This means that balls that use to carry over the centerfield fence for these hitters will be outs. What other option is left?

In my opinion, the future of baseball rests on one's ability to hit every pitch to the shortest field where a ball can hit with the most power. I have heard that said if Ichiro adjusted his swing in this manner, he can hit 25 to 30 home runs a year.

Welcome to the rise of hitters that pull every pitch.

I rest my case, at least for now.

Best Wishes,
BHL