Banned Substances [Part 2]
They say "If you ain't cheating, then you ain't trying"
Here are more players who tried to shortcut their way to success....most of them got caught...fewer got true punishment. You would be very justified if you banned any of these cards, since their stats are from ill gotten methods.
Here are more players who tried to shortcut their way to success....most of them got caught...fewer got true punishment. You would be very justified if you banned any of these cards, since their stats are from ill gotten methods.
In 1994, the White Sox were tipped off that Albert was using a corked bat to explain his high batting average and terrific power numbers. His bat was confiscated and locked in a room while the game progressed.
This card is perfectly legal. Why is it here then? Well, after Belle's bat was locked away, Grimsley (who wasn't pitching this day) was tasked with retrieving the bat. Was it a corked bat after all? Yes, because ALL of Albert Belle's bats were corked. Grimsley went all "mission impossible" and crawled through the ceiling, dropped into the locked room, swapped the bat with Paul Sorrento's clean hardware, then went back through the ceiling. Unfortunately, Jason was not a master spy and left evidence all over the place to show how he broke in. The League flipped out, threatened to bring in the FBI and charges, and the Indians surrendered the bat over (again) where it was revealed that it was corked. Belle got a suspension, and everyone had a laugh.
Years later, Grimsley would finally reveal his involvement.
Years later, Grimsley would finally reveal his involvement.
Tim Leary was never a very notable pitcher...then suddenly he went off with this filthy chart. Shenanigans were called and what you see here is Leary thinking on the fly and EATING his sandpaper as the umpire is literally approaching him to check his pockets and glove. The balls of this man as a national audience sees him eat "something" was on a different level.
Two years removed from their trash can cheating season (at this point it wasn't revealed yet) the Astros were at it again. Jose Altuve always like to claim that he was the ONLY Astros hitter to not use the trash cans in 2017, and that claim is more believable when you realize he had his own scam going on. The man taped a buzzer to his chest to tell him what pitch was coming the same way the team used a banging trash can.
The plan was simpler than the trash cans. Opposing teams would hear the banging trash cans, but the buzzer was a stealth way to cheat. However, after hitting a pennant clinching walk-off homer, Altuve had a unique issue: There was a chance his overjoyed teammates would get a little too rowdy when he jumps on home plate and might accidently rip open his jersey, which would reveal the buzzer. So you see above as he desperately tells his mates not to open his shirt. Illegal card, not for use in games.
The plan was simpler than the trash cans. Opposing teams would hear the banging trash cans, but the buzzer was a stealth way to cheat. However, after hitting a pennant clinching walk-off homer, Altuve had a unique issue: There was a chance his overjoyed teammates would get a little too rowdy when he jumps on home plate and might accidently rip open his jersey, which would reveal the buzzer. So you see above as he desperately tells his mates not to open his shirt. Illegal card, not for use in games.
When most pitchers near 40, they decide to call it quits, others find a way to stay elite. Preacher Roe found such a way...the banned spitball pitch. He managed to discreetly doctor the ball and put up amazing pitching numbers in the 1950s. After he retired, he gave an interview about how he did it, like he's the OJ Simpson of spitballs. Brooklyn fans can relax though, he retired after the '54 season, so the championship 1955 season doesn't have any tainted saliva on it.
C'mon. Did you really think I'd do a big "cheaters" post without including the poster boys for the steroid era? You thought Barry Bonds was bad on his own, the other two guys are what inspired Bonds to cheat as much as he did. Yes, steroid use was a thing in baseball at the time, but how some decided to escalate the situation by casually breaking the most hallowed on baseball records is what broke the seal and caused others to take it much further than it had been before. Because of these three, the steroid saga became an out loud and open discussion.
