And it's in, Ortiz has been elected to the Hall

[Shoeless Moe]

So Papi never did test positive? Everyone is just assuming he did? or he did....why the uproar?

I'm in Chicago so paid little attention to Big Papi and the Red Sox, and the Yankees for that matter, unless they were in the playoffs or Series.

I personally always thought Frank Thomas juiced, look at his melon.

And he played football, and in the 80's I'd say 75-80% of every football team juiced.

And Big Frank got in.

But could be completely wrong. That's always a possibility.

[Jason19th]

There is no way Frank Thomas used steroids. He was one of the players who publicly said that he would refuse the initial survey testing so that more then 5% of the players failed and ensured that there would be widespread testing.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by Jason19th

There is no way Frank Thomas used steroids. He was one of the players who publicly said that he would refuse the initial survey testing so that more then 5% of the players failed and ensured that there would be widespread testing.

I don't know......that's just Frank talking, and again, could be true, but could also be a lie. A sports figure ever lie before?

I'm not sure I knew a non-QB/Kicker/Punter that wasn't juicing at every level in the 80's. I'm sure there were some, but not many.

[jimtodd]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

I don't know......that's just Frank talking, and again, could be true, but could also be a lie. A sports figure ever lie before?

I'm not sure I knew a non-QB/Kicker/Punter that wasn't juicing at every level in the 80's. I'm sure there were some, but not many.

From the beginning, The Big Hurt was always a loud outspoken opponent to steroids. Most other stars of the era avoided the subject. He advocated for testing. He was always built like a truck, even when he was young. He played TE at Auburn. His existing physique was what Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, etc we’re trying to bulk up to by using the steroids. They started with normal athletic physiques and became huge later on. Frank was already huge.

[Peter_Spaeth]

This is the horror of the steroid era, that it’s almost impossible to prove a negative and almost everyone except maybe Derek Jeter at some point has been under suspicion by someone.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

So Papi never did test positive? Everyone is just assuming he did? or he did....why the uproar?

He tested positive during the first round of testing. That's not speculation - Ortiz himself has admitted it.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by Tabe

He tested positive during the first round of testing. That's not speculation - Ortiz himself has admitted it.

So he did test positive and there is a public record of it. Ok, cuz someone earlier in the thread said he did not.

So if there is record of this, I too am dumbfounded. How does he get in and not Clemens & Bonds???!!!!!

Has any voter explained, gave reasoning, for voting him in and not the other 2?

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

So he did test positive and there is a public record of it. Ok, cuz someone earlier in the thread said he did not.

So if there is record of this, I too am dumbfounded. How does he get in and not Clemens & Bonds???!!!!!

Has any voter explained, gave reasoning, for voting him in and not the other 2?

He’s a nice guy and he’s in the media now so let’s look the other way. I guess.

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Originally Posted by Tabe

He tested positive during the first round of testing. That's not speculation - Ortiz himself has admitted it.

The first round of testing was supposed to be a blind test to see if there was cause to do more testing in the future. The NY Times leaked some of the results and named Ortiz as testing positive. Ortiz has always claimed that that was a hit piece by the NY media because there were a bunch of Yankees that had also tested positive and no one from Boston. I don't believe he ever admitted to using PED's. The fact that he never tested positive in ALL the years after even as the testing got better and more accurate says to me he either never took PED's or stopped after the league made it illegal. I have a hard time believing that he somehow evaded the hundreds of tests over the years with designer PED's.

Regardless, he's immortalized now and deservingly so. Loved watching him dismantle the Yankees in 2004.

[yanks12025]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

The first round of testing was supposed to be a blind test to see if there was cause to do more testing in the future. The NY Times leaked some of the results and named Ortiz as testing positive. Ortiz has always claimed that that was a hit piece by the NY media because there were a bunch of Yankees that had also tested positive and no one from Boston. I don't believe he ever admitted to using PED's. The fact that he never tested positive in ALL the years after even as the testing got better and more accurate says to me he either never took PED's or stopped after the league made it illegal. I have a hard time believing that he somehow evaded the hundreds of tests over the years with designer PED's.

Regardless, he's immortalized now and deservingly so. Loved watching him dismantle the Yankees in 2004.

Not testing positive for years means nothing. A-rod and a bunch of other players got caught and suspended around 2012/2013 with zero positive tests.

Also in the early years of testing, players names weren't released unless they failed more than one test.