Customer Reviews

Bases Loaded: The Inside Story of the Steroid Era in Baseball by the Central Figure in the Mitchell Report

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Kirk Radomski is a former New York Mets clubhouse boy who grew from a fifteen-year-old gopher... for multi-million dollar Major League ballplayers... doing everything from picking up dirty, sweaty, jocks... to picking up bats and balls... to sweeping up the sloppy aftermath of spoiled ballplayers post-game messes... and eventually graduated to become one of the main figures in Senator George Mitchell's campaign to expose and "clean-up"... the awful... illegal... drug problem... that has stained... and tarnished... the grand-old-game-of-baseball. On April 26, 2007 Radomski "signed a plea agreement with the U.S. attorney in San Francisco, pleading guilty to one count of distribution of anabolic steroids and one count of money laundering." The author admits wholeheartedly without even a stammer... or an excuse... that he was definitely guilty. And in addition to the illegal drugs... Radomski admits his involvement with illegal "corked" bats... and twice providing Doc Gooden with his own urine... to pass baseball drug tests. And it's from this point... that this story is told.

I am an "old-school" baseball fan... and like most true fans... am mad at what has been done to the reputation of the game that was part of almost every American boy's youthful dreams. Though this story is told from a different perspective than the Canseco books... there is one distasteful trait that both authors have in common. They are both so egotistical about their "talents" and "expertise" in the use of steroids... human growth hormone (HGH)... and all the other illegally used drugs that have damaged the game... and sullied... the holiest... of holy... records. Where Canseco would brag that he was the pioneer of steroid use in baseball... the Godfather of steroids... Radomski constantly brags that he knows sooo much more than any ballplayer about the proper use of these *ILLEGAL-DRUGS*. This bellowing braggadocio... is repeated... not just once... but over... and over... and over... again. Never do you hear either of these author's ever utter... even one word... of remorse... for the illegal activities they were involved in.

Famous names of drug enhanced ballplayers... are spewed out like fastballs out of a pitching machine fully loaded. When the author is asked who was the first ballplayer he provided with drugs... he states that since he had become "the most reliable source in the game"... having given drugs to literally hundreds of players... he couldn't remember for sure... who the first player was... but he thinks it was Lenny Dykstra. He then goes into great detail of Lenny's use. From there the names that either bought from him... or came to the "Messiah" for advice... flowed like water over Niagara Falls... Denny Neagle... Ken Caminiti... Kenny Rogers... Paul Lo Duca... Rondell White... Eric Gagne... Todd Hundley... Mo Vaughn... and Kevin Brown... who Radomski said was the biggest A-hole of them all... and the list is almost endless. The egomaniacal character of the author is highlighted when he tells multiple players they're using the drugs wrong... and they disagree with him... and he warns them of injuries they will incur... and boom!... in a blink of an eye... they all get the injury the "master" predicted. What bothers me the most about the author's writing... is not that I doubt the names that are named... I absolutely believe that... it's the hypocrisy that the author's own words lynch himself with. And whether the author realizes it or not... he is also defeating the arguments of guys like Barry Bonds (who the author did not sell to... but states Bonds is the poster boy for someone who overindulges in multiple illegal drugs) that steroids doesn't make a difference. *Here's an example of hypocrisy*

A friend of his (by the way he only sold to "friends"... another statement he contradicts himself on) catcher Todd Hundley who "may have been the first player I supplied with growth hormones"...

The author writes of Hundley before he used HGH: "I LAUGHED AT PEOPLE WHO BELIEVED THAT PLAYERS LIKE TODD, WHO LOVED THE GAME AND WORKED INCREDIBLY HARD TO IMPROVE, OWED THEIR SUCCESS TO DRUGS."

Yet five sentences later... when Hundley said: "Ok... I want to try anabolics. Can you put something together for me?" The author... two sentences later says: "DON'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU SEE YOUR HOME RUN NUMBERS DOUBLE; YOU'RE GOING TO HIT THIRTY, MAYBE EVEN FORTY." And then two sentences later Radomski writes: "I'D SEEN TODD PLAY A LOT OF GAMES, SO I KNEW THAT FOR HIM STEROIDS COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN HIS POWER NUMBERS."

Huh???

Turns out Todd had the best season of his entire career. He broke the single season home run record for a catcher, and the Mets home run record with forty-one.

There are other examples like this throughout the book. The names are probably true... but the cumulative statements... contradict themselves... and are illogical. And then there's the "Canseco-like" uncontrollable ego:

"I KNOW BASEBALL'S EXECUTIVES AND OWNERS VILIFY MY NAME, BUT THEY OUGHT TO BE ON THEIR HANDS AND KNEES THANKING ME. IT WAS ME, AND OTHER PEOPLE DOING EXACTLY THE SAME THING, WHO ENABLED BASEBALL TO KEEP ITS STARS ON THE FIELD AS OFTEN AS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE."

"STEROIDS AND GROWTH HORMONES MAKE A POTENT COMBINATION-YOU LITERALLY COULD GROW MUSCLES WHILE YOU SLEEP."

Reviewer's final note: There are still no tests for HGH. Please Major League Baseball... do something to clean-up our once proud... former national pastime.

For anyone seriously interested in baseball's steroid situation, this is essential reading. To be sure, the book has its flaws, including the author's frequent reminders of his many self-perceived good qualities. As we might expect from a person who made it his life to serve professional athletes, Radomski seems to think he was important because he spent time with big name athletes who made a lot of money. And like other "trainers," Radomski seems to want a lot of credit for what "his guys" accomplished on the field.

But the flaws are easily tolerated, and what cannot be ignored is the way this book pushes the debate on steroids and human growth hormone. Like Jose Canseco, Radomski sees the substances so many have harshly condemned as things that enhanced player health. According to Radomski, Senator Mitchell was surprised that he "continued to defend the use of steroids and growth by baseball players."

While stories about Radomski's relationships with various athletes probably fill too many pages, here's a very knowledgeable user and observer who says "growth hormones increased a player's healing ability." He says that although HGH doesn't "build muscle like steroids," it allowed athletes to "play at the peak of their abilities every day without enhancing their performance." Radomski sees HGH as something that let's the body heal more quickly than normal. Since "growth hormones promote healing while cortisone simply reduces pain," Radomski can't help but wonder why HGH is still illegal.

After spending a few pages echoing themes that are more fully explored in "Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment" (Triumph Books 2008) (regarding some of the many reasons for increased home run figures that have nothing to do with steroids), Radomski says he is convinced that there "was never any crisis in confidence about the integrity of the game on the part of either the players, or really, the public." He argues that amphetamines (which were illegal but allegedly used by most of the players most of us regard as 100% legitimate) have a more immediate and direct impact on performance than steroids. Holding little back, Radomski concludes that "baseball has always tolerated cheating."

What is likely to be important about this book is not Radomski's personal role in distributing steroids and HGH to so many players. Instead, the thing that will probably make this book memorable is Radomski's willingness to challenge the prevailing conventional wisdom -- a conventional wisdom that simultaneously sees steroids as magical substances that can turn a Clark Kent into Superman and poisons so dangerous even responsible adults who have to use their bodies to make a living shouldn't be allowed to take them. As Dr. Jesse Haggard points out in "Demystifying Steroids" (Author House 2008), "Proper use of steroids may offer significant quality of life improvements to both individuals and society as a whole. . . . [A]dditional research involving steroids [may] help us advance our understanding of the human body and possibly unlock our true human potential."

Radomski may be wrong, but his book offers another informed and clear voice that may ultimately add some serious thought to today's overly emotional public debate.

This book is must reading for anyone who really wants to get a complete understanding of the steroid/PED problem in baseball. Radomski, who had been in baseball for years, does an excellent job of explaining the game's culture that drove player after player to use PEDs. For players who always tried to keep up on whatever their peers were doing to help them perform better (look at all the players wearing those magnetic necklaces), it was virtually no different than getting the inside tip on a good tailor in each town. "Cheating" was not even part of the conversation. And Radomski lays out a good case why the baseball hierarchy -- from coaches, managers, and owners up to the commissioner -- all knew what was going on, but all kept quiet. He also correctly predicts the entire A-Rod saga, including A-Rod's rationale for using. After you read this book, you'll have no doubt the majority of MLB players did something, and many continue to use. (And why wouldn't anyone use HGH? MLB is not testing for it). For baseball fans, the book is ultimately disillusioning, but in my opinion better to know the real story. Not recommended for young impressionable idealistic fans.

I thought this book interesting, especially considering how much you hear in the news about professional athletes using body building drugs like steroids and growth hormones. Rodomski was with the Mets as a bat boy, and then a friend of many of the players. He used steroids to build up his body for weight lifting and body building contests. When his baseball friends found out how steroids could work for them, he served as a advisor and then peddler of these drugs. Eventually the Feds caught up with him, and he was convicted.

This book is self serving as the author justifies his actions. His actions hurt baseball and caused competitive athletes to use unethical means to help their statistics. The author was a drug pusher, who caused the athletes to cheat at a beloved American past time.

Really rate this book because it comes from someone at the coal face. The personal aspect is fascinating and Radomski must know his stuff. The Balco book is an essential collateral read.

Guy helps people cheat. Guy gets caught. Guy blows the roof off his cheating friends. Meh.

Though I enjoyed the book, I couldn't help being a bit distracted by the constant self-serving justifications. The excuses, "everybody did it" and "it's not that bad" don't hold much water with me (particularly when he admits to dealing amphetamines in addition to steroids and HGH). Conversely, Radomski has a good point when he talks about the temptations that exist for pro ball players and why anyone in an industry so competitive could easily have been seduced by the promises of quick gains and faster healing. As you can see, the book brings up a lot of conflicting feelings for me. Radomski's good points are overwhelmed, however, by the obvious bitterness he has towards those he sees as betraying him (even though he did the exact same thing himself). If anything, the theme of the book appears to be weighing the costs and benefits of our decisions in life, whether it is taking an illegal substance in order to keep a job or turning state's evidence in exchange for a lesser sentence. If you have an interest in the steroid scandal, this is a worthy addition to your collection.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. It gave some real insight into the state of the Baseball Players and the Major League Business of Baseball. It also hit me personally since I myself took legal supplements from GNC for nutritional purposes because I was a college baseball player myself. In fact the whole steroid era has been around since the late '80s. When I got to college in 1990 even the Athletic Training programs encouraged legal supplements which were later banned. Athletes do this to help improve themselves and trust their body's with so called experts. The U.S. Government FDA which allowed these supplements to be sold I feel should be put into the spot light more. Just to be clear, I am referring to the supposed legal precursor supplements to steriods. There is no question in my mind that steriods should be illegal and should be tested for. But as Kirk wrote, these Athletes were making millions of dollars and in order to maintain a leveling playing field and get a larger contract, they would do anything possible to improve their statistics.

This was an excellent book for baseball enthusiats who really want to get a fair history of the 1990's & 2000's. He does write too much on his so called expertise when it really was trial and error. He almost insinuates that he is in favor of steroids for athletes which I believe is wrong. The again, the real phillosphical question is what drugs or stimulants should be legal. Caffeine? Red Bull? Ripped Fuel? B-12? The FDA in my opinion helped cause this problem by relaxing it's restrictions on control of vitamins and supplements in the early 1990's.

I've been a baseball fan for 46 years. Even I was turned off by the 1994 strike, it was the final indignity towards the fans by an indifferent league, players, and agents. I maintained indifference until the McGuire/Sosa chase of the home run record, arguably the most prestigious single in all sports. And then, years later, the whole thing falls like a house of cards when the use of steroids and HGH became common knowledge. Mr. Radomski does not speak of the hr chase except in passing, but his knowledge of the use of performance enhancing drugs (PED) in baseball is encyclopedic. He was there, it seems, almost from the beginning. He provided PEDs to many players for a number of years. He, most interestingly, provides the best explanation of why players use them. It truly shows the gulf between pros and fans. It also shows the true lack of concern about this issue by MLB and the players. The book is a good read also; Mr. Radomski's ghost writer does a good job on this. I highly recommend this book as a source on the steroid era in baseball.

Awful book, particularly when you put it up against Game of Shadows. If you want to learn of who he supplied, go to the web. The book has nothing new. The author is a joke. He states he is an 'expert in steroids,' then later in the same paragraph, says he has no idea of the physiological effects of steroids. The book was obviously not edited by anyone with any medical knowledge, as there were so many misconceptions. I believe the guy did peddle drugs, but had no idea what he was doing. 'Everybody' is this guy's best friend in the book. Total phony. Not worth the money. Wait to buy until it is on the one dollar book sheld - shouldn't be long.