March 16, 2004
Palmer On Anderson
Another Hall of Famer decided to speak up about steroids this week, this time it was former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer, when he weighed in on Brady Anderson's 50-homer season in 1996 during an interview with a Baltimore radio station:
"I like Brady, and it doesn't mean he's a bad guy because he took steroids. But I'm sure he wanted to enhance his performance."
Anderson's previous high for home runs was 21 in 1992. His output fell to 18 the next two years, and he never hit more than 24 in a season after 1996.
"I don't know how he hit 29 more homers that year," said Palmer, an Orioles television announcer. "And he hit 31 more on the road that year, so it's not like he took advantage of Camden Yards."
Oops. Yesterday, in an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Palmer was asked to expound on his comments:
"I said it's something baseball needs to deal with," said Palmer, who retired from the Orioles in 1984. "I don't know if Brady took steroids. How would I know? But he did go from [16] home runs to 50.
"When Bonds goes from 49 to 73, you just wonder. You're trying to have a level playing field and maintain the integrity of the game. I'm sure it was a great year for Brady, and it was a great year when Bonds broke McGwire's record, but you just wonder."
Yesterday, David Segui, a former teammate of Anderson's and a current member of the Orioles roster, confronted Palmer at Baltimore's Spring Training complex in Fort Lauderdale. I'd love to know what that conversation sounded like.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3057
12:01 PM