Cal Ripken Still Loves Brady Anderson

Brady Anderson came out of nowhere to hit 50 home runs in 1996, which was highly suspicious. I respect Cal Ripken Jr. as much as the next guy, but I have to ask some questions about him. How come nobody ever questions Cal Ripken Jr.'s connection with Brady Anderson? How come Cal Ripken Jr. never has to answer the tough questions about performance-enhancing drugs? How come Cal Ripken Jr.'s streak is assumed to be legitimate when so many other players during the steroids era crossed the line? And how come nobody ever asks Cal Ripken Jr. about amphetamines, which are certainly illegal performance-enhancing drugs that are now banned and tested for by baseball? If one were to investigate Cal Ripken Jr., it is quite possible that his streak is just as much a fraud as Barry Bonds' home runs. But nobody ever investigates. Nobody ever asks Cal Ripken Jr. the tough questions. I guess the press-friendly players get a free pass while the jerks are thrown under the bus.

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Question Cal Ripkin about what? How he doesn't look like a different man in one season or how he had slumps yet stuck it out? Or how about how instead of being nasty he would make sure each person, each kid had an autograph. Better yet, why don't we ask ourselves why aren't there more players like Cal Ripkin Jr. in baseball today and why don't we thank him for keeping baseball from the skids after the strike and it wasn't from anything but how much you can see he loves the game.

You're correct in assuming I am a fan of Cal Ripkin Jr. I am a fan because when I think of kids coming up in little league, I wish they had a guy who showed the work ethic he has shown throughout his career. I wish they had a guy who never thought he was bigger than the game but that he was just thrilled to give it a whirl for the time he played.

I truly miss having that kind of gentleman in this sport and yes the sport does miss him.

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Upsie, everything you say about Cal is correct. He is a wonderful representative for the game. That doesn't mean that he didn't use anything. And HGH, amphetamines, and most steroids don't turn you into a cartoon. He just never gets asked the questions, and he is surrounded by the presumption of innocence.

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As a hometown fan, even so far as sharing the same birthday with Cal, i can safely say i think he "used" greenies. Then again, tons of players did for decades. But greenies only go so far as taking a pill version of a couple Red Bulls. Steroids? Wholeeeeeeee different ballgame, no pun. Players who had small frames (Bonds, Clemens anyone?) went from wirey athletic prospects to hulking ginormously skulled sides of beef in uniform. Now THATS enhancement. People i dont think realize how exhausting it is to take what can amount to hundreds of red eye flights to play games in a country that spans what, 5,000 miles? So no, im not and never was against something that is the equivalent of shooting three or four cups of coffee to get your senses about you. As for Rip's streak? Its been well documented and then some how steroids in the long haul break a player down, bad hamstrings ring a bell? The fact that he played continously for two decades should be a testament to this mans work ethic, hes been about the same build (6'4" 230 pounds) from the get go, his ENTIRE career.

I will agree on this article to some degree though, as much as you can love someone as a friend, you cant use it as an excuse to perhaps overlook that person possibly shortcutting to elevate his game.

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Back to Brady Anderson in a minute. Stanfordfan says he respects Cal Ripken, Jr. as much as the next guy. NO, he doesn't. If he did, he would have taken some time to learn about Ripken, making his questions unnecessary. He says that Ripken's streak is quite possibly a fraud, but yes, he respects Ripken. The reason no one asks Ripken about drugs is that he is a man of high moral character who is above reproach. No suspicion has ever shadowed Ripken, and yet this writer rushes to tarnish both his character and baseball accomplishments. Stanfordfan needs to study, then maybe he can begin to judge.

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As for Brady Anderson, he was a good ball player, but his career does not make him a serious candidate for the HOF. It is questionable that he will even receive 5% of BWAA votes to keep him on the ballot for the next year. A player can stay on the ballot for 15 years, but he must receive a minimum of 5% of votes cast each year by the Baseball Writers Assoc. of America.
Note: Just because Anderson and Ripken have been close friends, in NO WAY casts suspicion on Ripken or that he would condone the use of performance-enhancing drugs, IF Anderson ever did use them.

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Steve, I'm not judging. I'm just asking the uncomfortable questions that need to be asked and that nobody else seems to be asking. The Performance-Enhancing Drug controversy has been ill-defined and illogical. It seems to me that press-friendly players seem to avoid being asked the questions that are being asked of the jerks. And, by the way, for all of you who view amphetamines in a different light than steroids or HGH, the sports that are serious about testing for banned substances don't agree. Amphetamines or even cough syrup can result in a the IOC taking a gold medal away from you. If we're serious about chemical cheating, as the IOC is, we can't pick and choose our banned substances so flippantly. If Ripken used amphetamines, which are illegal performance-enhancing substances that are currently banned and being tested for by MLB, then he is a cheat and his streak is a fraud. But people like you (Steve) like to protect your favorite athletes in a bubble of assumed innocence.

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