Houston Astros: Ranking them among other cheaters in MLB history
Ranking Houston Astros vs Other Cheater in MLB history
BALCO Scandal
The BALCO scandal was perhaps the biggest cheating scandal in sports history, mainly because it spread across so many sports and involved so many high-profile athletes, included the outright home run king, Barry Bonds. The Bay-Area Laboratory Co-Operative was found guilty of providing athletes with anabolic steroids following a 2002 federal investigation.
While the lab’s distribution of illegal substances can be traced back to the 1980s, it was not until Jason Giambi came forward in a testimony in December of 2004 that this scandal took the national spotlight in relation to baseball. He pointed out that he became involved with Bonds’ trainer, Greg Anderson, who provided him and his brother Jeremy Giambi with the substances. Gary Sheffield was also among the MLB players who testified before a grand jury.
Thus, Barry Bonds became the enemy of the MLB. He vehemently denied any involvement in order to retain his legacy as the best player of all-time, but his obvious change in appearance following his alleged use of steroids led to him behind declared guilty by the media. However, since he never tested positive, he avoided any discipline from the MLB. However, what makes this scandal much deeper than both the Biogenesis and Mitchell Report scandals is the legal implications that resulted.
In the same testimony as Giambi and Sheffield, Bonds testified that he used steroids provided by Anderson, but he was unaware of what they were. However, the 2006 book Game of Shadows publicly exposed Bonds for his extensive use of steroids and prompted the media to believe Bonds lied under oath. Thus, in 2007, Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. Bonds is found guilty of obstruction of justice, but avoids a heavy punishment for his actions. However, Bonds’ reputation was tarnished forever, and all of his records now carry an asterisk and likely will exclude him from hall of fame enshrinement.
BALCO’s founder Victor Conte, and Bonds’ trainer Greg Anderson were the two central figures that both received jail time for their involvement in the scandal. They received charges of money laundering, fraud, and possession of with the intent to distribute banned substances. Anderson also received discipline for refusing to testify against Bonds during his trial in 2011. Thus, because of the legal implications of this scandal, how it involved the best player of all time, and how it impacted future investigations, it is the worst performance-enhancing drug-related cheating scandal in MLB history.