Step aside Thurman Munson. There are a couple of new headlining members to the Carlton Fisk feud group – Mark McGwire and former Red Sox ace Roger Clemens.
Pudge recently opened up on the steroids issue in the wake of McGwire's overdue admission and the Hall of Famer didn't hold back.
The former Red Sox and White Sox backstop certainly has the credentials to touch on the matter as he withstood 2,499 games over 24 seasons. Of those games played, 2,226 were spent hunched over behind the dish wreaking havoc on his knees.
"Try having your knees operated on and catching for 30 years," Fisk told the Chicago Tribune. "Do you think you feel good when you go out there? [McGwire] had to stand around and play first base. So excuuuuuse me."
Could Fisk have used the extra boost? Absolutely. But he cleanly strolled along to spank 376 homers, and until Ivan Rodriguez passed him last summer, he was the owner of the all-time games played as a catcher. To see the steroid era taint the sport is the ultimate slap in the face for the .269 lifetime hitter.
"It's not like you are taking a couple of aspirin and you don't know what's going on. [Non-prescription steroid use has been] a federal offense for a long time, regardless of whether baseball was recognizing it and putting rules into place," he said. "The people who did it … they were breaking the law to start with. It doesn't have to be a baseball law. They knew what they were doing and the reason they were doing it. Now they are sorry because they are getting called out.
"It's obvious to players. You notice that stuff," Fisk added. "You know how hard it is to play the game. You know how hard it is to be productive at any age, but especially at an older age. You see guys who are as productive later on as they were early [in their careers]."
And that's where Clemens comes in.
"The reason he got let go from the Red Sox was because he was starting to break down," Fisk explained. "His last couple of years in Boston just weren't very productive, a la 'The Rocket.' Then all of a sudden, he goes to Toronto, and he wants to show somebody something. Then he gets two consecutive Cy Young Awards (in 1997 and 1998). Come on, give me a bucket."
But how do steroids help a pitcher? The juice doesn't just give hitters the extra pop they so dearly seek. Steroids allow players to remain in shape longer and recover quicker — an aspect that arguably extended Clemens' career to what it eventually became.
As for hitters, McGwire was quick to point out that his 583 career dingers can't be all be the result of steroids, but Fisk doesn't buy it.
"[McGwire] says, 'Well, it doesn't help eye-and-hand coordination.' Well, of course it does. It allows you more acuity physically and mentally and optically. You are going to be stronger and you are going to be better," said Fisk. "That's a crock. There's a reason they call it performance-enhancing drugs. That's what it does — performance enhancement. You can be good, but it's going to make you better. You can be average, but it is going to make you good. If you are below average, it is going to make you average. Some guys who went that route got their five-year, $35 million contracts and now are off into the sunset somewhere. Because once they can't use [steroids] anymore, they can't play anymore."
