Baseball's Steroid Era

This collection of quotations aims to contain not only famous steroid quotes, but the most poignant, controversial, and historically significant quotes from Baseball's Steroid Era.

Hank Aaron

"At his age, you have to ask, 'Did he accomplish all of this by rejuvenating his strength from day to day with those substances?'
Quote Source: BBC Sports, Regarding Barry Bonds, December, 7 2004

"I know that when you reach a certain age, you just don't bounce back as quickly as you think you can when you are playing all of those games."
Quote Source: BBC Sports, Regarding Barry Bonds, December, 7 2004

Greg Anderson

"The whole thing is, everything that I've been doing at this point, it's all undetectable. See the stuff I have, we created it, and you can't buy it anywhere else, can't get it anywhere else, but you can take it the day of (the test), pee, and it comes up perfect."
Quote Source: Recording, SF Chronicle, October 16, 2004

"See like Marion Jones and them; it's the same stuff that they went to the Olympics with, and they test them every f---ing week at the Olympics, so that's why I know it works, so that's why I'm not even tripping. So, it's cool."
Quote Source: Recording, Game of Shadows, March 23, 2006

"Do we know when they're gonna do it? Oh, I have an idea. See, the lab that does this stuff is the lab that does.. I'll know like probably a week in advance or two weeks in advance before they're going to do it."
Quote Source: Recording, SF Chronicle, October 16, 2004

Dusty Baker

"It's like McCarthyism or something."
Quote Source: USA Today, Regarding Steroids, Feb. 24, 2004

Barry Bonds

"Can you get my son [on camera) too, just not on me? So you guys can show the pain you're causing my whole family."
Quote Source: MLB.com, Mar. 23, 2004

"I never asked Greg. When he said it was flaxseed oil, I just said, whatever."
Quote Source: Bonds' Grand Jury Testimony, Dec. 4, 2003

"Doctors ought to quit worrying about what ballplayers are taking. What players take doesn't matter. It's nobody else's business. The doctors should spend their time looking for cures for cancer. It takes more than muscles to hit homers. If all those guys were using stuff, how come they're not all hitting homers?"
Quote Source: Associated Press, May 21, 2002

"No. I don't have to [use steroids]. I mean, I'm a good enough ballplayer as it is. I don't need to be any better. I can't get any better at this age."
Quote Source: Bonds @ On the Record with Bob Costas, June 2002

"I never asked. When he said it was flaxseed oil, I just said, 'Whatever.' It was in the ballpark.. in front of everybody. I mean, all the reporters, my teammates, I mean they all saw it. I didn't hide it."
Quote Source: Bonds' Grand Jury Testimony, Dec. 4, 2003

"All you guys lied! All of y'all and the story have lied. Should you have asterisks behind your name? All of you lied. All of you have said something wrong. All of you have dirt. When your closet's clean, then come clean somebody else's."
Quote Source: USA Today, Feb. 22, 2005

"I don't know if steroids are going to help you in baseball. I just don't believe it. I don't believe steroids can help eye-hand coordination [and] technically hit a baseball."
Quote Source: USA Today, Feb. 22, 2005

"You wanted me to jump off the bridge; I finally have jumped. You wanted to bring me down, you've finally brought me and my family down. You've finally done it. So now go kick a different person. I'm done. I'll do the best I can and that's about it. [I'm talking about] inner hurt. I'm physically, mentally done. I'm mentally drained. Tired of my kids crying."
Quote Source: MLB.com, Mar. 23, 2004

Bret Boone

"Who is to say someone's wrong for doing it? I don't know if they're good or bad. If you abuse anything, there are going to be effects down the road. If steroids are done in moderation, done correctly and safely, it might be an option."
Quote Source: USA Today, Jul. 7, 2002

"If I took steroids, I could dunk. Never mind baseball, I could play in the NBA."
Quote Source: ESPN, May 30, 2002

Tom Boswell Journalist

"(Canseco) is the most conspicuous example of a player who has made himself great with steroids."
Quote Source: CBS News, Sept. 1988

Ken Caminiti

"The stronger you get, the more relaxed you get. You feel good. You just let it fly. If you don't feel good, you try so hard to make something happen. You grip the bat harder and swing harder and that's when you tighten up. But you get that edge when you feel strong. That's the way I felt. I felt strong, like I could just try to meet the ball and -- wham! -- it's going to go 1,000 mph. Man, I felt good. I'd think, Damn, this pitcher's in trouble and I'd crush the ball 450 feet with almost no effort. It's all about getting an edge."
Quote Source: Sports Illustrated Magazine, Jun. 3, 2002

"It's still a hand-eye coordination game, but the difference [with steroids] is the ball is going to go a little farther. Some of the balls that would go to the warning track will go out. That's the difference."
Quote Source: Sports Illustrated Magazine, Jun. 3, 2002

"My body was torn up and broken down but it felt good [on steroids]. I felt like a kid. I was running better. I'd be running the bases and think, 'Man, I'm fast!' And I had never been that fast. But I was. Steroids made me like that."
Quote Source: Sports Illustrated Magazine, Jun. 3, 2002

"I would say there are only a couple of guys on a team that don't take greenies before a game. One or two guys. That's called going out there naked. And you hear it all the time from teammates, 'You're not going to play naked, are you?' And even the guys who are against greenies may be taking diet pills or popping 25 caffeine pills and they're up there with their hands shaking. So how good is that? This game is so whacked out that guys will take anything to get an edge. You got a pill that will make me feel better? Let me have it"
Quote Source: Sports Illustrated Magazine, Jun. 3, 2002

Jose Canseco

"The players and owners disagree on most things, but when it comes to making money, they're on the same page."
Quote Source: Canseco @ Congressional Hearing, Mar. 17, 2005

"Yes. We spoke and educated three or four players there.. Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez. I injected them. Absolutely."
Quote Source: 60 Minutes, Aug. 7, 2005

"After batting practice or right before the game, Mark (McGwire) and I would duck into a stall in the men's room, load up our syringes, and inject ourselves. I always injected myself, because I had practiced enough to know just what I was doing, but often I would inject Mark as well."
Quote Source: Juiced, Feb. 14, 2005

"The national past-time is juiced."
Quote Source: Canseco @ Congressional Hearing, Mar. 17, 2005

"Over the years I've been diagnosed with arthritis, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, you name it. I truly believe I would be in a wheelchair today if steroids hadn't been available to me. I need steroids and human growth hormone just to live."
Quote Source: Juiced, Feb. 14, 2005

"(Giambi) became the single most vocal, outright juicer in the game, and nobody cared."
Quote Source: Juiced, Feb. 14, 2005

Roger Clemens

"Grimsley never worked out with me or Andy at any point. I don't know where that's coming from. When it's going to take a serious turn for me is when one of my sponsors pull out, then somebody's going to be responsible for that. Then my lawyers will take over from there."
Quote Source: Boston Globe, Oct. 2, 2006

Paxton Crawford

"It's like playing with fire."
Quote Source: ESPN, Jun. 22, 2006

Chad Curtis

"You might have one team where eight guys play naked and another team where nobody does, but that sounds about right. Steroids are popular, but quite a lot more guys take [amphetamines] than steroids. I'm talking about illegal stuff. Speed.. ritalin, which is legal only with a doctor's prescription.. Sometimes guys don't even know what they're taking. One guy will take some pills out of his locker and tell somebody else, 'Here, take one of these. You'll feel better.' And the other guy will take it and not even know what it is"
Quote Source: Sports Illustrated, Jan. 18, 2005

"There are two things that might stop a person from using steroids: a moral obligation -- they're illegal -- and a fear of the medical complications. I was 100 percent against the use of steroids. But I must tell you, I would not fear the medical side of it. I fully agree you can take them safely."
Quote Source: Sports Illustrated Magazine, Jun. 3, 2002

"When I was in New York, a player there told me that hGH was the next big thing, that that's the road the game's heading down next. Now you see guys whose facial features, jawbones and cheekbones change after they're 30. Do they think that happens naturally? You go, 'What happened to that guy?' Then you'll hear him say he worked out over the winter and put on 15 pounds of muscle. I'm sorry, working out is not going to change your facial features."
Quote Source: Sports Illustrated Magazine, Jun. 3, 2002

Normar Garciaparra

"Who would do the testing? Will results be kept private? Or will they be leaked to the media? What about false positives? You think it's going to be confidential? I laugh at that."
Quote Source: ESPN, Jul. 8, 2002

Jason Giambi

"Steroids don't help you hit a baseball."
Quote Source: USA Today, Jul. 7, 2002

"Guys that work their butts off and they're hitting home runs, now it's because they're on steroids. Even injuries, a guy gets hurt, 'Oh, he's on steroids.' It's a little sickening to me."
Quote Source: ESPN, Jul. 8, 2002

Tony Gwynn

"It's like the big secret we're not supposed to talk about.. I think we all have our suspicions who's on the stuff, but unless someone comes out and admits to it, who'll ever know for sure."
Quote Source: Los Angeles Times, June 1995

Jeff Kent

"Do I feel cheated?... All the non-users feel cheated. I think in a silent way, a lot of people who hadn't cheated over the years are happy with the way the media exposed the problem, and they're happy we're making progress toward evening the playing field."
Quote Source: San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 3, 2005

"I worry about the game. I worry about if my kids want to be big-league players, like those kids out there (at the Dodgers' training site). I worry about the game not being clean and them not getting an opportunity. This problem has filtered to the kids at the high school and college level, and that's a shame."
Quote Source: San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 3, 2005

Rafael Palmeiro

"I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never"
Quote Source: Palmeiro @ Congressional Hearing, Mar. 17, 2005

"I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period."
Quote Source: Statement after being suspended, Aug. 1, 2005

Rickey Henderson

"The article said 50%. Well, I'm not one of them, so that's 49% right there."
Quote Source: Baseball Prospectus Quotations, May 27 - June 2, 2002

Donald Hooton Father of Steroid Victim

"Players that are guilty of taking steroids are not only cheaters, you are cowards.. Show our kids that you're man enough to face authority, tell the truth and face the consequences. Instead, you hide behind the skirts of your union, and with the help of management and your lawyers you've made every effort to resist facing the public today."
Quote Source: Hooton of Plano, Texas, father of a high school baseball player who committed suicide in 2003 after steroid use @ Congressional Hearing

David Justice

"Half the players? Come on, I look around the clubhouse, and I don't see anybody with signs of steroid use. I don't know of anyone who came to camp 20-30 pounds heavier."
Quote Source: USA Today, Jul. 7, 2002

Tom Lantos

"I increasingly feel a theater of the absurd unfolding here."
Quote Source: Lantos, D-Calif @ Congressional Hearing, Mar. 17, 2005

Tony La Russa

"If you want privacy go play semi-pro ball. drug use (including steroids) hurts baseball. Why should we pay millions of dollars to these guys and have they go on the disabled list?"
Quote Source: USA Today, Jul. 7, 2002

"He's been doing it for a year and two months, people cheering 'C'mon Mark, we want you to hit one.' Boom, he hits one! How does he do it? I have no idea, except that he's remarkable."
Quote Source: USA Today, Jul. 7, 2002

Mark McGwire

"Everybody I know in the game of baseball uses the same stuff I use."
Quote Source: Associated Press, Regarding Androstenedione, Aug. 22, 1998

"I'm not here to talk about the past."
Quote Source: McGwire @ Congressional Hearing, Mar. 17, 2005

"Asking me or any other player to answer questions about who took steroids in front of television cameras will not solve the problem... My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family and myself. I intend to follow their advice."
Quote Source: McGwire @ Congressional Hearing, Mar. 17, 2005

Robert Millman MLB Chief Medical Adviser

"There is no evidence andro does anything bad or good."
Quote Source: Washington Post, Dec. 1998

Tim Montgomery Olympic Track Star

"Any sport there is, Mr. Conte got someone in it.. he would brag on Barry Bonds, he would brag on (2003 Mr. Olympia) Ronnie Coleman."
Quote Source: Montgomery's Grand Jury Testimony Dec. 3, 2003

Prosecutor: "Did (Conte) say he gave any steroids, Winstrol or any of the other ones to Mr. Bonds?" Montgomery: "Yes, he did.. Winstrol"
Quote Source: Montgomery's Grand Jury Testimony Dec. 3, 2003

David Segui

"The doctor put me on human growth hormone, monitored my levels, monitored blood level, blood work periodically, regularly.. I was under doctor's prescription, under doctor's supervision."
Quote Source: ESPN Interview Transcript June 18, 2006

Bud Selig The Comissioner

"I think what Mark McGwire has accomplished is so remarkable, and he has handled it all so beautifully, we want to do everything we can to enjoy a great moment in baseball history."
Quote Source: Washington Post, Aug. 24, 1998

"So that there is no misunderstanding from my perspective, I will suspend any player who tests positive for an illegal steroid. There will be no exceptions. The (players) union is aware of that and they accept it."
Quote Source: Selig @ Congressional Hearing, Mar. 17, 2005

Gary Sheffield

"Nothing was between me and Greg. Barry pretty much controlled everything.. It was basically Barry (saying), 'Trust me. Do what I do.'"
Quote Source: Sheffield's Grand Jury Testimony, Dec. 4, 2003

Randy Smith GM of the San Diego Padres

"We all know there's steroid use, and it's definitely become more prevalent.. I think 10% to 20%. No one has any hardcore proof, but there's lot of guys you suspect."
Quote Source: Los Angeles Times, June 1995

Sammy Sosa

"I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything. I have not broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic. I have been tested as recently as 2004 and I am clean."
Quote Source: Sosa @ Congressional Hearing: As read by his lawyer, Mar. 17, 2005

Gary Wadler Author, Advisor

"Growth hormone made its name because it was a way of trying to accomplish the same things one tried to accomplish by taking steroids, except that you cannot find growth hormone using regular methodology in the urine. So it was a way of beating the steroid test."
Quote Source: National Public Radio, Aug. 26, 1999

Turk Wendell

"If my personal trainer, me, Turk Wendell, got indicted for that, there's no one in the world who wouldn't think that I wasn't taking steroids. What, because he's Barry Bonds, no one's going to say that? I mean, obviously he did it. (His trainer) admitted to giving steroids to baseball players. He just doesn't want to say his name. You don't have to. It's clear just seeing his body."
Quote Source: Denver Post, Feb. 23, 2004

George Will Journalist

"(Barry) Bonds' records must remain part of baseball's history. His hits happened. Erase them and there will be discrepancies in baseball's bookkeeping about the records of the pitchers who gave them up. George Orwell said that in totalitarian societies, yesterday's weather could be changed by decree. Baseball, indeed America, is not like that. Besides, the people who care about the record book - serious fans - will know how to read it. That may be Bonds' biggest worry."
Quote Source: Townhall.com, May 12, 2006

Charles Yesalis Author, Epidemiologist

"The most rigorous drug testing systems have loopholes through which I could drive every M1 Abrams tank we own, and not scrape the body armor."