Tài liệu Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ''''Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big docx

[...]... wrong on the baseball field, or if it was because I was skinny and weak at that age, but I never felt like I had any real talent as a baseball player I did love to watch the game, though I used to watch the Cincinnati Reds a lot, and on Saturdays I would catch the television show This Week in Baseball Back then, Reggie Jackson was the big hero; he was my favorite player—the big power hitter and I used... taken over baseball, and all of sports It's awesome, really—but it makes sense, given all the money at stake now And that applies to every kind of technology, running the gamut from digital video and high powered software to steroids and growth hormone, and whatever comes next Remember back when Mark McGwire and I were called the "Bash Brothers" during our time together on those memorable Oakland As teams... to click Ozzie and I kept plugging away, and my dad kept criticizing us For both Ozzie and me, it would have been a lot harder to handle my dad's constant criticism and yelling if it weren't for our mother She was always there for us, taking care of us, feeding us If we got beat up by some other kids and believe me, that happened from time to time when we were little—we'd go to my mom and she'd make... He would load six or seven tourists into the Packard and drive them all over the place showing them the sights of Havana Back then, baseball and boxing were the top sports in Cuba My dad used to listen to New York Yankee games on the radio; his favorite players were Babe Ruth and, later, Roger Maris and Joe DiMaggio But my father was not much of a baseball player himself He shagged a few balls when... always had dreams of bettering himself and took some college courses, and was always studying something He never had much extra time, but sometimes he would take a break from his work in the afternoon and drive Ozzie and me to a nearby school in Opa-locka so he could teach us baseball He started this when Ozzie and I were real small, just three or four years old, and continued for years, helping us develop... like I was cramming for a test I pressed him to give me as many details as possible about how steroids actually worked and what they actually did to you I was always thinking about trying to make myself better and stronger and faster, and since I was still a runt at that stage, five foot eleven and one him dred and ninety pounds, I knew I had a lot to gain from dab bling with steroids The first time... before I gave it a try, and one afternoon we went to get something to eat at this pizza joint near Coral Park High and had one more discussion about what I would need to J U I C E D do, and how long it would take to work, and what sort of increases I could expect in size and strength I remember being very nervous as we went back to his house I was worried about allergic reactions and things like that,... let me play baseball at all, because I had so little confidence and the whole time I was out on the field, I was always bracing myself to hear some jab from my father That was definitely the worst part of playing baseball for me "Don't scream at us!" Ozzie and I would yell back at my father sometimes, and even though we would be crying, it never made any difference He didn't listen You know how parents... A's general manager, Sandy Alderson, and all the scouts, and maybe an owner or two, and he reached into his pocket very dramatically and pulled out his wallet "You don't want to give this kid his bonus?" Pascual asked them "I'll pay the extra amount from my own pocket That's how sure I am that Jose is going to make it." 32 A J V Player at Coral Park High They decided to sign me, and to be honest, I wasn't... in baseball He had these dumb magic tricks that he would do, and those always busted everyone up You have to see it for yourself, but to give you an idea, we would be having a family party, with kids and everything, and Robles would set up a whole gag involving a slice of pizza "I'm going to eat a slice of pizza now," he would tell everyone He would eat it, and then drop his pants and bend over—and . with Major League Baseball, and I have no interest in the politics and dou- ble standards of Major League Baseball. I'm my own man and always have. Every baseball player and pro athlete will be using at least low levels of steroids. As a result, baseball and other sports will be more exciting and entertaining.