Baseballs on steroids.

A study carried out by Penn State University and Universal Medical Systems Inc has been researching the baseballs of the 1998 season and in particular, Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball. They used CT scanning to show a synthetic 'pill' in which is not allowed under MLB rules. McGwire may not have taken steroids himself, but his baseballs and importantly his 70th in the '98 season, (record later beaten by Bonds' 73HR season in '01), were 'juiced'.

When questioned, the MLB representative Bob DuPuy claims that the balls have remained unchanged since the introduction of Rawlings balls in 1977 and that they are subject to extensive testing. McGwire is up for induction to the Hall of Fame for the first time, however this may affect his vote count.

Since 2000, MLB have been carrying out studies on baseballs at UMass Lowell in their Baseball Research Center and results have showed consistent, good quality balls being produced. We may not have heard the end of this story... It seems now its not just the players on steroids, the baseballs themselves are. Oh, you know what's convenient? McGwire's sponsorship deal with Rawlings in the branding of bats, balls and equipment. Coincidence? Or maybe a thankyou from Mark for his 70HR season? Haha who knows?