Who benefited most from steroids? Follow the money

Bud Selig declares the steroids era over. Tony La Russa says he never knew anything about it. And Mark McGwire claims drugs didn't help him hit home runs.

What do they all have in common, besides those nonsensical arguments? They got incredibly rich off steroids, and that's what this was all about from the start.

They made a tremendous amount of money during the most corrupt era in baseball history, one they'd like us now to pretend never occurred.

La Russa's approach is only slightly less laughable than Selig's, which is to have us believe he'd never heard the word "steroids" until yesterday.

And it's no coincidence that they lead this top five list of those who benefited most during the steroid era:

• Bud Selig

By the end of the 2010 season, the commissioner will have pocketed about $120 million since 1998, when he heavily promoted and sanctified The Great Home Run Race That Saved Baseball From Ruin And The World From Communism.

But ask him about it and he'll remind you that because of Bud Selig, the game has grown by billions and billions in the last 20 years.

That's true, so congratulations, Bud. You will be forever known as the Steroids Commissioner.

• Tony La Russa

His financial windfall doesn't compare to Selig's, though La Russa has done nicely, bringing in about $35 million the last two decades.

His first 10 years managing he had one finish better than third. He was a skilled manager and highly thought of but not particularly successful.

Starting with the performance-enhanced Athletics of the late '80s, he had a streak of 13 first/second-place finishes in the next 22 years, with five pennants and two World Series titles.

La Russa is third all time in wins behind Connie Mack and John McGraw.

• Mark McGwire

McGwire made about $75 million and hit 583 homers in his career (eighth all time). From what you hear about his growth at USC, it's possible he would have had no consequential big-league career without the juice.

• Sammy Sosa

Sosa took in about $100 million after 1998, growing bigger and bigger each winter after watching McGwire club 58 home runs in 1997.

If nothing else, Sosa (609 homers, sixth all time) goes down as the perhaps the phoniest player in MLB history, one who duped millions on his way to cashing some very big checks.

• Rafael Palmeiro

Mark Grace and Palmeiro are the same age, had similar starts to their careers, and essentially were the same line-drive slash hitters when they made it to the majors.

But Palmeiro went to Texas, a hotbed of steroid activity, and had a career makeover, becoming one of the premier power hitters in history.

At 35, Grace had 183 hits and hit .309, typical Grace numbers, but then fell precipitously until retiring at 39, quite normal for an athlete not drinking from the Fountain of Youth.

After 35, Grace played just 478 games, while Palmeiro played in 733.

After 35, Grace had 387 hits and finished with 2,445, but Palmeiro piled up 699 more hits, to get past 3,000.

Grace had 224 RBI after 35, while Palmeiro had 488 RBI and 169 homers, pushing him past 1,800 RBI (14th all time) and to 569 home runs (11th all time).

Hall of Famer Billy Williams was one of the best pure hitters in the history of the game, someone with whom Palmeiro frequently was compared. After 35, Williams played in 341 fewer games than Palmeiro, had 385 fewer hits, with 119 fewer home runs and 298 fewer RBI.

Palmeiro collected more than $90 million during his career, twice what Grace made during his.

• Dishonorable mention

Barry Bonds is this far down on the list only because he had 411 career homers and 445 stolen bases - sure Hall of Fame numbers - even before he became the poster boy for steroids and HGH.

Of course, once he saw the McGwire-Sosa freak show in 1998, he jumped in with both feet, both arms and even his head and collected a cool $133 million after the '98 season, also reaching No. 1 all time in home runs (762).

Roger Clemens fits here with his 354 victories (ninth all time) and $121 million banked, and Alex Rodriguez gets a mention for having already earned - yes, already earned - $231 million in his career.

A-Rod went from nobody in high school to a monster overnight and the No. 1 pick in the nation. His 583 bombs are eighth all time, tied with McGwire.

So, yeah, of course McGwire's going to say steroids don't help you hit home runs, and La Russa and Selig will pretend it's all news to them.

It's in their best interests to tell us the game is now clean and that they're all so baffled by a troubled period in the game's history.

Then, they'll go home and bathe themselves in dollars and sleep soundly in a gold-plated bed, feathered by profits from the many, many millions of tickets they sold.

brozner@dailyherald.com