STEROID ERA IN BASEBALL
Introduction
The term steroid era in baseball came about because of the players in major league ball using substances to boost their strengths in order to make more home runs or be better in blocking people. Though this era is not well documented therefore it is very difficult to know when it started or whether it has ended or will end in the near future. The major period that is considered to have hit the most was in the late 1980s when baseball era was almost dying until the late 2000s. In 1991 steroid use was banned from being used by the MLB but they did not implement PED test therefore many players were able to use PED without being caught by anyone. In 2003 was when PED testing began operating as mandatory for all the players. The major cause for making the players use drugs was the lure of getting more money, gifts and also their was a decrease in the number of fans therefore, they forced themselves to use drugs so that they can perform better than the way they were in the first place. These drug uses caused a lot of different reactions from people and fans. Due to the decrease in baseballs overall popularity, the steroid era caused a boom in public interest fueled by increased homeruns totals and other incredible feats athleticism.
In the early 1990s there was a lot of pressure for the baseball players to perform because of the endorsement deals they were going to get and also due to the decline of popularity among the fans. This made them work harder to ensure they produced results and at the end of the day the game improved tremendously in which more people were increasing output in the offensive side that caused more home runs especially for those with powerful hitters. This change was said to be better than any previous games in the history of baseball. The period of 1961 to 1994 there were only three players who have been able to reach the 50 home runs. This record was surpassed by many in the mid 90s for example was mark McGwire that was playing for the Oakland Athletics made 52 home runs even though he did not play half of the season. The only major league home run title was being held by Roger Maris who made a record of 61 home runs. No one had ever reached this mark in history until then.
The only person who surpassed his record was mark McGwire who reached a maximum of 70 home runs followed by Sosa who had66 home runs. This achievement was well received from the public thus garnered followers and popularity in the nation. Sports illustrate named the two baseball players the title of the sportsmen of the year. In 1998, Mark McGwire confessed that he had indeed used adrostenedion which was a substance that was banned by the national football league and not the major league baseball. Testing for this drug was not yet installed for all players to undertake.
The mark or record that was held by Mark McGwire was broken by Barry Bonds who made 73 home runs and was playing in San Francisco giants. Barry Bonds in the previous games he had never reached a 50 home runs but was able to break this record. The records of the three players came into question because they were all believed to have used enhancement drugs. The 500 home run clubs is one of the most sorted out groups among the baseball players. This group was questioned its importance because many of the players who were able to reach the 500 mark home runs were suspected of using steroids or enhancement pills. A good example was Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds Gary Sheffield, Rafael Palmeiro, Many Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez.
The use of steroid was believed to have been used long before the steroid era like in the 1960s where no one complained about it. The kind of drugs that they used in 1960s was the PEP pills known as the greenies which is mostly herbal therefore, can not be fatal to anybody. This drug use was never kept a secret because people mentioned them for example is the sports illustrate and was also mentioned in books such as Ball four written by Jim Bouton. Years later the use of drugs became a big issue because people were using stronger advanced pills and also steroids. A good example of the advanced pills was Ephdra. Ephdra is herb made by Chinese people as a form of medication for people who have allergies or common colds. These drugs enabled the players to cut weight effortlessly without going to the gym. A good example of a player who used this particular drug was Steve Bechler who was considered to be overweight and since he wanted to continue playing for the Baltimore Orioles. While he was pitching he collapsed and later was pronounced to dead. This is the time when the usage of Ephdra or any other drugs was considered to be dangerous for the players therefore it was banned.
The use of steroids increases the testosterone level of a person thus will enable them to body builders and have more energy thus lifting heavy machinery without any difficulty thus the players will be found to have much more strength when make home runs. The other advantage of using steroids especially according to the players is they make the healing process especially for those with injuries that they experienced during pitching to be shortened thus players can return to work earlier than was permitted by the doctor. Steroids have its side effects such as heart attack at an early age. This was experienced by former player Ken Caminiti who had previously admitted that he had used steroids to boost his strength that caused his winnings in the 1996 games. He claimed that the steroids caused his testicles to shrink and also has made his body to produce less testosterone. He had seen all the damage that the drugs caused his body but he stated clearly that if he had a chance to do it over he would still make the same choices. In 2004, he dead out of the blue of an obvious heart attack at the age of 41.
Bud Selig who was a commissioner introduced harsh and very strict rules against drug use especially for the people or players who are in the minor leagues. These rules include random drug testing for all players, harsh penalties for individuals caught to have used drugs or steroids so that they can be made as an example in order for other players to fear using these drugs. The players will be educated on the effects of using drugs or steroids. These rules were considered by many as a public relation stint so as to cover the eyes of people. The United States Congress decided to investigate the allegations that the baseball players were using enhancement drugs in order to have great performance. The allegations came from Jose Canseco who mentioned players who used steroids in the book that he published known as the “juiced wild time’s rampant roids, smash hits and how baseball got big”. This book made many wonder the effectiveness of the game and whether some of the players should be stripped from their winnings. The investigations showed that indeed some of the best players were using steroids or enhancement drugs to enhance their performance and thus made more home runs. Some of the players who are believed and are mentioned in the books to use the drugs are Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Gary Sheffield, Ivan Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Juan Gonzalez. Gary Sheffield was the one who admitted that he did in fact use steroids while playing baseball. Some of the other players later confessed to have used the enhancement drugs or steroids.
The first player that was in the major league that got suspended for using steroids which was banned completely by the commissioner of baseball was Rafael Palmeiro. His suspension was made to last for ten days in the year 2005. Senator George Mitchell was given the job of investigating the drug use problem in baseball. The findings he came up with were that 89 major league players were suspected of using drugs. The report also shows that the major substances used are the hormone growth for humans and the anabolic steroids. The report also gave recommendations of ways the commission will be able to control or stop drug use and the treatments that are helpful.
There are companies that are being linked to make products that have steroids in them in that they can not be detected when one goes for testing. This companies name was BALCO who had connections with some of the baseball players such as Barry Bonds and other athletes such as Marion Jones. This brought about criminal investigations of the company by the government. The steroids they used were designed thus led to the players to use different drugs. This has brought about the declining health of Jason Giambi. The designed drugs were mixed with different substances such as cream. The major people who were involved in this scandal that worked in BALCO companies were either jailed or received probations. Many people who are fans, sponsors and players now believe that Barry Bonds used steroids to get so many achievements in 2003 to 2005.
There are many players who were caught using drugs or steroids in order to improve their performance on the pitch. These players were able to make a name out of it and gained recognition and fame all over the world. They made the game to be watched and loved by people who at first did not like the game. At the end their supremacy was too good to be true therefore; their lives started to be monitored and were found to have used steroids. Examples of the players that are well known to have used enhancement drugs are Barry Bonds, Carlos Almanzar who was suspended for ten days. Bronson arroyo who confessed later for using drugs, David Bell though he claimed was a medication. Rafael Betancourt was suspended in 2005 for using drugs. Ken Caminiti confessed of using steroids while he was a player. Roger Clemens who played in the year 2007 was inducted by the courts for perjury even though he maintained his innocence.
Effects of steroid era in baseball among children
Children who look up to this players get wrong ideas after they hear that the people the want to become are only cheating this causes them to not have any respect for them. They then learn that one has to cheat in life in order to be successful. The major league baseball should find ways in which their will be severe consequence for individuals who will use steroids or any other substance that will increase their strength. This will cause the players to fear using these drugs thus they will work hard and in the normal way which will be good for the children. The use of steroid has major side effects for the user therefore they run the risk of either dying or being disabled. This will have major effects for the family because the children will loose their fathers or their role models and this could lead to depression for the children.
Players who are influential or mentors to children should ensure that they are clean. This is because the children will emulate whatever they see their mentors doing in this case steroids. In high schools children are involved in sports activities this means that when they see the person they admire the most finding an easy way to achieve their goals will make the children do the same so that they can go to universities of their choice.
Impact on athleticism
Athleticism is a field where people have to work hard in order to be successful. Therefore, there are many challenges that cause people to choose to be thief’s in that they lie in order to get ahead. The ways in lying is usage of steroids in order to get ahead. Many athletes have fallen for this trap and have been successful and later they loose everything when the truth comes to light.
In athleticism most people believe that the use of steroids in baseball has broken the hearts of many funs. This is because people believed in that something that was not real especially when Barry Bonds broke records by being the best home runner in decades. Fans everywhere were intrigued by his sportsmanship only to find out that he had used drugs to be what he was in terms of sports. This made many fans lose hope and faith in the game of baseball because they believed that all players were fake and phony. Most athletes say that cheating is a bad thing but most people were misleading to think that the athletes were pure greatness. Athletes also believe that people like fans and jury were lied to by the players.
This is evident because when some of the athletes that were believed to have used drugs outright lied to the jury in courts that they have never used drugs. Barry Bonds in 2007 was charged with perjury and also for obstruction of justice because of the information that he was providing in the courts. Truth will always came out so it is better sometimes to tell the truth because later it was found that he did in fact use steroids. In athleticism it is a fact that these players cheated on all people involved like fans, other players and sponsors. In 1993 their were rules against usage of drugs therefore it was up to the players to follow these rules but they chose to ignore it and made a name out of a lie. In athleticism this will make a bad reputation on a particular sport in this case baseball and people will start to disregard it.
Difference it has made on baseball
The steroid era baseball has had a negative impact on baseball. This is because people now see it as a game where the legends were not winning in the right way. At first people were intrigued by the way the players were winning in ungodly manner. One of the prestigious events in baseball is the baseball hall of fame. In the beginning it was easy to vote for the best and put them in the hall of fame with so much pride. It has become a big issue of late because of the growing numbers of people who have been caught with steroids or other forms of pills that enhance their performance. Example of the players who have been involved in a steroid scandal were mostly knotted in the BALCO scandal and they are Barry Bonds and roger Clemens. This gives baseball a bad name and brings about questions of whether all the players are using these drugs.
The reputation of baseball has diminished tremendously but there is still hope that the new rules that have been imposed on the players will help bring back the confidence of the people. The hall of fame for baseballs will have to look at their players well and check whether they deserve to be remembered. Most players believe that steroid use has changed baseball in history. This is because after the usage of steroids the player’s have been able to increase the numbers of home runs and also brought about the increase of numbers of funs. According to research that was conducted about 3.9 percent of the players believe that other players are using drugs or steroids. The players do not see steroid use as a problem like most people. They see it as a normal practice among other things.
Conclusion
The steroid era brought about shame and success for the players. A good example is Barry Bonds who got so many home runs and wild wide success was later put on the lime light for usage of steroids. This has made headlines in which people are questioning whether baseball still has its magic or not. Many people now believe that most success of the players was brought about steroid use and not their skills. There are many side effects of the steroids but the worst is death. Some of the former players have been found dead mysteriously. It is believed that most people or players have being cheating and lying to the public of their performance. This has caused rift between other baseball players because they see this act of using steroids as a way of stealing their limelight. There are measures that the government has formulated in order to stop the use of steroids. Children who well respect the players will have a hard time in believing in the game or in the person. They also tend to immolate what they see from the adults or mentors therefore they learn that in life one has to cheat and lie to get ahead.
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