Barry Bonds: The Hormone King

The Major League Baseball organization is one of many sport organizations that takes a strong stance on athletes that use performance enhancing drugs. Mark McGwire played for the Cardinals in 1998. He had an amazing career as he broke the homerun record with 70 homeruns. Through his accomplishments, there was speculation that he took steroids. He was questioned about it in Federal Court and at first, he denied it. Later on, he admitted using Andro, which is a form of anabolic steroids. Another baseball player had a very similar story. Barry Bonds played for the San Francisco Giants. He likewise had very notable achievements, such as beating McGuire for the homeroom record and he passed Hank Aaron as the career all-time home run hitter.

Jackie Robinson was one of the most historically well known people in the civil rights movement. So as the first man to integrate major league baseball, Jackie Robinson had a game changing impact on the way the game was played. Having the courage to fight for what is right, Jackie broke the imaginary color barrier that has covered major league baseball for years. Through his resiliency and tenaciousness in the face of seemingly unconquerable odds, Jackie Robinson set the course for African Americans to continue the expansion for equality and true freedom while he was becoming one of the greatest Major League baseball players in history.

Baseball is known as America’s pastime and is one of the most popular, respected sports on earth. Since the beginning of the sport, it seemingly advances with technology every year making faster and stronger players. The use of steroids became rampant and spread among players and has carried them away from the true history of the game they play. Controversy still today runs around the sport today about fines, punishments and record breaking. The past two decades of Major League Baseball have been tainted because of the use of performance enhancing drugs, also known as steroids, causing the loss of many fans and the true meaning of America’s favorite sport.

Barry Sanders was born in Wichita, Kansas, on July 16, 1968. Barry’s favorite sport was basketball when he was just a kid, but his dad steered him toward football. Barry attended Wichita North High School. Sanders was a second string running back up until the last five games of his senior season. His coaches didn’t play him much because of his fear of getting hit. The last five games Sanders started doing amazing things. Sanders rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his last five games. The total was 1,417 yards for the year. That was a citywide record. (Net Industries, 2017)

     Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, January 31 1919. He went to college at the University of UCLA. Where he was a star in four sports basketball, baseball, football, and track. He is the only bruin to letter in four sports. After college he went to pursue a career in the Army. He

Jackie Robinson is known for his will and determination, in a game where African Americans were not allowed to play. Major league baseball (MLB), was the biggest professional baseball league in the country but was racially segregated. Growing up in poverty, Jackie Robinson faced many struggles. Jackie was a great athlete that could play multiple sports, just not major league baseball. He competed and excelled at numerous sports, including basketball and football. As good as an athlete he was, Jackie Robinson obtained a college degree and attended UCLA. He played baseball in the all black, Negro leagues, until he broke the MLB’s color barrier in 1947. Though Jackie was mostly known for his athletic abilities, he did his part as a civil rights

Yadier Molina who was born on July 13th in the year of 1982 is a Puerto Rican baseball player that has found his way to the MLB and has really made a mark on the game. ("Yadier Molina." Famous Birthdays. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.) Molina was born in Bayamon Puerto Rico and grew up with his father Benjamin Molina, his mother Gladys Matta Molina, and then his two brothers Bengie and Jose. Yadi’s father was a ameture catcher in Puerto Rico but also worked as a toolsman too. Baseball was in the family for a long time and that is all that him and his brothers knew growing up which would explain why they all three made a professional career out of it. Both his brothers Bengie and Jose ended up being major league catchers as well, but nothing like their brother Yadier. They all knew he had something special growing up and playing as a kid. Molina never really focused on the catching

“Bacsik 3-2 again. There’s a swing and a high fly ball, right-center field. Back it goes. Racing back, Logan jumping up, and that ball is gone! (Four-second pause) No. 756. Barry Bonds stands alone. And on the night of August 7, 2007, in San Francisco, California, Barry Lamar Bonds has hit more home runs than any major leaguer in the history of baseball.” (Times Union, ESPN). Barry Bonds hold the record for the most homeruns in baseball. His legacy is very well known, but it is also tainted. Barry Bonds took performance enhancing drugs, to get to where he is today. Performance Enhancing Drugs are hurting sports, and people. It defines the word “cheating” in all aspects.

Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His Mom, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her 4 other children. Jackie’s family was the only black family on their block. The humble beginning would grow the colored baseball player to break the MLB’s color barrier, that segregated

Before steroids Barry Bonds was a lock for the Hall of Fame, now it is believed he will not even get in because he cheated. “Bonds gulped as many as 20 pills at a time and was so deeply reliant on his regimen that he ordered Anderson to start "cycles" -- a prescribed period of steroid use lasting about three weeks -- even when he was not due to begin one”(Williams). Some extreme fans are calling for an asterisk next to his statistics in the record books. Barry still played after the news came out, and the harassment got so bad, that Barry eventually retired. When he went to opposing stadiums fans would hold up signs with an asterisk mark, or they would throw toy syringes at him while he was in the field. Chants of “who’s you’re dealer?” also surfaced at opposing ball parks. The fans took harassment to the next level on Barry Bonds.

Derek Jeter was born on June 26, 1974, in Pequannock, New Jersey. His father, Charles Jeter, made the family move to Michigan when Derek was only 4 years old. The reason was because his father went to Michigan University, so he could become a doctor. Derek started playing baseball when he was five years old. He continued playing through high school, when he a batting average of .500. He won numerous awards which helped him get drafted in 1992 by the Yankees in the first round.

In the Negro leagues he was on the Chattanooga Black Barons and his record was astonishing. From the beginning of his career he was noticed by many. For example, {334 words}when Satchel Paige had to pitch against Joe DiMaggio, Joe stated that “the best and fastest pitcher i’ve ever faced.” Many other baseball players in the negro leagues AND in the American league said that if they and Satchel Paige were working together they would dominate in the

Joe DiMaggio Jr. was born on November 25, 1914 in Martinez, California (Caso). He had Italian Immigrant parents and grew up in San Francisco, California (Joe Bio). He lived in a small house, but with a big family (Joe Bio). His first baseball experience was at the age of ten (MCSF). He used baseball as an excuse to not help his father with fishing (MCSF). He started playing Minor league baseball at the age of 17 for the San Francisco Seals (Joe Bio). On 1930 he dropped out of high school, so he can play baseball at the diary-wagon parking lot (MCSF).

Of course, when theirs a homerun hit fans go crazy especially for that many being hit and start seeing the athleticism in the athlete. While the years went on changes started happening to Barry Bonds body and even fans noticed them too. Everything was changing to his body and was oddly huge, his arms, legs and even his head was getting bigger. During the season fans were starting to talk and of course it all was about Barry Bonds using steroids. In the year 2003, they began to get deeper into the investigation of Barry Bonds whether he used steroids or not. Two substances were brought up, the clear and the cream. The clear substance was a new steroid that wasn’t being tested in the MLB. As for the cream substance, it is one that gives protection

Introduction: Have you ever heard of Barry Bonds? If you have heard of him you might already know that he holds the record for most home runs in baseball history. While he was put on the top of the MLB’s home run list he lost his teammates trust because of that one item. His life was destroyed along with the trust of his fans and his family, do to a drug called steroids. He took steroids to become a better player. Sadly this drug has many negative side effects but to this day people will still take them.