Cheating And Cheating By Joe Posnanski Summary

Baseball has always been considered as American as apple pie. If that is true than cheating should be just as American. Ever since the creation of America’s favorite pastime, baseball, cheating has been a major part of the game. Each era of baseball has showed more complex ways of cheating the game. Although, cheating in baseball has been around since the introduction of the game, only few scandals have really made history. Some of the most famous scandals include the Black Sox Scandal, the gambling of Pete Rose, and the use of steroids by players to enhance their performance. Despite these corruptions the game has still managed to stay America’s most loved sport.

Many children all across the United States and other countries try to replicate their favorite superstar athlete. Many athletes become the children’s idol and once the child learns that the athlete has cheated the game the athlete plays the child no longer looks up to the athlete. It is almost gotten to the point where no athlete that excels in a particular sport can be trusted. Every time a single athlete becomes great at their respective sport, speculation of steroid abuse immediately follows.

This was only the beginning, soon the media would start to look down more upon what is going on in baseball and they would pursue it. In 2002 the Major League Baseball Players Association executive director was asked a question by Senator Byron Dorgan, “Is there a problem?” The Senator know there was a problem because a recent National League Most Valuable Player admitted to using steroids in a Sports Illustrated cover story. The MVP Ken Caminiti even admitted to no regrets for steroid use because of the prevalence in the major league (Steroid Era).

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.

Since Major League Baseball all-star Ken Caminiti openly admitted to Sports Illustrated to have used steroids during his career, steroid use as a muscle and performance enhancer has been uncovered and become a big issue Major League Baseball is wrestling with. The “ongoing and delicate subject, baseball’s dirty, little secret that is no secret anymore,” is a huge and growing problem (Curry B20). Now that light has been shed on the issue, critics are beginning to realize the magnitude of this problem and do not like it. Steroids are a cheating virus that is spreading quickly. Users cheat other players, themselves, the fans, and the game itself. Action must be taken to rid Major League Baseball of this virus

Not necessarily cheating by lying about a game or sneakily finding an unfair way to win that violates the rules. The cheating that is becoming controversial in sports are about athletes using sports performance enhancing drugs. The motif to cheat in sports is similar to the motif to cheat in schools. Athletes use drugs to boost their performance or to beat other competitors. Athletes just like High School students face a lot of pressure to do well or to at least do better than other athletes. In a text written by Chuck Klosterman, Klosterman explains that steroid scandals are no longer uncommon amongst the National football League athletes. These huge athletes are expected to be massive compared to normal humans and to perform task that no ordinary human could perform. It should not come as a surprise to the public that these football hero’s use steroids to live up to there expectations. On the contrary it is a let down and disappointment to the NFL fans once they discover their favorite athletes have been deceiving and cheating by using unpermitted substances to increase their performances. “My point is that sports are unique in the way they’re retrospectively colored by the specter of drug use.” stated by Chuck Klosterman. Many famous musicians, authors, and stockbrokers were on drugs when they did their best work and yet these titles are not stripped away from them and they face little to no

“Going, Going, Gone, Home Run!” everyone knows what this means when an announcer says it. The game of baseball is a different sport, unlike basketball and football; you do not necessarily need strength to be dominant. So, why are steroids a big issue in baseball? Steroids, in particular, anabolic steroids, build up cellular tissue or muscle. However, they do not give you the necessary skills to play the game. I am almost certain the world’s strongest man could not hit a home run on a major league field, so why punish those who have used steroids? Steroids are not like magic and transform and average man

           Today in the United States, millions and millions of kids, teens, and adults watch and play in the sport of baseball. It is probably the number one sport looked upon and what is happening to it is a bit discouraging. Players have started “cheating” by using steroids to help them play stronger and better. They are in league where you have to be the best at what you do to play, and if your using drugs to cheat your way in, then it ruins the ethics of the game of baseball.

cheating has always been around and in baseball Steroids are a Performance Enhancing Drug or PED for short that help with strength or players have also been known to use Human Growth Hormone or HGH, “Wonder if steroids helped Roger Clemens to lead the Houston Astros and New York Yankees to the World Series?” (Bilson) Ty Cobb sharpened spikes, and bet on baseball and he's still in the HOF, or how Mike Scott doctored baseballs with an emery board, or Alberte Belle, Sammy Sossa with Corked bats a corked bat is a bat that does not have the wood filling super balls can be put in there in place for it many different things can be used in place of that. Also how can anyone forget Barry Bonds with steroids how much did that help bonds break the All-Time home run record? How about Triss Speaker and the scandal of him fixing games , Gaylord Perry doctored baseball with various substances to throw off hitters. Other players other than Bonds have admitted to Steroid use Paul Molitor Class of 2004 and Wade Boggs Class of 2005 both admitted to steroid use, Boggs later admitted to being a sex addict on the Barbra Walters show. Mike Piazza alleged steroid scandal his back acne grew significantly and his substantial amount of hair growth on his back. Cheaters never win has been said through out the history of the world. I fully believe that is the honest

This combines the ability of a player to hit the ball and the ability to get on base. A player with a high OPS receives a higher paid salary which means that players using steroids receives a higher OPS than other players and receives a better pay. Alex Rodriguez usage of steroids to better is production in the MLB was unethical. Not only did he take steroids but he lied to the public for years pleading his innocence. Thus, the act of lying and the usage of steroids were the unethical decision made in this

PED Use in Baseball PED use in baseball has been a big issue for baseball for a long time. It's been there biggest issue since the mid to late 80s unit now. It's still a very pressing issue for the League, and with a new commissioner a lot of fans, analyses, and people involved with the industry hope that tougher PED policies, and more and better testing will be put in place. Most fans feel that PED use taints records, that anybody that has records, whether it be league records or club records, they feel that they didn’t accomplish this himself and without the PEDs they wouldn't have accomplished what they did. One of the biggest examples and of this is Barry Bonds, although he was never found guilty of using PEDs, and which he still denies using them to this day, there was high suspicion that he was on them.

However the spotlight that steroids find themselves in are in professional sports, mainly Major League Baseball. Steroids have been an on-going issue with Major League Baseball. The MLB has been tainted in one way or another since the game began. However, now the game has been tainted with drugs that are giving some players an advantage over others. These players are also taking risks with drugs because they are constantly trying to attain a drug that does not get detected when they get drug tests. The MLB should outsource their drug testing policies to an independent organization like the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest between players and the MLB. In 1994-95, the MLB suffered a strike that resulted in the cancellation of the post season. Afterwards, fans were deterred from the sport. So in 1998,

Imagine the year is 1998, and baseball player Mark McGwire is stronger and more aggressive than ever. The fans are in shock because the crowd is familiar with baseball games being on the dull side, but this baseball game has the fans at the edge of the seat. Now imagine every Oakland Athletics game having this powerful energy, home run after home run, fast running, and the loud crowd cheering for the home team. The score is tied and the baseball game is in the last inning. The crowd begins to scream and sweat nervously, with only a few seconds left. The players are running all over the court as fast as ever before, and the sound of the ball being hit against the bat is so loud the crowd can hear the sound from the nosebleeds. McGwire swings and hits a homerun and the Oakland Athletics win. But come to find out Mark McGwire, who hit the winning homerun had Performance-Enhancing Drugs in his system. The other team is infuriated when knowing the truth behind all of the fast balls and home runs which were hit, and knowing the team was cheated and had a chance to win. The Oakland Athletics were ashamed to hear the news from the fellow team mate. Unfortunately due to the professional athlete’s well performance, McGwire influenced other baseball players to begin using the drug.

The sport that has gotten the most attention on the subject of steroids is Major League Baseball. Due to the suspected prevalence of them from the late 80’s up until the present day, the so-called baseball purists now question all the records and achievements

We all love to watch professional sports whether it be up front and live, on the television, our on our phones. The amazing catch or throw that they make or the game winning buzzer beater. Professional athletes have such a huge impact on their cities and the surrounding areas. So many kids look up to these people and aspire to be them when they get older. However, behind the scenes these pros are just as everyday people as any of us are. They have families that they are trying to provide for and share memories with just like any other citizen. Even more, these professionals make the same mistakes that others do as well. One specific mistake is the use of illegal drugs. Since the 1960’s athletes have been turning to drugs to better enhance their performance and outshine the others. Should this be considered cheating or are these people using their resources for the better? Do these athletes know that they could be doing to their health and their body?