Mlb And Steroids Is Not An Enforcement Agent

The policies and procedures for drug testing within the four major sport leagues are changing rapidly, due to the rise of players using illegal substances. Major League Baseball currently has the best drug-testing program of the major sport leagues. Many of the substances athletes are taking can only be detected through blood testing. Major League Baseball is the only league that has fully executed blood testing to detect and deter those whom are using, or wish to use, HGH and other banned substances. Not only has Major League Baseball applied blood testing at the elite level, it has also implemented it in Minor League Baseball, as well (http://sports.espn.go.com). The league has taken a dominant stance on “stamping” out all banned substances and the penalties for an athlete testing positive are the most severe of any

Steroids are a hot topic of debate and controversy in the world of athletes and sports. Steroids fall under the umbrella of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and are a dark cloud that have been hovering over the sports world for a long time. In the world today, steroids are the most relevant in major league baseball. Many baseball players, such as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and Mark McGwire, just to name a few, have ruined their reputations because of steroids. There are repercussions for PED use in major league baseball, which have cut down on the substance abuse by players but have nowhere near eliminated the problem.

Thesis: Today I am going to persuade you all about the use of steroids in Major League Baseball, persuading you why steroids should not be allowed in Major League Baseball. I have a call to action for all of you to help others if they are considering using steroids, and next time you watch a MLB game to realize the impact of steroids.

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).

If baseball’s administration thinks that steroids are honestly hurting the game so much, why the delay in finding a suitable means of testing? Players have suggested to Sports Illustrated that:

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

“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

The MLB is just a giant business. How can you see it otherwise? Steroids in baseball have changed dramatically over the past ten years and a major factor impacting the changes may be players’ use of performance enhancing drugs. Do these players not realize that they are cheating? They are putting a drug into their bodies to make them better then everyone else. In less than four years Babe Ruth’s single season record of 60 home runs has been broken by Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds. These were three of the players who were faced with a charge of using steroids and notice how they are three of the top hitters. McGwire just retired too, I think steroid use, and people finding out had a smidge to do with it. All these players aren’t losers, they are all stars and looked upon from all over and know are being accused of cheating. (Kingsbury)

The performance that goes beyond the possible one by an average player received a critical attention by the Major League Baseball. The article, “Under Mounting Pressure: A History Of Media Influence On Major League Baseball Steroid Policies,” is based on the relationship between Major League Baseball and the media. The authors break down how the media reports on

In November of 2005, the Major League Baseball commissioner at the time, Bud Selig, finally got the tougher drug policy that he had been asking for. The process was expedited when Congress demanded the policy be strengthened. A failed steroid test would result in much more than merely missing a week of baseball.

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,

It is these people who stand behind the notion that the utilization of illicit drugs takes away from the purity of the sport. Baseball players should be revered for their skills that are a result of hard work and dedication, not from the aid of quick shortcuts such as steroids. Some people say that Bonds took the easy way out and put up statistics that he did not necessarily earn, and it is for this reason why many think of his actions as immoral and unjust. Not to mention, but doping can also be extremely dangerous for an athlete’s health. Additionally, what kind of message does the use of steroids put out for the children who might look up at to this athlete as a role model? One could argue that a child could see a player such as Bonds doing so well in his career because of the drugs he took, and takeaway the idea that it is acceptable to cheat so long as it gets you to the top. The last argument against doping in baseball and sports altogether is that it establishes an uneven playing field. As, “athletes who choose not to use steroids are at an unfair advantage – most will be unable to compete at the same level as athletes who are using steroids” (Ashby, 2010). It is a culmination of the aforementioned reasons that led to Bonds leaving a bad taste in a lot of fan’s

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

Since the first major case of Butch Reynolds, it has widely impacted professional baseball players throughout the years. “In 2005, Major League Baseball introduced a new, stricter drug policy that significantly increased the severity of penalties for steroid and amphetamine use, signaling the end of the so-called "steroids”.