The Use Of Steroids In Baseball

           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.

Perhaps one of the most controversial topics in Major League Baseball is the discussion of the use of steroids and human growth hormones. Both are completely illegal in the sport, and come with drastic consequences. One would think a fifty game suspension as a first offense would scare players away, but for some reason steroids in baseball is occurring more and more often to the disappointment of Major League Baseball. The reason players take steroids in the first place is to enhance their performance on the field. Steroids make players stronger and they perform at a higher rate. Another use for steroids is to help the players on certain rehab assignments for injuries. Either way, it is still illegal and banned in the sport.

On February 19th, 2014, a video of Ray Rice, the running back of the Baltimore Ravens, was released in which he was seen dragging the body of his limp fiancee out of a casino elevator. After being arrested and spending a year in a pretrial intervention program, Ray Rice was suspended for only 2 games. However, shortly after this, the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, changed the domestic violence policy of the NFL, making it so that first time offenders would receive a 6 game suspension, and second time offenders would be banned for life. Then, on September 9th, another video was released of Rice punching his fiancee in the head and knocking her unconscious. In response to this, the Ravens terminated Rice’s contract and the NFL suspended him

Major League Baseball (MLB) has widely been regarded as America’s pastime for the longest time, however it is now becoming known as the sport tainted by one thing, anabolic steroids. An anabolic steroid is related to the natural steroid, testosterone. They are able to stimulate growth in the muscle tissue. They usually increase muscle mass and strength. The MLB has created some of the most historic American icons, such as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Players like them showed us what it was like to play baseball the right way. They played with passion, heart, and above all they had fun playing. Players today in the MLB focus way too much on becoming the best player ever to play. They see what the greats did before them and they want to match

Steroids have taken over the game of baseball and more players are starting to get involved with them. Steroids are a big part of the Major League today in 2014, yet they entered the game of baseball through trainer Curtis Wenzlaff in 1992. Players and the game’s images are ravaged when they become caught up in steroids. Some of the best players to ever play the game of baseball have been caught up in steroids, including Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire. Players with this level of skill are supposed to be role models for younger kids, yet younger kids see that they used steroids and are tempted to use them. When their young, impressionable minds witness steroids use, naturally kids attempt to imitate their idols. More

The abuse of steroids among players in Major League Baseball is corrupting the image of America's Pastime as well as endangering the health of those who use the illegal substances. The lack of testing and punishment for the use of illegal substances like steroids in the Major Leagues portrays a negative image to aspiring young athletes. They see their role models using steroids and becoming better athletes rather than seeing suspensions for the illegal behavior or the negative health effects.

The MLB has had an uproar of issues when it comes to the use of substances. The biggest issue that the MLB focuses primarily on is the use of steroids. An even bigger issue that should be highlighted is the use of chewing tobacco while playing the game. When something becomes known as possibly life threatening, the logical explanation is that it is illegal or illegal for people under a certain age. In this case being illegal is not the explanation, when in fact this substance is the cause of over 400,000 deaths every year. Tobacco is the commonly used substance responsible for these hundreds of thousands of deaths every year. In response to the many hazards that come with tobacco use, the Major League Baseball Association is trying to outlaw

Anabolic and androgenic steroids come in many different forms. The most popular form is a pill and is easy to take. The draw back of the pill is it is hard on the liver and kidneys because it passes through the system in a couple of hours. Another popular form is cream. The cream’s advantage is it is easy to apply and is less harmful to the body. The draw back is it is very ineffective. The last form is injection. Injecting straight into the muscle gives the best results. Most serious athletes that use enhancement drugs take pills every day of their cycle and inject three times a week.

Despite steroids having multiple negative effects on both athletes and the game of baseball, they also have good effects too. The first positive effect that steroids’ provide would be the fact that steroids help speed up recovery time. When a person is heavily stressed Cortisol is produced to help the body and mind handle the stress. However, because cortisol is so strong; in the process of trying to relieve stress it also damages muscle tissue and slows down the time it takes for your body to recuperate. This is where steroids come in, “Steroids help to reduce the production of cortisol when your body is stressed. They can be used to help you recover from injuries or just to allow you to exercise more” (Swain, 2007, para. 1). In addition, steroids when taken correctly can be used to treat medical conditions such as osteoporosis, anemia, arthritis, and even some forms of cancer. Steroids increase the production of red blood cells, which successfully effects the treating of anemia. They help increase bone density, so they are useful for patients suffering from osteoporosis. Steroids are also used to treat blood disorders, arthritis, and some types of cancers (Swain, 2007, para. 1).

A Poll by the Press in ’04 says that sixty-one percent of eight hundred and sixty-five people surveyed that all the athletes in baseball that were tested for steroids and shown positive should have been banned from the game. In the year 2005 it was discovered that two out of three people agreed with banning the players who made it to the Hall of Fame but tested positive for steroids. Most if not all people consider this action cheating and frown upon its use. How could this be? In today’s readings of sports articles and papers, fans tend to think that steroids give other players an unfair advantage. This response branches out from the false accusations that the professionals have a kind of special ability or talent which isn’t based on their state of being. What makes steroids different from other enhancing products is that the effects that come with taking them are a little more severe and that the result for muscle and strength production is a lot greater than the other products that are out in the market. This assumption, and the stereotypical muscle head body that comes with it, makes a fan or spectator of the game think about Calvinism, the belief that ingesting any kind of pill or product for any reason at all is bad and looked down on, and leads to the social aspect of the world to call these people aliens or fakes, which happen to be the main points that really keep steroids out of the Majors.

Steroids changed the game of baseball for an era by transforming the game from defensively oriented mindsets to who could offensively “out-slug” one another. Steroids have changed the game of baseball due to the fact that it makes you stronger and the players that use it can hit the ball a lot further than others. Steroids are performance enhancing drugs most commonly used by athletes or bodybuilders so that they can gain more muscle quickly and easily to have an advantage on their opponents. It gives them a huge advantage over the rest of the players that don 't take it because the walls are immobile so as they are getting stronger than the rest, the walls or the home run fence still stay the same

The issue of steroid use in professional baseball is a serious problem. Steroids were used by some players to improve their performance. This is an unfair advantage for them against other players that did not use these drugs. Even if their performance got better and improved their career, these drugs can cause bad effects on your health. Since it is not legal to use steroids, a lot of players that used them did it secretly. Since these players had regular seasons and careers, but then changed in their performance and how they looked, people became suspicious.

What are performance enhancing drugs? PED’s are supplements such are human growth hormones and steroids that a person,usually an athlete, can take and they will make them perform much better than they really should. PED’s are a major issue in the NFL just this year several players have been suspended for taking these drugs. Two players for the Chicago bears, Alshon Jeffery and Jerrell Freeman, were both suspended in the same week for taking PED’s. Several other players that faced suspension were, Peyton Manning, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, and James Harrison. PED’s are not allowed in any professional sport because the give the athlete an unfair advantage over other athletes that do not take the supplements. Some physical downfalls of doping

PEDs, or performance enhancing drugs, improve player’s execution of the game at all times. In baseball, two of the most common types of PEDs and steroids and HGH, or human growth hormone. Starting in 1988, there was a steady increase in steroid usage until 2006. Since then, there has been a decrease in the amount of players using steroids, however, in 2008, there was still a whole 42% of players who used steroids. Aside from temporary bans from playing, steroids have many changes, both physical and mental. Extreme liver damage is a common symptom ans well as a change in behavior, such as an increases in aggression and depression. Side effects of HGH also have major impacts of a person's health. With side effects

With the birth of the steroid era in baseball many players have made the decision to potentially destroy their legacies. Although some argue that the use of steroids in sports should not negate the athlete's chance to enter the hall of fame because they still have marvelous careers, they should be denied entry because these athletes are not following the rules of the game, are not showing their true potential and are making the game unfair for other players. As stated in the article Why steroids have no place in sports Ashby uses the word “this” in place for Steroid use, “This is a fundamental fairness and equality issue for athletes.” (Ashby). Recently there have been potential hall of fame athletes that have made the choice to use steroids and they have felt the consequences, being denied into the hall of fame.