Juiced: Steroids Ruining the Competition
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Martin Erik Martin Professor Webb WRA-110-005 30 March 25, 2009 Juiced: Steroids Ruining the Competition It is April 8, 1974, in Atlanta, Georgia with a crowd of 53,775 eager fans all waiting to see history be made. The Atlanta Braves are playing the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s the fourth inning and Hank Aaron is up to bat. Aaron has the chance to break a once seemingly impossible record to beat, Babe Ruth’s home run record of 714. Hank Aaron ended up hitting that record breaking home run that day. Aaron created history and went on to hit 40 more home runs to set the record at 755 home runs in a career (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/hank_aaron_biography.shtml). Until recently this record has stand strong, and seemingly impossible to break. On August 7, 2007 Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run of his career to beat Aaron’s record and continued on to hit 762 (http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542459). This seems like something people would be welcoming and embracing but earlier Bonds was brought under suspicion of the use of steroids. Now that Bonds has broken a long running record, should his record be accredited to steroids or should Bonds be crowned the home run king? Not only has Bonds been accused of steroid use but many others, ranging from home run sluggers Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire. Are steroids ruining the sport or baseball? Or should steroids be something that is embraced due to the unavoidable progression of the sport and sports technology? To decide if steroids are ruining baseball or not, one needs to be informed about steroids and baseball. What are steroids, and what do they do? Well a steroid is the synthetic version of the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone helps muscle development and growth, and when steroids are used you have an increased in muscle mass, reduced body fat, and greater endurance. Steroids sound great, but there are many health defects from steroids. They have physical as well as psychological effects. Steroids can cause mood changes, from feelings of content to depression. One of the more popular effects is what is known as ‘roid rage’ which can be violent mood swings or aggression. Physical side effects range but some of the more serious effects are liver damage, cancer and shrinking of the testicles or (known as) testicular atrophy. But most players taking steroids use them for the boost of muscle growth and endurance, usually (which) improves their game allowing them to hit the ball harder and farther. (http://ezinearticles.com/?Baseball-and-Steroids--The-Controversy&id=12718) So steroids sound like a good thing because it is a dog eat dog world out there and it is giving one man the edge he needs to survive in the sports world. Steroids might provide that wanted edge but it is often considered cheating. Let us reflect back on Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. Hank Aaron set the bar at 755 home runs, a record that was set back in 1976, and it took baseball about 30 years to break that record. 30 years to break a record set without the use of steroids or any products used to gain a so called ‘edge’ over the others. Barry Bonds who later beat Hank Aaron’s record, was involved with a steroids. Steroids ruin historical hard work and achievements. A record that was such an achievement in the past and took so long to break is going to be broken by someone who used steroids. Had it not been for drug testing policies many would think this was an amazing feat. Since steroids were involved was it a true record breaking? Someone who has to use steroids shouldn’t be given that title or home run king, or record breaker. Bonds received credit and is currently the record holder for home runs. There is hope that steroids will no longer be used in baseball. Within the last few years the Major League Baseball Association has been working to crack down on steroid users as much as possible. Most recently New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids in previous season, along with other players such as Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte (Mitchell par. 11). Bringing about the most change was a report written by George J. Mitchell called “The Mitchell Report”. This report is about how Major League Baseball was going to help change and reform their policies to better the sport and crack down on steroid use. The previous drug testing policy in baseball was decent but due to the evolution of drugs and newer and better steroids it was becoming old and obsolete. The previous drug tests only tested for certain steroids in urine tests. But due to the ever changing world of drugs and steroids players began taking another form of steroids called HGH or human growth hormone, which gave the same edge as steroids but were undetectable. (http://files.mlb.com/mitchrpt.pdf, pg. 1) The consequences of a positive drug test are as follows, first positive test is 10 days suspension, second positive test is 30, third positive test is 60 and the fourth positive test is one year, all without pay. The drug testing policy requires each player to take one mandatory unannounced test during the season, a random selection of players with no maximum number of times, and random testing during the off season. (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-01-12-steroid-policy_x.htm, par. 12) Despite all the records that might be scared with steroid use, and poor drug testing policies, how about the youth of the nation? What about all the kids who admire and idolize baseball giants such as A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and many others. All who took steroids and are successful. That has a negative influence on the youth of America. It states something along the lines of ‘take steroids, hit home runs and make millions’. Is that something we want to be teaching our children? What happened to work ethics and hard work? A little sweat and hard work went a long way for Hank Aaron. This is not to say that all of America’s youth is going out and buying illegal steroids and getting ‘pumped’, but it does have an impact. A Time magazine article talking about the issue reports a survey of more then 1,000 students found that kids as young as sixth grade are turning to creatine, a legal steroid like muscle enhancer. (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997152,00.html) There are many deaths of youths that are attributed to the use of steroids. Taking steroids allows the average high school aged pitcher to throw the ball an extra few miles or that less then average hitter become above average. Next thing you know that sub-par high school player might be getting looked at by a Division 1 college baseball program, or that Division 1 player being scouted by a professional ball club. It does have an impact and it does happen. Plus who doesn’t want to be hit a ball like Sammy Sosa or throw a ball like Roger Clemens? Then again, maybe steroids are the new age of baseball. Maybe steroids should be allowed and taken at the user’s risk. Maybe baseball needs steroids to break old and create new records. Most talk about letting baseball players use steroids is opinion, and hardly backed up with science or factual statements. It is constantly disputed and argued among fans and analysts alike. But what would one argue for the use of steroids in baseball? One claim is that they give players an edge over each other and that is what sports are about, competition and who is better then who. Also what about players who have dreams and aspire to be great? If they could use steroids they would be able to fulfill their dreams and feel accomplished. A good example might be third baseman Ken Caminiti. Ken always went from average third baseman to National League Most Valuable Player and helped take his team to the World Series. All from the help of steroids, it helped him become the player he always wanted to. To bad he died at the age of 41 with the help of steroids (Adams par. 8). Another argument for steroids is it creates stars in the sport. Who would have noticed Bonds, A-Rod, or McGwire had they not hit home runs? Steroids allowed these players to become all-stars and hit the ball farther then the rest and more frequently. It creates the players we idolize and place in history, the record setters and leaders that the sports needs. What about the other eight players it takes to play? Why should those other eight players be shadowed because one of their team mates can hit the ball out of the park? Why are they seemingly insignificant? Steroids ruin the team aspect of the sport. Most people don’t know anybody on the San Fransico team that Bonds played on when he hit his record break home run. Baseball has always been a team sport and unless it is a home run derby you can’t win any games by hitting home runs. Steroids cancel out those who are truly deserving of the lime light and the teams that help them. It shifts attention from teams to players, and baseball will always be a team sport. Download 14.43 Kb. Share with your friends:
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