Drug Use in Baseball

Drug Use in Baseball

An Anabolic Steroid is defined as any group of synthetic hormones that are used medically to promote tissue growth, and are sometimes abused by athletes to increase the size and strength of their muscles and improve endurance (Merriam-Webster). I personally believe that steroid use is destroying not only the integrity of sports but also its also setting unrealistic expectations and sets a terrible example for the kids of the generation. When it comes to sports, if you use steroids or Human Growth Hormones to gain a competitive edge you are cheating in every sense of the word. I don’t care if someone told you it was something else, in your heart you really knew what it was. In today’s world, if someone mentions steroids, many players and records come to mind. Barry Bonds, who holds the Major League Baseball (MLB) record for home runs (762) has admitted to doing steroids. In the MLB there seems to be a growing steroid problem that doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

In 2003 Alex Rodriguez won the American League MVP. He later admitted to using steroids during that season. He was drafted first overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 1993 MLB draft. At the time Rodriguez was only 18 years old. Imagine being a kid that watched him play while they were growing up only to find out he was on steroids. That can demolish the way a kid looks at the game. Some people may think, “Why would you ever do steroids?” Well what you have to think about is that most of the players on steroids are either in their first few

years of playing, or their last. When you’re that young and looking at these great players who are 50 pounds heavier than you, I would imagine it would become a little stressful and when a trainer comes up to you and asks “Do you want to be the best baseball player ever?” at that age, of course the answer will be yes and you’d be willing to do anything to get there. David Wells, who pitched in the MLB from 1987-2007, said that 25 to 40 percent of all the players in the Major Leagues are on steroids (Shea)… Think about that for a second; 40 percent. That means 2 out of every 5 players are on steroids. Imagine how much damage that can do to a sport that’s been professionalized for over 100 years. Even Boston’s beloved slugger David Ortiz has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) in his career (Stone). In 2003 the MLB conducted a survey in which they took 1,438 samples and 5 to 7 percent of those samples came back as positive for PED’s; no players were suspended for the results of that survey. Because of this result, in 2004 the MLB tested every player on a 40-man roster at random, unannounced times. Following this second round of testing, 240 players were randomly selected and tested on an unannounced basis. In 2007 a list called “The Mitchell Report” was released revealing the 104 players that had tested positive for PED’s during that 2003 screening. Some stars on the list included Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz,