Steroids in Baseball

Keep Steroids Out of the Hall of Fame

As we move into the turn of the decade, Major League Baseball (MLB) is presented with some tough decisions to make in regards to players of the steroid era and their induction into the MLB Hall of Fame. Since 1936, the Baseball Writers Association of America has done a great job of choosing only the best baseball players to make it into the exclusive MLB Hall of Fame. Being in the position of the Hall of Fame selectors is very hard because every year there have been debates from many different viewpoints about the Hall of Fame status of numerous players. Yet, the selection committee has only selected players who are outstanding on and off the field to represent the history of America’s pastime.

In 2013, players from what has been deemed baseball’s steroid era will be eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, many baseball players, including baseball greats such as Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez, have been found guilty of taking performance- enhancing substances. These players have skewed their ability and statistics through the use of unnatural steroids. Therefore they should be considered cheaters in the eyes of baseball fans, and more importantly, in the eyes of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee. In order to maintain the integrity of America’s pastime, players who have been proven guilty of steroid use should not be voted into the MLB Hall of Fame.

First off, players who use steroids are directly violating one of the Hall of Fame voter’s guidelines. The fifth guideline for Hall of Fame voters is that “voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” The words integrity, sportsmanship, and character should ring a specific bell to each and every member of the committee because they are principles that stand at the heart of this issue. It is absolutely absurd to praise someone who used illegal performance-enhancing drugs that provide them with an unfair advantage as being integral, having a high regard for sportsmanship, or demonstrating good character. Just because other great players have taken various other drugs in the past does not discredit the point that steroids provide some players with unfair advantages that others don’t receive. In fact, it enhances this point because steroids give a much greater advantage to the user than the drugs that New York Times Op-Ed writer Zev Chafets says the players before the steroid era took, such as cocaine, alcohol, or speed. These drugs are either stimulants or depressants that have a temporary effect. While steroids are taken in two week cycles that have a lasting effect on conditioning muscles to get larger and to recover faster from strain, both effects that provide an immense advantage. Taking cocaine, alcohol, or speed never made anybody physically stronger or more conditioned. Even if it did, these examples of old-time players taking these drugs come few and far in-between. It was not a habitual occurrence like steroids became part of the everyday life of many great players, including Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, and Ken Caminiti. San Diego Padres third baseman, Caminiti, whose cause of death at 41 has been linked to steroid use, estimated that 80% of the players in the MLB were taking performance-enhancing drugs throughout the 90s. The sporadic problem of the use of cocaine, alcohol, and speed never even approached the magnitude that steroids did. There is a reason why the past 25 years in baseball will forever be known as the steroids era.

Additionally comparing kids who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and take Ritalin to baseball players who take steroids is, as Chafets does, is simply ridiculous. The kids that are taking Ritalin are using it in attempt to live normally day in and day out with a disorder that they were born with. Contrarily baseball players are just carrying out their careers by playing a game. These players are not suffering from any kind of natural disorder that requires them to take steroids. Also, Ritalin is taken by these kids on a regimented basis, is doctor prescribed, and is legal. Steroids, on the other hand, are illegal and therefore obtained illegally and are oftentimes abused by stacking numerous steroids on top of each other in order to gain the upper hand on the guy that is taking steroids in the adjacent locker room stall.

This brings me to my last and most important point. With million dollar contracts on the line, competition amongst amateurs to become professional is fierce and they are oftentimes willing to do just about anything to get a competitive advantage. With baseball players being drafted into professional baseball straight from high school, tons of pressure is on these kids to perform better than the next guy to earn a big contract, so many turn to steroids. Chafets says that all MLB baseball players should be allowed to take steroids and do whatever it takes for them to perform their best, claiming that baseball players are adults that make their own decisions and not children. Well that may be true, but the competition is intense and kids start getting recruited from the time they are in 8^th grade to a senior in high school. The pressure starts to mount when the recruiting process begins, and as recruiting becomes more competitive a domino effect forms, causing steroid use to occur sooner and sooner amongst children. Yes, professional baseball players aren’t children, but they are role models and they do set standards that young ballplayers across America look up to and try to accomplish themselves. For example, ss an avid baseball fan since I was six years old, I have looked up to many steroid abusers as I grew up with the game. The epic homerun race in 1998 between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire is a time I will remember for the rest of my life. While Sosa and McGwire were rewriting baseball’s homerun record books, they were my heroes. When I was 17, I stared at these same two heroes being indicted in front of a grand jury on steroid charges. At that moment my heart was broken, and I began to question the value of hard work and commitment that my father had taught me as a kid. Chafets claims that youth steroid use is not even an issue because the government can regulate children’s use of steroids as they do with alcohol, tobacco and prescription medication. I don’t think this point is very string considering every year, 77.4 million packs of cigarettes are smoked by underage users and 77% of high school seniors have had an alcoholic drink with 94% of the high school seniors claiming alcohol is “very easy” or “fairly easy” to get. And the underage alcohol issue has been around for centuries, whereas steroids are a newer commodity and regulation isn’t really as strict, even though the consequences may include many adverse health effects including liver damage, cardiovascular problems, stunted growth, high blood pressure, kidney problems, and sterility.