A Single Needle; Single Handily Changing the Game Essay

Americas Pas while has been the true root of sports in the United States of America. Baseb solely blew up in the late 19th ascorbic acid towards the end of the Ameri jakes Civil War. Before in that location were TVs, internet, or DVDs, baseb completely is what kids did for fun. It became the subject to do if you were a white anthropoid going into the 20th century, and that was vertical the beginning of a long woody nightshade road of the naughty of baseb all in all(prenominal). Up until the 1990s many capaciouss had walked in amidst the lines showing arrive at their pure paragon given talent, wherefore an time came along that makes e real baseball fan cringe, the sex hormones Era. steroid hormones started to splay d sensation let on the compact like wildfire, and sadly no one was doing anything ab by it.The however thing administration, takeers, authorities, and fans had were suspicion no one knew for sure if these record submiting seasons were very or all jus t a fluke. The greats like Hank Aaron, child Ruth, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams all hurl been being surpassed in the record books by Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGuire, and destiny to a greater extent shams due to the theatrical role of murder Enhancing Drugs. The practice session of hot Steroids in baseball has single handily degraded and disgraced the great hazard that once was professional personud to be feeln as Americas Pastime.The man who started it all and really brought Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) to the baseball scene in the late 1980s was Oakland Athletics outfielder, Jose Canseco. erstwhile Canseco starting showing his teammates how influential these drugs were to their performance through his deliver personalised achievements it wasnt long in advance a large amount of courseers were victimization PEDs. Canseco states in his book, Juiced Wild Times, rampant Roids, Smash Hits, and How baseball Got Big that, About 85% of study group discussionrs afford utilize it (Canseco). The MLB rargonly, if at all time- tried for steroid hormones during this time of the Steroids Era and if they did on that point was no penalty for examen controlling. At the time it was virtually a win win for the players, they could juice up, exceed the stats they could only when dream about, and never subscribe in trouble during the process. Performance Enhancing Drugs became an epidemic in the ground of baseball, further non only was it enhancing players performance, it was enhancing every aspect of revenue a ball club could ever imagine. The Record books were once again leave and ready for business.Athletes much(prenominal) as Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Mark McGuire, and so forth were smashing homeruns and going up on the graphs little by little for the all time homerun record holder, Hank Aaron. This excitement on the field attracted more fans through these steroid course of instructions than baseball had ever seen, and when there are fans there is money, and when there is money there is no concern. The Major League of baseball had been unmindful(predicate) to the irregular ingestion of Steroids over the years. Until 2002 there were no penalties for test substantiating for PEDs. The new rules stated, A first time offense would only result in treatment for the player (Baseball-Almanac). Not one player was sentenced to any faultings for this crime, until the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO) steroid outrage came to light, and brought out many of the All-Stars of the MLB to the top of the list. Victor Cante the founder of BALCO was a god to the sports dry land. He was the guy that non only supplied athletes with their steroids, but also had shipway to cheat the tests so they could come up clean.Testing companies such as the k outrightledge base Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S Anti Doping-Agency (USADA) are always trying to purify the efficiency of the tests to make cheating near impossible if not tout ensemble full proof, but as those agencies are working to blockade the cheaters workers at BALCO labs are finding ways once again come up with a new way to slide by the new and amend tests on the market (Quinn). So in 2005 The MLB created a new exam policy that was accepted by the players and owners that said, The first confirmative test entrust result in a abeyance of up to ten days. The jiffy constructive test for farm result in a suspension of thirty days. The 3rd controlling test willing result in a suspension of sixty days. The fourth positive test will result in a suspension of one full year.Finally, the twenty share positive test will result in a penalty at the discretion of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Players will be tested at least once per year, with a chance that several players can be tested numerous times per year (Baseball-Almanac). That wasnt the start adjustment bud Selig, the C ommissioner of the Major League of Baseball, was going to make to the steroid testing policy. On December 13, 2007, Greg Mitchell, an investigator who was ap bear witnessed by Bud Selig in 2006 to investigate the engage of Performance Enhancing Drugs in the MLB, presented a 409 paginate report to Selig showing his investigation and revealing 89 alleged players who mapd steroids during their career (Healey). one time Bud Selig had been shown the report, his 3rd written drug testing policy came in to play which was k flatn as the Three strikes and youre out approach (Verhaeghe). This final policy stated that, The first positive test would result in a fifty game suspension. The sanction positive test would result in a one-hundred game suspension. Finally, the third positive test would result in a lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball (Baseball Almanac). Bud Selig and the rest of the administration privileged of the Major League of Baseball had finally seen the light, and properly readyn natural process on how to cut down the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs passim the MLB.Once the Mitchell bailiwick was released many super stars and role models for fans all around the world were printed in black under the category of the felonious use of steroids throughout their career. The most popular player named in the Mitchell Report due to his motor lodge of justice and exam issues would establish to be 7 time Cy Young achiever, Roger Clemens. Once he saw that his name had been brought to light in the report he went to Capitol Hill to clear his name off the list that he felt he didnt need to be on. Little did he know that when made the statement,I appreciate the opportunity to tell this Committee and the public-under oath-what I open been express all along I bring forth never used steroids, merciful growth hormone HGH, or any other(a) type of illegal performance enhancing drugs. I think these types of drugs should play no role in athletics at any level, and I in full support Senator Mitchells conclusions that steroids ask no place in baseball. However, I take great issue with the reports allegation that I used these substances. permit me be clear again I did not. (Healey)That he was entering a world of charges when committing perjury in a court of law. Many of the players claimed their innocence like Clemens did, but in the end they all served the types of charges.The original group of all time Baseball greats like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Cy young, etc. coif a high standard for the Players later(prenominal) them to progress to for and gave them somewhatthing to achieve. Never in their minds would they of thought that the game of baseball would have off out the way it is today. These modern day All-stars who cheated and used Performance Enhancing Drugs for a shortcut just to go ahead of someones concentrated work and love for the game as soundly to achieve their personal and selfish desires should be punished an d have their awards and accolades stripped from them and taken out of the record books as if they were never there to begin with.The use of Performance Enhancing Drugs has coif a permanent stain on the name of Baseball and what it is truly about. Bud Selig and the Major confederation of Baseball has come a long way regarding minimizing the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs by enforcing harsher penalties and consequences for testing positive for steroids. As the years have gone by thanks to the leagues stricter policies on testing positive for PEDs the amount of players getting suspended for steroid use has decreased on a year to year basis. The Major League of Baseball will never be able to completely take Performance Enhancing Drugs out of the game, but with the right consequences, and appropriate policies they will be able continue to keep the use of Steroids at a very low rate and never re-enter the once dreaded time known as the Steroids Era ever again.Works CitedHealey, Dani el. FALL OF THE projectile STEROIDS IN BASEBALL AND THECASE AGAINEST ROGER CLEMENS. Marquette Sports Law Review 19.1 (September 2008) SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011.Roger The arugula Clemens is known to be one of the best of all-time to step on the rubber in the game of Major League Baseball. The Seven-time Cy Young winner was ultimately un forgopable in the last half of his career. He was just other great phenom in the baseball world until December 13, 2007 when the Mitchell Report was released, revealing a 409-page report that was sent to the commissioner of baseball (Bud Selig) that investigated the illegal use of steroids and Performance Enhancing Drugs used by players in Major League Baseball. there were over 80 players target on this report, but the one who stood out the most was Roger Clemens himself. On February 13th 2008 he went to Capitol Hill to argue the allegations against him saying,I appreciate the opportunity to tell this Committee and the public-under oath-w hat I have been saying all along I have never used steroids, human growth hormone HGH, or any other type of illegal performance enhancing drugs. I think these types of drugs should play no role in athletics at any level, and I fully support Senator Mitchells conclusions thatSteroids have no place in baseball. However, I take great issue with the reports allegation that I used these substances. Let me be clear again I did not.Once Clemens had stated that it dress a rather large target on his hindquarters not only by investigators but also the judicial system. They were trying to get him to admit exploitation illegal steroids, but now as well they were going after him on counts of perjury. After 2 years of host enough evidence and testimonies on August 19, 2010 a Federal meretricious Jury Indicted Roger Clemens on six counts, one count of obstruction of congress, leash counts of false statements, and two counts of perjury. On July 13, 2011 Clemens first trial began, but on the s econd day the judge ruled a mistrial due to prosecutorial misconduct. For now Roger Clemens is a free man, but legal sources say that he will be retried.I will be using the Mitchell Report and the Roger Clemens trial to portray that not only is the use of steroids extremely risky and inflamed but also that its against the law and you will get caught one way or another. 1991 to 2002 was known as the Steroid Era in professional baseball. over those years quiticularly in 1995 after the cancellation of the 1994 playoffs and gentlemans gentleman Series the statistics of a majority of the players skyrocketed, which in retrospect played a huge role in filling the empty seats posterior up after the 1994 strike. Ill be explaining that up until to this point in time the MLB did not have strict regulations on testing for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)Kuenster, John. Major League Player Records Dishonored by Steroid Users. BaseballDigest. 62.2 (March 2008) SPORTDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011.John Kuenster touches on a very precious subject when it comes to records, and honors given in the MLB. Back in early in mid 1900s the greats of the game like, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, and Ernie Banks. They all set legitimate records that should never be shadowed by the players who last broke them. These few players all had something in common. That was hard work and love for the game. They didnt use PEDs to up there stats or to get to a higher(prenominal) turning in a certain category. These historic greats earned their records off pure talent that was god given and worked hard to mature.The greats of our time such as, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, or Mark McGwire also hold records like men mentioned earlier. The only difference between the past greats and the current greats is that these new all-stars were accused of using Steroids to achieve their records. Not only are the players the ones to blame for the w hole Steroid Era. Stricter steps should have been taken from the get go through the league to enforce steroid testing to ensure the safety and fair play in professional play of baseball before the use of steroids spread like wildfire through the MLB. Will records and awards be stripped from players whove been tested positive for performing enhancing drugs? We wear thint know for now, but who knows what the future holds.This denomination about dishonoring the awards given to players who have achieved them unfairly will allow me to interpretive program my opinion on the topic of record work shifters involving steroids. I in person am against the use of steroids solely because all it does it degrade the great game of baseball. Even though these cheaters didnt use PEDs their whole career and achieved some of their record off pure talent doesnt change the concomitant they broke the rules that is stated in the contract thats signed by every professional player. Its not fair that hist orys greatest baseball players prior to the steroid era should be passed up in the record books by players that made themselves better by an illegal drug. Not only is it a disgrace to the violators name, but more significantly its a disgrace to the game of baseball.Rutecki, Jared. A Study of Media equal on Public tone Regarding PerformanceEnhancement in Major League Baseball. Open Sports Sciences Journal 3 (2010) SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011.A chart in the word, A study of Media invasion on Public Opinion Regarding Performance Enhancement in Major League Baseball shows the percent of the coverage on specific sports and PEDs through 1968 to 2006 in Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and Time. Baseball ranks subjugate one in all 3 magazines with 43 percent, 39 percent, and 39 percent. Coming in second was football with a significant dishonor percent of 19, 14, and 15. Over the years magazine holds about PEDs have increased by a huge amount due to the popularity in steroid use among professional athletes.With the widespread use of steroids in sports particularly baseball, its apparent that the talk of it in magazines and media in general has cerebrovascular accident up too. When something isnt a public issue the media obviously isnt interested in it which is why steroids in the earlier years werent written and talked about much. When the Steroid Era came into play thats when the number of articles in magazines skyrocketed year by year and it all of sudden became a huge topic in our society. I will also be touching on the fact that even when people knew that steroids were an issue media didnt start writing about it like crazy until the 104 MLB players tested positive for PEDs in 2003. From that year on the number of articles per year were above 49. The media writes what sells and in this day and age breeding and insider news about the world of baseball and steroids will always sell.Solberg, Joe. Performance-Enhancing Drug Use in Baseball The Impact of C ulture.Ethics and Behavior 21 (April 2011) 91-102. Philosophers Index. Web. 8 November 2011.Joe Solberg explains that once the steroid era of baseball blew up and became steady that it wasnt out of the norm anymore, it became part of the culture. Once everyone was doing it the person below them had to use PEDs in vagabond to get to the next level. The use of Steroids is a ladder that started in the pros and worked its way down to the minors.Major League Contracts are more than less based off offensive performance rather than justificatory performance. To be more specific on offensive performance homeruns are what really can land you a greathearted money contract. Over the years the biggest category that PEDs have helped is homeruns. Of course players want a portion of money, and in swan to get that money is to hit homeruns, and in order to increase the amount of homeruns is to take performance enhancing drugs. Players will do what they have to do in order to make the money tha t they are cheerful with, and as a result for most players it is to partake in using steroids to increase their status as an all-star.The information I gathered in this article will help me explain the players demands for scatty to use PEDs. Its not only used just to break records and be known as an all-star even though that is a prescribed that comes with it, but its the fact that if the person above you is using these substances then in order for you to excel above him and potentially take his cytologic smear you almost feel obligated to take PEDs as well. It was once a bad thing to be associated with the group known to take steroids back when it was a rare thing to do. Now days its such a common thing to partake in its part of the culture, its fairly normal in the MLB now to use PEDs.Sommers, Paul. The Changing impinging Performance Profile in Major League Baseball,1966-2006. Journal of Sports economic science 9.4 (August 2008) SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011.Paul Somme rs showed charts over the decades of average years played by an average starter in the pros. It went from 5.2 years in the 60s to 6 in a half years in 2006. That shows that the use of steroids in the MLB increased a players career by almost 2 years. He also explains that the use of PEDs in baseball lets you peak at a higher level of skill. A persons overall skill level will increase by a big number while using steroids. Someone hitting .267 without the use of steroids could climb anywhere from a .324 to .378 average depending on the person. With all the statistics shown throughout the article its proven that Performance enhancing drugs increase a players batting average, peak, years played, MPH, and overall skill level.Before the 1960s after a players peak their batting average tended to surrender steadily due to falling off from their prime, but after the 1960s a large amount of players started to excel past their peak year and raise their batting averages past their prime which was unusual. As we know now the reason for that was the use of PEDs.After 2004 the statistics seemed to start trending again like the 1960s due to the random and mandatory drug tests which disabled the players to partake in using Anabolic Steroids of HGH. I will be using this information to show how all PEDs have been proven in many to not only better athletes, but make them more durable and lay out on redundant years of successful productivity past their prime. PEDs arent physically making them younger, but they sure are making them relieve oneself younger hoary stats in a past prime aged body.Stone, Brad. Another Poison Pill Newsweek 146.7 (August 15 2005) AcademicSearch Complete. Web. 8 November 2011.The MLB is by far the top sport when it comes to the abuse of Performance Enhancing Drugs, but yet it holds the weakest punishment in the sports world for testing positive. Rafael Palmeiro in 2008 tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs in early August of 2008 just month s after he testified before a U.S congressional committee stating that he had never used PEDs in his life. Not only did he test positive for steroids, he failed the test after manufacture under oath in a court of law, and all he was punished with through the MLB was a 10-day suspension and a $164,000 fine. Due to the particular steroid Palmeiro took, Stanozonol, which travels through your digestive system within 2 weeks, makes it hard for the court to prove that Palmeiro was lying when he testified.Baseball wants to stop the abuse of Steroids, but at the equivalent time it seems like all these players that test positive these substances just get slaps on the wrist and are told not to do it again. If you want a problem to come to a halt you have to go the extra distance in order to get the results youre looking for. PEDs have been persistent in the MLB for decades now telling a player to stop will ultimately not stop them. There needs to be an ultimatum put into action to make the abusers consider that these PEDs arent worth the release of their career.Every other sport that has extremely harsh penalties if tested positive for PEDs dont have a very high percent of positive tests because the players dont want to take the risk to put their career on the line. In the MLBs case they arent putting a severe enough consequence for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. My main point Ill be using from this article is that if you want the use of PEDs to debase then you have to put consequences that the players dont want to contest with out there in order to produce more interdict resulting drug tests.Quinn, Tom BASEBALLS STEROID ERA. Mens Fitness 23.(August 2007) SPORTSDiscus. Web. 8 November 2011Throughout the history of baseball testing for both steroids or street drugs really hasnt been a big part of the games policy. Players played the game and what they did off the field was their own business. Once the early 80s hit, and PEDs came on the scene the use of t hem among players got out of hand. It became an almost regular regime for a majority of the MLB. Tests were eventually being given, but that didnt stop the players. When theres motive to do illegal substances theres always the backup send off to keep these athletes out of trouble.There were plenty of ways to come up clean on a test, and when the testers would find a way to stop it, Victor Cante and his crew at BALCO labs would just simply find another way to cheat. Even when the few unlucky players get caught all they have to do is admit it and simply explain they were told it was something else. For Example, Barry Bonds, when he spoke in front of the BALCO grand jury he came clean about all the PEDs he had taken, but the catch was he stated that he was oblivious to what he was actually using. People of this stature will make their illegal decisions, but dont think they dont have all the answers for when the going gets tough.Ill be using Quinns article BASEBALL STEROIDS ERA to info rm how little baseball can really do to not only catch these users, but to actually put a stop to the Performance Enhancing Drugs. If not cheating tests to save their own ass these professional athletes will just find a ameliorate window of time to where they know they wont be tested in the offseason to fit in a couple cycles here and there to maintain the gains through using PEDs.Testing companies such as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S Anti Doping-Agency (USADA) will never stop trying to alter the efficiency of the tests to make cheating near impossible if not completely full proof, but as those agencies are working to stop the cheaters dont think the cheaters at BALCO labs arent finding ways to break through and find loop holes in their tests.Verhaeghe, Dan. Bud Selig Lays Down the beetle on Performance Enhancing Drugs. Bleacher Report. (January 2008) Web. 30 November 2011