The Destruction of Baseball: Steroid Use

904 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effects of steroids on baseball players

Major League Baseball has major problems and chief among them is the alarming increase in steroid use by professional baseball players. Many authors and journalists discuss this topic by citing statistics and studies, but illustrator Adam Zyglis provides an astounding, compelling argument using nothing but a pen and paper to support his point. His remarkable caricature is a depiction of a baseball with the New York Yankees insignia stamped in the center with the number thirteen beneath the symbol. The side of the baseball has been unzipped and various pills and tablets are spilling out onto the ground. The combination of the drugs, the stamp, and the player’s number all allude to the infamous Alex Rodriguez, or A-Rod. The baseball in the cartoon represents the MLB as a whole. On the surface it is clean, well polished, and coveted by fans and aspiring players alike. But, once the audience peels back the flawless exterior, scandals and secrets pour out into the light, leaving the audience holding an empty, useless shell. Suddenly, the fan base is disabused of its idols and baseball hopefuls are without a role model. This illustration is the first layer in the complex consequences caused by the steroid use that is responsible for the MLB’s current state of disgrace. The most noticeable impact steroid use has had on baseball is the rapid decline in baseball’s once revered fan base (Danielle 1). Fans are abandoning America’s pastime at a distressing rate because instead of pondering the outcome of a highly anticipated face off between the Rangers and the Yankees, fans find themselves wondering which of their idols will be pushed off his pedestal next. Long time fans are nostalgic for the 50s and 60s, when baseball players were held t... ... middle of paper ... ...the MLB faces today. This single problem branches off to incorporate the shift in target audience, the mounting tension both on the field and off, and especially the deterioration of the public’s view of professional baseball Baseball players are abandoning their once legendary morals, fan base, and even their playing styles. Works Cited Danielle, Jessica. “Alex Rodriguez is an Easy Target.” New York Times Room for Debate. New York Times, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. Gould IV, William B. “The Penalty Fits the Crime.” New York Times Room for Debate. New York Times, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. Zirin, David. “Teams and the League Should Pay.” New York Times Room for Debate. New York Times, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. Yee, Donald. “One More Step in a Long Long Decline.” New York Times Room for Debate. New York Times, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    To fully understand this book, people must go behind the book and find the true state of mind of the author. Unfortunately in this case, the author is the one and only Jose Canseco. Jose Canseco is what I like to call, “The black sheep in the family of baseball.” Canseco’s history can be related to such incidents of drug using, heavy drinking, numerous sexual encounters with hundreds of partners, and unreasonable acts of violence. This book goes into grave detail on how steroids have changed his life and how it is currently changing baseball.

    Read More

  • Anabolic Steroid Use in Baseball

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Baseball?s reputation has been painted with a red asterisk. The non-medical use of steroids has been banned according to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990. Many baseball athletes have been caught or presumed illegal users of HGH or Steroids since the act passed in 1990. All these athletes have one thing in common, they want to have an edge or advantage on the game. Some athletes even admit to administering the drug to other athletes and themselves. Jose Conseco testified to personally injecting the steroids into Mark McGuire (Cote).

    Read More

  • Should Baseball Players who Used Steroids be Allowed in The Hall of Fame?

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    decades or so covering baseball on the subject of steroids -- what they do, how the game

    Read More

  • PED in Sports

    1628 Words  | 4 Pages

    Performance enhancing drugs have been a longstanding problem in sports. It not only deteriorates the honesty of the game, but also can have broader social affects that one may not even realize. The use of performance enhancing drugs is especially apparent in Major League Baseball. This problem can be traced back to the 1980’s when baseball was facing one of its first “dark periods”. During the 1980’s Major League Baseball was experiencing a home run drought. Home run totals were down as far as they had been since Babe Ruth, and fans were seemingly becoming bored with the sport. The lack of home runs was a growing concern for players whose salary relied on home run totals. Players needed to find a quick way to boost their power and performance in order to keep the sport alive and to keep bringing in their paychecks. This desire for fame and fortune introduced steroids into Major League Baseball in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Home run totals jumped tremendously during these decades and players were willing to risk being caught using illegal substances in order to shine above the rest. New idols and role models started to sprout up from these outstanding home run statistics and young children started to take notice. This all came tumbling down when these new idols and role models who were making the big bucks and hitting the ball out of the park tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Here lie the affects of a growing social problem in sports. These famed athletes become walking advertisements and promotions for the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. The influence professional athletes have over aspiring young athletes is very powerful and these roles models make it seem acceptable to use performance ...

    Read More

  • Steroids in Baseball

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    People frown upon steroids in baseball because they say they are an unfair advantage even though they can be used as big advantage. Steroids have always been looked down on because people say that they are unfair and unsafe to use. So far players that have used steroids in Major League baseball have been healthy and the only side effects of them have been success. Steroids have become a huge part of baseball since the 1990’s. players feel like they need to use them to stay competitive. Steroids help increase muscle mass and help athletes train harder and faster. This results in better play on the field. Most steroid users in the MLB (Major League Baseball) are pitchers and homerun hitters. Steroids need to be legalized in Major League Baseball to bring more excitement into the game so that more people will watch, it will level the playing field for all the players, it will keep athletes healthy during the long season, and it will be more efficient since the consequences for using the substance does not keep players from using them.

    Read More

  • Steroids Effects on baseball and the Players

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 importantly, steroid users damage their own well-being and the image of the sport. Baseball players who decide to use Anabolic steroids are affecting themselves just as much as the game of baseball itself.

    Read More

  • Steroids in Baseball

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    The world around us involves cheating to get or look good. Athletes and teens are doing the same thing, injecting and swallowing a drug that is part of their everyday lifestyle. Lost in a world of drugs that won't put them in the Hall of Fame but in the Hall of Shame. Influence by pressure and appearance to do well is a way described as putting your reality upside down.

    Read More

  • Cheating in Baseball

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children who have grown up in America have been brought up with baseball and have looked up to a sports figure as one of their heroes. Steroids and other PEDS have tarnished the American past time favorite game. These drugs have cause doubts and suspicion about the validity o...

    Read More

  • Steroids Impact on Major League Baseball

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    The MLB arguably has conveyed a series of mixed messages with regard to its players and their use of steroids. On the one hand, the League apparently cooperates with lawmakers on the issue of regulating drug use among its players; on the other, some of the best athletes in the MLB are suspected of drug use and yet continue to be marketed and revered. Examples of drugs used by MLB stars have included: Anavar, Andriol, Clomid, Depo-Testosterone, Insulin, Stanozolol, and Testosterone1. These drugs are steroids, typically prescribed by medical professionals to patients fighting specific disorders (such as low testosterone or infertility) or provide relief for immense pain or other severe symptoms; they are used “off-label” by athletes for increa...

    Read More

  • Why College Athletes Shouldn't Get Paid

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Salvador, Damon. “Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid?” 20 April 2013.Web. 18 May 2014.

    Read More

  • The Steroid Era

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    The era in sports from the late 90s and into the 2000s has often been nicknamed “The Steroid Age” due to the raging use of anabolic steroids and other PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) by professional athletes. The usage of drugs in sports has never been more prevalent during this time, and many people are making it their goal to put an end to the abuse. Influential athletes such as Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez, and Roger Clemens, who were once held as the highest role models to the American people, now watch as their legacies are tarnished by accusations of drug use. The American population, and lovers of sports everywhere, have followed in astonishment through recent years as many beloved athletes reveal their dark secrets. As organizations such as the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) and BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) attempt to halt the use of PEDs, both the drug users and their high-end suppliers work diligently to avoid detection. The use of performance enhancing drugs in recent years has proven to be cancerous to the honesty and competition of modern sports. Although some strides have been made over the past few decades, the use of steroids is in full swing in Major League Baseball, The dangerous side effects of the drugs are often overlooked and many do not realize the message this sends to the youth. The support for halting the usage of PEDs is in need of attention or professional sports will face the loss of all progress made through the past two decades in its war on steroids.

    Read More

  • We Should Pay College Athletes

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    6) Clark, Liz. “Athletes Say They Deserve to Be Paid.” Charlotte Observer. (Charlotte, N.C.). April 3, 1994: pg. 4G. Sports. Eleanor Goldstein. Vol. 4. Boca Raton: SIRS, 1994. Art. 65.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Steroids In Sports

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Athletes are often pressured from an early age to be better than the rest. In sports such as football, baseball, basketball, and soccer, the need to be “great” is becoming a dominant factor in the world of sports. Regardless of which sport is chosen, the stigma to be great is slowly surpassing the main goal of sportsmanship among team players. With the notion that being great is the key; many athletes, both amateur and professional, are relying on steroids to help bring them to the top of their game. Steroid use can cause damaging effects to the body and preventing this may save the lives and careers of current and future students. This essay is written to explain the problems of steroids in sports and the solutions in which to help deter or stop this problem.

    Read More

  • Baseball is the National Pastime

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    This game of a stick and ball has captivated the United States during good and bad times. In either time most of us today can remember stories of players from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. These are legendary figures in the sport of baseball that have are celebrated as hero’s and in scandal, i...

    Read More

  • Free Definition Essays - A Baseball Fan

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    Finally, baseball fans are insanely loyal to the team of their choice. Should the home team's players lose eight in a row, their fans may begin to call them "bums." They may even suggest that the slumping cleanup hitter be sent to the minors or the manager fired. However, such reactions only hide their broken hearts. They still check the sports pages and tune in to get the score. Furthermore, this intense loyalty can make fans dangerous, for anyone who dares to say to a loyal fan that some other team has sharper fielding or a better attitude could risk permanent, physical harm.

    Read More

More about The Destruction of Baseball: Steroid Use

Open Document