Steroids Use in Major League Baseball (MLB): Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds

1591 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: manaaging performance enhancing drugs in athletics sport

Steroids in baseball, particularly in Major League Baseball (MLB), have become a major issue. Two specific athletes have affected Major league Baseball dramatically; these players are Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds. It is hard to catch a steroid user. Don Catlin, a former director at the UCLA Olympic testing lab says time after time they try to find the users and test them method, after they have evidence, however, this method does not work (Quinn). Mark McGwire’s and Barry Bonds’ use of steroids affected baseball in terms of trust issues, record holders, drug policies, and the future of baseball. An easy way to try to get out of being caught using steroids is to lie. Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire both lied on many occasions. This is the spark that started debate of steroid use being legal. George Mitchell, a United States senator believe that any one that has played a part in baseball throughout the last two preceding decades have responsibility in the era of steroids (Kuenster). Not only are the lies of using steroids of the players known, but people do not believe them. Chicago Tribune sports writer Rick Morrissey states, “Many of us [baseball spectators] don’t believe in the things we’ve seen in baseball players do over the past 10 years. We know that kind of strength [the strength that steroids give players] doesn’t occur that quickly, that dramatically” (qtd. in Verducci). Barry Bonds was so confident about his lies that he told federal prosecutors to prove that he is guilty, that he would like to see them do it (Henry). He denied the use of steroids repeatedly or at least he did so in the public’s eye. It is not just Bonds that uses steroids however, many other players do. Jeff Novitzky, a federal investigator, stated th... ... middle of paper ... ...19. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. McGrath, Ben. “King of Walks.” New Yorker. 87.6 (2011): 52. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. “McGwire Strikes Out!.” Current Science 84.14 (1999): 8. MAS Ultra-School Edition. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Nemec, David, and Saul Wisnia. 100 Years of Baseball. Lincolonwood, Ill.: Publications International, 2002, Print. Price, S.L. “The Liars Club.” Sports Illustrated 103.25 (2005): 110. MAS Ultra-School Edition. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Quinn, T.J. “Baseball’s Steroid Era.” Mens Fitness 23.6 (2007): MAS Ultra-School Edition. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. “Socher, Abraham. “No Game For Old Men (Cover Story).”Commentary 125.3 (2008): 55-58. Humanities International Complete. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Verducci, Tom. “Is Baseball In The Asterisk Era? (Cover Story).” Sports Illustrated 100.11 (2004): 36. MAS Ultra-School Edition. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Book Report on Baseball: A History of America's Game by Benjamin G. Rader

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Book Report on Baseball: A History of America's Game by Benjamin G. Rader In "Baseball: A History of America's Game", the Author Benjamin G. Rader discusses the history of baseball and how it developed to present day. Rader explains how baseball started as a simple game consisting of no rules besides the players using a stick to hit a ball and its constant evolution to what the game is today. He also displays several issues which America's favorite sport has had while developing into the complex sport it is today. Although baseball has had several trials and tribulations throughout its history, it still remains America's favorite pastime.

    Read More

  • Barry Bonds and Steroids

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you noticed the size of Barry Bonds’ entire body over the past couple years? His muscles grew big, and his endurance increased over time which allowed him to play baseball for as long as he had. Barry Bonds was a baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants for 21 years. He had to overcome some huge injuries, including a huge knee problem at the end of his career. The only way that he was able to lift so much while he still was recovering is a topic that has been discussed for a long time. Steroids are the only possible explanation. His era of play included such players as Sammy Sosa, who was caught using a doctored bat during a game and also Mark McGuwire, who has admitted to using steroids and performance enhancing drugs. Barry Bonds shares one characteristic between these players; he cheated the game. Although he has not been caught, Barry Bonds should be convicted of using Human Growth Hormones and Performance Enhancing Drugs such as steroids.

    Read More

  • Anabolic Steroids are Ruining Major League Baseball

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Major League Baseball (MLB) has widely been regarded as America’s pastime for the longest time, however it is now becoming known as the sport tainted by one thing, anabolic steroids. An anabolic steroid is related to the natural steroid, testosterone. They are able to stimulate growth in the muscle tissue. They usually increase muscle mass and strength. The MLB has created some of the most historic American icons, such as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Players like them showed us what it was like to play baseball the right way. They played with passion, heart, and above all they had fun playing. Players today in the MLB focus way too much on becoming the best player ever to play. They see what the greats did before them and they want to match them, so they turn to anabolic steroids. An example of this is Alex Rodriguez. In 2003 he tested positive for anabolic steroids because he was “naïve” and couldn’t take the pressure of his expectations of being called the best. He felt the pressure from the game and he turned to steroids. Anabolic steroids are ruining the game of baseball. They are tainting the records and the changing the game for the worse.

    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

  • Inside Joe DiMaggio's Life and Success

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gigliotti, Jim. "A Short Storybook." Sports in America, 1950-1959. New York: Chelsea House, 2010. 42-44. Print.

    Read More

  • Barry Bonds

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Use of Steroids in Baseball: A comprehensive resources covering the growing concern of steroid use in the MLB.

    Read More

  • Cansecos Steroid Allegations

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Jose Canseco’s 60 Minutes interview, he stated that he and some of his teammates used steroids in the past. With all the hoopla surrounding Major League Baseball and its connection with allegations made by BALCO president Victor Conte, this report is intriguing at the least. High profile athletes such as Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds have been under direct scrutiny over the past year because of the steroid issue. Canseco firmly states that he and former teammate Mark McGwire casually injected together during their playing days as an Oakland Athlete. “After batting practice or right before the game, Mark and I would duck into a stall in the men’s locker room, load up our syringes and inject ourselves” with steroids, starting in 1988, Canseco wrote, according to an excerpt made by the N.Y. Times. Tony Larussa, manager of the A’s at the time denies that his players ever used steroids. Supposedly, steroids give an edge to a players’ psyche as well as increased size and strength. Larussa then reiterated that McGwire got his strength and size from weightlifting and a careful diet. In a league where the most glaring aspect of the sport is the art of the homerun, it seems as if these allegations could be possibly true. Homerun king Mark McGwire has made a name for himself with hitting the long ball. He and Sammy Sosa, another alleged user has a hit an impressive amount of homeruns over the span of their careers. Canseco also called out former Texas Ranger Rangers teammates, Ivan Rodriguez, Jose Gonzalez, and Rafael Palmeiro. All the players named above are potential Hall of Famers.

    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

  • Steroid Use in Baseball

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thompson, Teri, and et al. American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • Drugs, Cheating, and the Purity of America's Pastime

    2872 Words  | 6 Pages

    Recently the topic of steroid use in baseball has been everywhere in the news. It has finally come to the attention of Major League Baseball, and now the general public, that a vast percentage of players have been using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. This not only casts a cloud of suspicion over which players are using steroids, and makes one wonder which players are genuine, but it tar...

    Read More

  • Steroids Impact on Major League Baseball

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since at least the 1980’s performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) have been a major challenge in the world of Major League Baseball, and past trends indicate they will continue to pose an ongoing problem. A number of the most prominent and accomplished professional baseball players, such as Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, are also the most famous examples of baseball players who have broken longstanding records, attracted countless numbers of fans, and allegedly have taken performance-enhancing drugs. Athletes who have been caught using steroids in order to increase and better their performance rates have been suspended, fined and traded from the teams on which they once played. Despite the punitive actions taken against them by the League and lawmakers, players continue to use performance-enhancing drugs and likely will continue to do so, because the associated athletic effects will draw more fans and bring more money to the individual player and franchise.

    Read More

  • The Steroid Era

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ever since the introduction of steroids to professional sports in the 1970s (Assael), they have greatly undermined the core American beliefs that sports held dear for so long. Values like honesty, hard work, and dedication h...

    Read More

  • African American Athlete: Their Role in American Culture

    3732 Words  | 8 Pages

    Tygiel, Jules. 2001; 2000. Past time: Baseball as history. Oxford England; New York: Oxford University Press.

    Read More

  • Negro baseball league

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nemee, David. “100 Years of Major League Baseball.” Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications Infernational, Ltd, 200. Print.

    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

More about Steroids Use in Major League Baseball (MLB): Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds

Open Document