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Kyle Boser
ENGL 191
Professor Lange
5/6/15
Inside Look on Steroids in Baseball
Juicing Up For All The Wrong Reasons
Professional sports organizations and players create multi-million dollar teams, also
known as franchises. These franchises are not just a facility where the best athletes go to play;
they are also a business and a major factor in the current economy. Mike Ozanian, an online
author writing for Forbes Magazine, relays the information that the New York Yankees of the
Major League Baseball Association are at the top of the leader boards for the team with the
highest value in 2014. The Yankees are sitting at an incredible 2.5 billion dollar value (Forbes).
The business factor of professional organizations creates an atmosphere for potential needs of
professional athletes to take matters into their own hands to increase franchise revenue and
personal benefit. Oddly enough with the statistic stated about the New York Yankees, the
Yankee organization is the one that Alex Rodriguez formerly played for. No information on
Rodriguez’s motive was ever stated, but it does allow those who are skeptical of Rodriguez to
determine what his intentions consisted of. If a business worker or professional athlete could get
a raise in pay or increase their company’s income, does it not seem logical that the answer would
be yes? Given that logic, professional athletes are pressured to perform each and every day to the
top of their abilities. The pressure to perform in order to sign big contracts and put a show on for
their fans has athletes searching to find a way to be the star of the show. This is where the use of
steroids or PED’s (performance enhancing drugs) takes a role in professional sports. An
economic term known as cost-benefit analysis is relevant in professional athletes because if it
didn’t, steroids would not be a factor. Athletes know that steroids or PED’s are illegal and

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dangerous, but yet the costs are out-weighed by benefits such as money, fame, and being a
winner. The process of using steroids in order to personally benefit the athlete is not only
immoral, but steroid use is also a fraudulent act through corruption of the system. Steroids are
fraudulent because they are illegal drugs, increase athletic abilities, and deviously increase their
financial gain.
An illegal act in turn for monetary benefit can be defined as fraud. By taking illegal drugs
like steroids to increase profit, it can fall into the category of fraud. The reason why illegal
performance enhancing drugs and fraud are correlated is simply written in the contracts. In the
book Game of Shadows, it states that, “In 1993, when he joined the Giants, Bonds had signed
what was the richest contract in the game: $43.75 million for six years” (Wada, Williams, 8).
This contract was a substantial amount of money and Bonds was at his prime. Authors Wada and
Williams explained how Bonds grew jealous of Mark McGwire and his chase to break the all-
time homerun record. As Bonds grew older, he knew he was losing it and at the end of his 1998
season, in fear of not getting another big deal and losing the fame, it was his turn to start using
“the shit” (Wada, Williams, 3-9).
Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs in a single season, set in 1927, stood for 34years,
until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. For the next 35years no player hit more than 52 in a
season. But between 1998 and 2006, players hit more than 60 home runs in a season six
times. Mark McGwire shattered Maris’s record by hitting 70 home runs in 1998, but his
record was eclipsed just three years later when Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001.
Over a four year period a record that had stood unchanged for decades suddenly
increased by 20%. (Tobin)
This example displays why illegal drugs are fraudulent in the sports because Bonds eventually

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broke Roger Maris’s single season homerun record. Professional athletes, especially in
professional baseball, the use of steroids has made an impact on the game, which allows those
who take the risk of using steroids to perform at levels unimaginable for non-steroid using
athletes. Steroids are not only illegal because they enhance professional athletes abilities, but
steroids are extremely dangerous drugs and have serious side effects. Steroid side effects include,
rage, aggressive behavior, and potentially death. The athlete taking part in the use of illegal
performance enhancing drugs takes great risk in the hopes of making themselves more highly
demandable and making more money than they ever thought imaginable. When an athlete
decides to cheat the game, they create a dangerous situation for not only themselves but for all
the players and people around them. Steroids create a hormonal imbalance in the human body,
which in turn creates a monster unable to control the inner rage. Steroids dramatically increase
testosterone levels and based off of the definition given on the Dictionary online resource, the
word ‘steroid’ is in the definition of testosterone (Dictionary). Testosterone is the building block
for gaining muscle and creates the potential for becoming an incredible athlete. When an athlete
is taking a drug that boosts testosterone levels it is illegal, and to benefit them in a personal
matter, especially financially, it is also immoral and fraudulent.
Anabolic steroids are widely known as the drugs that increase athletic ability among
professional athletes. Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines anabolic steroids as any of a
group of usually synthetic hormones that are derivatives of testosterone, are used medically, and
sometimes abused by athletes to increase size and strength of their muscles and improve
endurance (Merriam-Webster). Going off the definition of anabolic steroids, the use of steroids
are indeed a recipe for muscle growth and improved endurance, but was it ever deemed fair for
the steroid users to trick the organizations into thinking they are naturally as talented as shown

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on the field? There are various benefits that come with the use of performance enhancing drugs
such as, muscle gain, improved focus, speed, and efficiency. These benefits make steroid use
nearly irresistible for some professional athletes to make themselves the best in the game and
own the show. Given the thought that a professional athlete can steal the show with a drug taken
every so often really tests the morality of players of the game. A point to think about would be if
a person with an average income in today’s society could make an extra few million dollars a
year and all that was necessary was to do an illegal drug every so often, would it be seen as a
temptation? The potential temptation factor behind this would be too much for some people to
handle and that’s exactly what professional athletes face when it comes to the use of
performance enhancing drugs. With every athlete wanting to be the star, steroids possibly are a
good way for some athletes to get the confidence and enhancements needed to be the best.
Athletes are always looking for different exercises or diets to increase their abilities, but some
would prefer to take the easy way to fame. Trickery is the basis of fraud, and when an athlete
chooses to cheat the game and take the easy way to fame by making themselves into a an
incredible athlete through the use of anabolic steroids, they are tricking their teammates, fans,
coaches, organization, and the entire association. The selfishness of athletes who want to sign big
contracts but know they cannot do it one their own and turn to steroid use are frauds, because
their abilities are not naturally acquired and economically benefit through this process.
Through the use of illegal steroids, athletes become bigger, better, faster, and stronger.
The motive may not be exactly what comes from using steroids, but nevertheless these steroid
using athletes have statistically signed bigger contracts than most clean players in the Major
League Baseball history. For example, an online statistical resource shows in 2008, Alex
Rodriguez signed a 10 year, $275 million dollar contract to play with the New York Yankees

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(ESPN). That is an annual average salary of $27.5 million dollars. That number is a little bit
higher than the contract extension recently signed by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels who
is known as one of the best, if not the best position player in the game of baseball. The online
resource also states that in March of 2014, Mike Trout signed a 6 year, $144.5 million dollar
contract extension to play with the Angels until 2020 (ESPN). When calculated out by annual
salary, Alex Rodriguez is making approximately $3.42 million dollars more a year than Mike
Trout. As I mentioned earlier, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez has three years remaining on his contract with the New York Yankees and those must
be paid to the steroid user himself. CBS Sports wrote an article talking about if A-Rod has
reached his last game. The article stated that Rodriguez has indeed seen the last of the field and
even though his salary for 2014 is wiped away, he is still under contract through 2017 and the
Yankees organization will have to pay him $61 million over the next three years (CBS). Even
though Rodriguez is banned from the Major League Baseball Association, statistics provided by
ESPN shows he will still be making nearly six times the 2014 average annual salary for the next
three years. The average salary is $3.39 million amongst MLB players (ESPN). The distortion
behind A-Rod’s tactics really questions the morals of Rodriguez and if he planned this or not. He
took performance-enhancing drugs, became the star of the show, and signed a contract worth up
to 1,350 homes at a cost of $200,000 dollars a home. This is fraud, and since it is under contract,
Alex Rodriguez must be paid for the full ten years. The league to which he is banned from is
paying him all because he fooled everyone into thinking he was the best, but he was only a
cheater and a fraud. These kinds of things are rare in professional sports in today’s modern age
with advancements in testing and technology, but that does not mean that steroid use is not an
issue. Trickery is the basis of fraud, and when an athlete is using steroids behind the scenes

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where no one is watching, it is easy for them to put on a fake show and benefit with a substantial
amount of money.
Fraud comes in many different forms such as bank fraud, health care fraud, caregiver
fraud, and the often unknown, steroid use fraud. Steroid use is fraudulent because they are illegal
drugs, increase athletic abilities, and cheat the system for increased personal income. All three of
aspects correlate with fraud in cases where an illegal act is committed, the authority is fooled,
and as a result there is an increased amount of money gained by the person reliable for the act.
The online Dictionary defines fraud as “deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence
perpetrated for benefit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage” (Dictionary). Steroids are
an illegal drug and by definition of fraud, illegal drugs creates trickery because the people
watching a player put up big numbers are unaware of the drug use and is instead viewed as a role
model. An athlete who is using performance-enhancing drugs displays the breach of confidence
in order to give them that extra little bit to get them on top. The entire process of steroid use
leading up to an unfair advantage in return for being the best and signing big contracts is
fraudulent. Any unfairly acquired advantage through the use of performance enhancing drugs
such as increased income should be treated like a fraud case in the criminal justice system
because players are seeing more money come into their pockets that they wrongly gained.
Deadly Results
Baseball is America’s past time, and unfortunately performance-enhancing drugs have
played a distinct role in baseball history. The homerun streak of Mark McGwire, the beginning
of Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey Jr. were all a result of steroid use and performance-enhancing
drugs were not tested for during parts of their careers. The ESPN magazines online reference
displays that, “though steroids have been banned in MLB since 1991, the league did not

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implement league wide PED testing until 2003” (ESPN). Given this information it shows that all
three of the iconic players listed, McGwire, Bonds, and Griffey Jr. all peaked between the mid
1990s and early 2000s, before testing was established. Players in Major League Baseball today
are subject to regular league wide testing because of the actions taken by those in the ‘steroid
era’. These actions have proven that not only cheating exists, but also helped discover that the
use of anabolic agents such as steroids can lead to extreme side effects. Steroids had already
been studied and determined that they may not be safe long before baseball players started to use
them. It became apparent in MLB that this form of performance enhancement was dangerous,
but yet players still feel the need to push their luck to gain that edge. Not only in professional
baseball, but all levels of baseball contain players who experiment with performance enhancing
drugs, excluding very young players. This paper will contain multiple real life stories of
impacted athletes and may be graphic for some readers. If steroid use side effect topics such as
suicide, abuse, depression, organ failure, internal body malfunctions, injections, diseases, and
death are bothersome or difficult, take caution while reading. The use of steroids is a serious
problem in baseball and professional players have connections and enough money to get steroids
that are still not necessarily safe, but not as dangerous. The extreme danger comes into play
when college or high school athletes are buying steroids from a bad source, injecting it into
themselves, and possibly do not have enough knowledge to do it correctly and keep themselves
safe. The dangers of steroid use are often times misconceived because typically people only see
the issue involved in professional athletes, but they are life changing and will be shown in this
paper to educate on the dangers of steroid use. The use of performance-enhancing drugs has
severely impacted baseball players through altered psychological development, detrimental
physiological effects, and the reputation of the player is diminished.

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The human body and mind is an amazing thing capable of doing things nothing else can.
When an athlete decides to take performance-enhancing drugs, they set the stage for what
happens next in their life by putting their body into an abnormal state. The abnormal state
created by steroid use is not natural for regular humanly psychological development. Although
the human brain and thought process varies from person to person, the way a healthy brain
develops remains very similar between different people. Sticking to the basics, the human brain
grows in size as the body grows, and the brain matures as the body matures. A healthy person,
excluding some unfortunate cases such as the mentally or physically disabled, is able to make
decisions, think logically, and react to their situation. However when the use of steroids is
involved, not even the user can predict what they will do. The article “Dreams, steroids, death –
a ballplayer’s downfall” by SFgate displays a story of a young baseball player who ended his life
because of steroid use. “In the early morning of Oct. 1, 2002, sitting in a car just around the
block from his parents' home, Rob Garibaldi finally put an end to what had been a tumultuous
period plagued by depression, rage and delusional behavior, using a .357 Magnum he had stolen
the day before (Fainaru-Wada). The article shows just how dangerous and extreme steroids can
be because the ultimate result was suicide. Rob was just one of many stories about young
athletes taking steroids and finding themselves in a situation they never thought imaginable. A
dramatic story of a 17-year-old baseball player from Plano, Texas really shows how quickly
steroids can change a person’s life. Online at the CBS website, they display a video and writing
that tells the story of Taylor Hooton who took steroids. He decided to take steroids and wanted to
be the best player on his high school team, which his dad says, “his want to be the best may have
killed him” (Leung, CBS). Taylor Hooton became very depressed because of the steroids and
ultimately ended up committing suicide by hanging himself in his closet even though his mom

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gave all she could to revive him (Leung, CBS). Steroid side effects can vary from a person
getting slightly angrier over something that would not normally upset them, to not knowing what
to do anymore and eventually taking their life. Between those extremes there is verbal abuse,
physical abuse, depression, moderate to severe anger issues, and delusions. When an athlete
decides to take steroids, it could positively change their mind set by seeing results and being
happy with their physical body, but there are possibilities of negative psychological effects that
lead to an altered thought process and unfortunately people make decisions that would not
normally be made when steroids are not involved.
Physiological aspects of life are how our bodies physically grow and develop. The article
“Anabolic Steroid Abuse” shows that, “hormones, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular
system, liver, and skin could all have possible health consequences of anabolic steroid abuse”
(NIDA). These consequences along with the details about each category will all be unpacked
starting with hormones and ending with skin. Hormones are disturbed causing, “infertility, breast
development, shrinking of the testicles, and male-pattern baldness” (NIDA). The human body is
not fit to be exposed to such irregular levels of hormones and the use of steroids can cause
permanent hormonal damage. When doing some research, it was apparent that when a person
thinks of steroids, huge muscles is the number one answer for what it does to the human body.
This is true and when a person has such incredible muscle size gain in a short period of time, it is
shown in the article on the NIDA website that, “tendons rupture” is possible because they can not
seem to keep up which causes an enormous amount of stress on the tendon, causing them to
rupture (“Anabolic Steroid Abuse”). The article “Anabolic Steroid Use” shows that there are two
major cardiovascular system processes that can be manipulated by steroid use, increased LDL,
and decreased HDL. An increase in LDL (low density lipoprotein) leads to build up in the walls

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of the arteries and HDL (high density lipoproteins) gets rid of build up in the arteries. (NIDA)
The combination between high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL is one of the best formulas
for heart attacks or stroke and oddly enough is yet another life threatening side effect of
performance-enhancing drugs. The article displays that there is potential for liver cancer, and
tumors in the liver and the skin is affected causing acne and cysts, an oily scalp, and poor fluid
retention (“Anabolic Steroid Abuse”). This information is necessary to fully understand how
much of an impact steroids have on the human body. I displayed a brief preview of what steroids
can physically do to the human body. There are definitely positive side effects of steroid use, but
when the negatives are laid out and addressed, they are effects that are life changing and
threatening. Physiological effects of performance enhancing drugs can be seen as a benefit that
will make a baseball player bigger, faster, and stronger. This may be true in some cases that are
shown in the public eye through professional baseball players, but the professional players are
exposed to the best steroids because they have the money to afford them. For some athletes this
isn’t the case and like Lyle Alzado, a professional football player, who started taking steroids
and later developed cancer shown in an article by The Baltimore Sun. Many cases of cancer,
heart attack, extreme acne, diseases, and many more things are apart of the use of performance
enhancing drugs. Not only are they illegal, but also they are very unsafe and detrimental to a
person’s physiological outcome.
Performance enhancing drugs are used to make an athlete better and get noticed. Sticking
with baseball players, it is almost necessary to throw 90 mph as a pitcher and hit multiple home
runs in a season for a high school or college player to get noticed by a professional scout. This
leads to those who do not quite reach those expectations to take steroids to get them there. They
want to be noticed and seen as a stand out baseball player who can put on a show. The problem

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with players trying to get noticed by using steroids could end up ruining their reputation in the
end. Professional players, for example, Barry Bonds broke Roger Maris’ home run record with
the help of performance enhancing drugs. Bonds was an icon, respected and honored by baseball
fans everywhere. He put on a show every game he played and showed that he was the best home
run hitter in the game. Although at one point Bonds was praised, he is now seen as one of the
biggest faces in the Major League Baseball steroid world. When I type Barry Bonds into the
search engine Google, the first thing that comes up is Barry Bonds stats which indicates that he
put up some good numbers in his career, but he wrongfully achieved greatness through the use of
steroids and his reputation is now paying for it. CBS Sports states that, “Bonds, along with Roger
Clemens and some others, are punished due to having been connected to PEDs while playing”
(Snyder). It is a publicly displayed example of how players are punished for taking performance
enhancing drugs. The article continues by quoting an article on MLB.com where Bonds says, “I
deserve to be there” (CBS Sports). When Bonds talks about “being there” he is talking about the
Hall of Fame and although Bonds and many other players believe they should be in the Hall of
Fame, they have less of a chance due to their involvement in performance enhancing drugs.
Roger Clemens was a pitcher in Major League Baseball for many years and he is also facing a
poor reputation due to his link to steroids. The Harvard Law Review Association shows in their
article, Harvard Law Review that, “McNamee told authorities that he had injected Clemens in
New York and Toronto, with performance enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000, and 2001” (Harvard
Law Review, 1335). Clemens brought McNamee to court because McNamee revealed
information that Clemens did not want to be displayed in Texas, but the courts dismissed the
case because McNamee’s defamatory statements were said in New York, not Texas (Harvard
Law Review, 1335). Defamatory is defined as a statement said that damages a person’s reputation

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(Dictionary). A damaged reputation is an effect of steroid use that is mainly represented in
professional players because of their public status. The two examples I displayed are how
steroids take an athlete who is in the spot light and does things no one in history has ever done
before and turn them into a figure who is associated with cheating and not being able to get into
the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Steroid use among baseball players can affect the player’s psychological aspects and
thought process, their physiological growth and development, and the reputation that is conveyed
with them. Psychological aspects that control a person’s decision making is altered when steroids
are used causing the user to fall into depression, become angry, and in extreme cases take their
own life. The decisions made while using steroids are often times not what the person would
have done if they were not taking the drugs. The way a human being grows and develops can be
severely disrupted when steroids are used because it affects the continuous bodily functions
necessary for a person to live with a healthy body. The body’s hormones, muscles, blood, liver,
and skin are all in danger of becoming damaged due to steroid use. Being labeled as a cheater
and a steroid user ruins the reputation of a player. Many professional players have been
connected to performance enhancing drugs in one way or another. Even if it happened ten years
ago, they are still paying the price today. The mental body is tampered with, the physical body is
subject to failure, and a player ruins their reputation when they use steroids. The health problems
and negative social status are both factors in the use of steroids and should be addressed by all
people to educate themselves about the effects of performance enhancing drugs.
Performance Enhancing Drug Use: The Ugly Truth Behind Steroids In Baseball
Performance enhancing drugs in baseball have been at a point where they were never
even thought of, to a point where it seemed like half the league was using them. Steroids were

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legal at one point in Major League Baseball, but as soon as players started hitting home runs like
never before, the use of steroids quickly became illegal. Androgenic agents were the most
popular amongst professional baseball players when players were able to exercise the use of
performance enhancing drugs. The Major League Baseball Association shared a document on
their Internet resource page that displays an in depth description of the Joint Drug Agreement,
which gives the regulations and steps taken by the Major League Baseball Association when
performance enhancing drugs are involved (MLB). It is very unfortunate to see that the people
who are the dominant figures in the game of baseball can ruin the sport so many people love to
be involved in. The Major League Baseball Association has been forced to take initiative and
create a document that is constructed of pages and pages that ensures every little thing is taken
care of when these players decide to cheat themselves and the game. The game of baseball is no
longer what it was when players wanted to go out on the field solely by virtue of the love of the
game. The game is modified by cheating and shows that there is not a true love and respect for
the game by some players. If the game of baseball and a baseball player would be compared to
an intimate relationship between two people, it would be as if one person cheats on the other,
they clearly do not respect the other person, and this is the same aspect and the paradigm of the
relationship between the game and players who use steroids. Many people seem to forget that
cheating is a bad thing given the divorce rates and stories of celebrities and all kinds of people
cheating on their significant other. This is the same thing that is happening in baseball by the
reason of people seeing these players that put up unreal numbers and hit so many home runs, and
even though they took steroids, they are still seen as an iconic figure. The use of performance
enhancing drugs are practical for athletes because it creates a shortcut that makes it easier for
them to enhance their abilities with less effort which has in turn negatively changed the game of

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baseball, it is immoral or unethical in ways such as cheating, and aesthetically it reinforces the
stereotype that steroids are exclusively physically beneficial for the player who uses the drugs.
Performance enhancing drugs are one of the main reasons resulting in baseball not being
the same as it used to be. There is drama, controversy, and a decline in the positive imagine of
the game of baseball. Many people see the game of baseball as something completely different of
what it used to be back in the glory days with Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and the legendary man
who broke the color barrier, Jackie Robinson. These men along with many more played baseball
and did incredible things steroid free and many of them did not even lift weights. The ways of
the game have changed immensely due to every single Major League Baseball player working
out, and lifting weights to try and make themselves better. The horrible truth of baseball today is
that steroids are still a problem and associated with the name of baseball and that is the most
eminent factor that has degraded the name of baseball for many years. The men who did highly
regarded things before steroids were even an option are now being let down by the selfish
players that are trying to accomplish what the pre-steroid age players did by using performance
enhancing drugs. In a statistical survey conducted by USA Today, they found out the truth
behind what professional baseball players think about steroids in the game today. The article
“Players admit steroids changed baseball”, by author Chris Jenkins reads, “In a Feb. 17-March 9
survey of 568 players, 79% said they believed steroids played some role in record-breaking
performances by high-profile players. And 27% said they believed the illegal performance-
enhancing drugs were a "major contributor" to recent statistical achievements” (USA Today). The
title of this article basically tells it all. When the players themselves are admitting that steroids
have truly changed baseball in a negative way, it is apparent that the actual physical performance
aspect of baseball has been altered, but also the image of baseball has changed. Given that

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performance enhancing drugs do in fact make it easier for an athlete to become bigger, faster,
and stronger, it is of course practical in that sense to take steroids. Practicality is a large factor in
what people do in their everyday lives and if a person can gain the upper hand or be a step ahead
of the competition with less effort, then why would they not? The reason why they would not is
because even though these drugs seem as if they are practical and make the most sense to do, that
does not mean that they are the smart choice to make. Simply stated, performance enhancing
drugs come with a list of negative side effects, they are banned in sports, mess with not only the
human body, but also the mind, and have diminished the positive image of baseball that once
existed. The game has changed and the whole Major League Baseball system has changed due to
steroid users.
When something is changed, there has to be a factor that creates the change. For example,
if a person wants to treat a bacterial infection, they will need to take an antibiotic in order to get
better and kill the bacteria that is taking over their body and making them feel sick. This is the
same instance that baseball players are doing when they take steroids. The player does not feel as
if they are good enough to accomplish everything that they want on their own, so they take
steroids, which makes them better and gets them to where they want to be. In the first example
the antibiotic is the factor that creates the change and in the second it is the steroids that creates
the change. Although these examples are very similar, an antibiotic is a necessity in order to feel
better with a bacterial infection, but steroids are not a necessity to be better at baseball.
Performance enhancing drugs are cheating in baseball and it makes for an immoral atmosphere
amongst all levels of baseball, but mostly Major League Baseball. The fact of the matter is that
steroids in the game of baseball are the main cause of baseball being looked at as an unethical
sport due to the high numbers of athletes testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. No

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matter what the circumstances are, most of the time cheating is referred to as a bad thing to do.
Previously said, if a man cheats on his wife, he is no longer loyal to her and the same rule applies
to a baseball player who uses steroids and is dishonest to the game. Showing the public eye that
performance enhancing drugs are used and the way steroids are portrayed in interviews,
television shows, and news broadcasts creates a false image of what steroids really are and this is
yet another problem associated with steroids in baseball.
Millions of people watch baseball every year, whether it is high school, college, or
professional on the television while sitting on the couch. Anyone who wants to be exposed to the
game is able to do that but if they lack education in the negatives of steroid use, they may see
Barry Bonds, Ryan Braun, or Alex Rodriguez hitting homeruns one after another and think that
these guys may have taken steroids and cheated, but they are the best in the game. Many people
do not understand the bad side of performance enhancing drugs and get a false idea of steroids.
Some people only think that these professional athletes are being punished because they are
cheating and making themselves better by using these drugs. When a person is not educated in
the use of steroids, on the surface it seems like they excel as a result of steroids and that is why
they receive punishment, because it is not fair. In the essay, “Calling Out the Heavy Hitters”, it
talks about the court cases and different scenarios where steroids were a problem in Major
League Baseball and it states, “and the most extraordinary image of all was that of Mark
McGwire, once the game’s most celebrated slugger but now the face of the steroid scandal,
reduced to a shrunken, lonely, evasive figure whose testimony brought him to the verge of tears”
(Denham, 5). Mark McGwire was seen as iconic figure in his days playing professional baseball,
but he was caught cheating. Yes, steroids get people into big trouble with the law, but that is the
extent of what people understand about the use of performance enhancing drugs. This is only

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part of the truth behind their punishment. Professional and other levels of baseball players are
either suspended or banned along with fines in their leagues because they are cheating in a way
that is beyond dangerous for the user and the people around them.
There are many reasons as to why performance enhancing drugs are bad and a few of
them stand out as to what can come about when they are abused. The game of baseball has an
image that is degraded, using them is cheating, which creates an immoral aspect, and due to lack
of education many people do not understand that there is a negative side to steroid use. The game
of baseball was once clean of steroid use and in today’s baseball age, we face an altered
viewpoint of what the game of baseball represents and is all about. In a project titled, “Image
Restoration in Major League Baseball: An Analysis of Apologia Strategies during The Steroid
Era” the author talks about the Mitchell Report and a result of what happened. The author
relayed the information in the following quote:
Ultimately, in 2007, former Senator George J. Mitchell released a report linking
over 80 Major League Baseball players to the illegal use of steroids, or
performance enhancing drugs…The findings of the Mitchell Report called into
question the integrity of the game, and its players. The accusations also forced
players who were mentioned in the report to address the issue, and publicly
defend their image. (Stratton, 5)
A total of 80 players in one year is an unbelievable number of professional baseball players
taking steroids. Many players are seen to be immoral and not true to the game because of their
steroid use and this is another problem mainly in Major League Baseball. With Major League
Baseball players taking part in steroid use, it portrays the steroid use as if it is only a problem
associated with image but that is wrong and not understood by a person who does not understand

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what they do physically and mentally to a person. Lack of knowledge on a topic leads to nothing
but misinterpreted information. Steroids are bad in baseball for many reasons and it is on the
players to change the image of baseball and for people to self-educate themselves on the topic.