Steroids: The Past or The Future?






March 29, 2016





Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds reported to Spring Training looking thinner the normal.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Steroids have made careers successful as well as torn successful careers down. Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, Mark McGwire, and many other players lost their legendary reputations after failing drugs tests. On the other hand, Barry Bonds may not have slugged his record 762 career home runs. Steroids may have affected individual players in the past, but it will affect the entire future of baseball if the use is handled lightly because it wrecks players bodies, it does not positively affect every player, and it ruins reputations.


As steroids do help to repair small tears in muscles, they will not help in the long run. Players who have taken steroids have played through injuries towards the end of their careers. Every inning Barry bonds would struggle to run through the outfield in AT&T Park just so he could maybe hit a home run his next at-bat. Although they may have played to an old age, players such as Bonds, Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez showed less playing time towards the end of their careers. Along with the lack of games played, the productivity at the plate dropped significantly in their final seasons.
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Even if steroids did not affect the body later in life, the MLB would still have to ban the use because the drug does not affect every player in a positive way. Billy Hamilton, the centerfielder for the Cincinnati Reds, does not have power. In three MLB seasons, he has only hit 10 home runs. Hamilton's lack of power calls for another specialty: Speed. Hamilton has stolen 126 bases in these three years. Steroids would give Hamilton unnecessary weight that would only slow him down and eventually he would lose his value is the league. Jose Altuve is known for hitting singles, stealing bases, and playing flawless defense. The use of steroids would take way his speed and make him strictly a power hitter, and at 5 feet 6 inches tall, he would not be a consistent power threat. Steroids in baseball will make the game a constant home run derby, which some don't mind, but it will become a strike out or home run type of game.
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Jenrry Mejia, the first player in MLB history to receive a lifetime suspension due to failed steroid tests, now has a dirty reputation in the record books. Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds, two of the most infamous power hitters in the history of baseball, will not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Both players were most likely hall of famers before the drug use, but now the two superstars will most likely never see a plaque in Cooperstown. Roger Clemens won 354 games, pitched nearly 5,000 IP, and struck out 4,672 batters over a 19 year career. Clemens will probably not be inducted into the Hall of Fame either. These Hall of Fame caliber players were bound for the hall, steroids or not, and have now ruined their chances for the rare accolade.
From an Owner's perspective, fans love watching 100 MPH fastballs and 400+ feet home runs, so why would they want to change it? The greed of team owner's is what is keeping steroids in the league. If Alex Rodriguez never did steroids, he might have the same amount of home runs since he spent so much time on the DL, but his home runs would not be as majestic and tickets would not be sold. Although owners care about their players, they would much rather have a big paycheck to cash at the end of every season.