Drugs In Baseball

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Shannon Leigh Wynne Dr. Randy Fair Advanced Placement Language and Composition 17 November 2010 For many years, baseball has been called “America’s Favorite Pastime”, but recently it has been gaining a bad reputation due to the use of anabolic steroids and Human Growth Hormone by the players. Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, and Jason Giambi are just a few players who have been caught using or have confessed to using performance-enhancement drugs. Despite the fact that players known to have used these drugs, they still hold records, are in the Hall of Fame, can still get into it, or are still playing (Rhoden). Baseball is not the only sport where steroids and HGH would be effective and useful though. The American…show more content…
It is thought that baseball’s numbers are more important than other sports, and therefore it is important how the players obtain the records and numbers (Brennan). The biggest debate now though, is whether or not Major League Baseball should be prohibiting the use of these drugs. As a private league, MLB has every right to ban anything they want, but the fact of the matter is that congress is cracking down and pressuring the league to “impose uniform drug-testing and punishment standards” (Guénette). Statewide prohibition of these drugs outside of private leagues makes using steroids and HGH a social problem instead of a personal one. Bodybuilders,…show more content…
Players who have salaries that are considered “average” make only about 12% of what players make who have salaries that are considered “high” (Major League Baseball Salaries). If that is not enough of an incentive to do well, to be a little kid’s hero, or even a grown man’s hero must be a great feeling. The only problem is; who would want someone who use’s performance-enhancing drugs to be his or her little boy’s idol? In 1992, an investigation by U.S. News and World Report showed that 40% of teen steroids users used the drugs because they believed that famous athletes were using them (Richards). Fans have been said to feel “robbed”, “duped”, and “cheated” by the players that have admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs (Rhoden). Why should fans trust the players anymore, since some of their most loved have turned out to be fakes and shams? The answer is that soon fans will not trust the big hitters or pitchers, and they may even lose interest in the game
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