Steroids Part Two

Eric Knott spent a total of 11 years playing minor league baseball. He only pitched a total of 24 innings in the MLB. He doesn’t regret his career at all. He realizes that he was never truly good enough to be considered a starter on a professional baseball team. However, he wonders what his career would have looked like had he not played in the Steroid Era. He played in the same time period as Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Barry Bonds and he recalls that people were aware what was going on. The rate at which all three would hit as many homeruns as they did had never been seen before. He says that steroids were considered normal in Major League Baseball. Pitchers and hitters used it to get a competitive edge over the competition. Pitchers could throw 3-5 mph harder, and hitters had almost unlimited potential when using steroids. Power hitters are highly valued in the MLB. For the 2013 season, both Mark Texiera and Alex Rodriguez are in the top 5 most paid MLB players because of their ability to hit homeruns.

Steroids have and will forever plague the game of baseball. It is difficult to know for sure who has or hasn’t taken steroids because of the advanced methods of influencing drug test results. Players who take steroids are taking shortcuts and cheating. The main reason someone takes steroids is to get bigger, stronger, and faster. Players may also use human growth hormones (HGH) to prevent or treat injuries. Steroids are not needed to achieve these results. It may take more work and time but ultimately, players can get bigger, faster, and stronger with intense dedication in the weight room. Steroids are simply a guarantee that you will see better results with less effort than you would without using steroids. The worst part about steroids is kids are using them now at young ages and getting away with it. Since there are no drug tests in high school, this is very easy to do. I know this for a fact because I also personally know some players who have experimented with steroids. It is truly sad because I don’t think they are fully aware of the effects steroids have on their still growing bodies and the long term consequences they are going to have to deal with in the future. First, if you take steroids at a young age, you will not grow anymore do to arrested bone growth. Other side effects include bad acne, mood swings, and enlarged breasts. You also significantly increase the risk of liver and heart disease when you take steroids. So the question is: are steroids worth it? When answering, it is important to remember no matter what sport you play or what level you play in, it is still just a game.

"There are a lot of side effects of steroids," Mautner tells WebMD. "They are not good for you. It is like Russian roulette. Five people may take them and have no long-term problem. The sixth may end up dead."