Steroid use in baseball has been a massive problem over the years. Steroids have been on the banned substance list since 1991 but testing did not begin until 2003. Players have been taking performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) since the nineties, but it was not until recently when players started getting tested and caught. The use of steroids has negatively effected the sport overall, the community of fans and children, and also the players; moreover, there are some major consequences if a player tests positive for performance enhancing drugs. Steroid use has been around in the sport of baseball since the late 1980s until the present day. Baseball analysists noticed a huge increase in offensive power during the 1990s. Where players were hitting …show more content…
Professional baseball players need to realize that they are role models for the younger population. By setting bad examples of themselves, they can cause younger players to follow the same actions. Players understand that they need to play to the best of their ability, and work for their paychecks. Younger generations need to learn to get better by working hard, not by cheating. One of the biggest population effected by these so called role models is the college athletes. “The goal of all the college players is to get to the big leagues and it becomes a vicious cycle,” he said. “Kids playing in college are seeing results of these major league players and are saying, ‘I gotta be like those guys.’” –Eddie Cardieri. He says this perfectly. College players want to be better so they can make it into the pros, so they think they should do exactly what the pros do to reach their goal. College athletes follow their heroes and think that steroid use is the fastest and best way to get better. That is not the case, you need to show hard work and determination to get there. Brett Gardner has never used PEDs, and still is starting in the major leagues for one of the most storied franchises in baseball history. He is the perfect example of someone who goes to work each and every day and pushes himself to get better using the talent that he has and learning from the …show more content…
Vitamins and supplements are not illegal to take, so if a players’ drug test comes back positive, they should have to take a lie detector test to see if that was exactly what they are taking. Today, if a player tests positive for PEDs the first offense is a 50 game suspension. Then if they get caught again it turns into 100 game suspension, which is over three-fourths of a season. Lastly, if caught a third time, the player will be banned from Major League Baseball. However, after serving two years of the ban they will be eligible to try and be reinstated through arbitration processes. Ultimately, steroid has had a negative effect on every aspect of the game. From the players, to the fans, and to the sport. Steroids have negative effects on the total outlook of baseball which could lead to spectators to not buy tickets to games. Baseball needs to be cleaned up so players are using natural talent they build up through practice and hard work. Steroids can cause the sport of baseball to go downhill,