Steroids in Baseball

 

Steroids are synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone promotes and boosts muscle development and growth. When it is supplemented with steroids, there can be an increase of muscle mass, reduction of body fat, and enhanced endurance. It is used by athletes to try to have the edge in terms of increased energy level and aggression in the competitions. It is believed that by usingsteroids in baseball it will cause a player to hit the ball further and at a longer distance.

Taking steroids also has its own set of side effects. They range from psychological to physical ones depending on the quantity of drugs taken. From a psychological standpoint, it leads to mood swing that is from a feeling of well-being to depression. Other adverse psychological effects can include intense aggression and violence. One will get to see increased muscle mass and endurance, but the side effects can include a plethora of problems, the worst being liver damage.

The story of steroid use in sports began just before the World Weightlifting Championships of 1954. 1968 there was an official complaint about steroids made by theWorld Health Organization.

Major league baseball was the last major sports organization in the United States to implement a comprehensive drug testing policy. This all started with a bottle of a nutritional supplement seen in Mark McGwire´s locker.The bottle contained Androstendione, a prohormone, or a compound which can convert into another one inside the body. At this time, McGwire was en route to breaking a home-run record that had been standing for decades.The most famous story in the steroids in sports is that of Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds. Both of those players were suspected of using anabolic steroids when the BALCO scandal was exposed. Giambi, for his part, told a U.S. grand jury that he used a duo of undetectablesteroids known respectively as “the cream” and “the clear,” both of which he received from personal trainer Greg Anderson during the 2003 season. Bonds, on the other hand claimed that his trainer told him the substances were the nutritional supplement flax seed oil and a pain-relieving balm for his arthritis. With Multi-Million dollar contracts on the line every season, the only fact that we can be sure of is that steroids are being used in baseball, and they will continue to be used for as long as players can get away with it. Congress recently chimed in and pressured MLB into instituting a comprehensive testing policy for their athletes, but steroid use in baseball is unlikely to decline considerably as a result of it.

In the entire course of Major League Baseball history, steroid testing has never been a major issue. However, after the BALCO steroid scandal, which involved the top baseball players being accused for consuming illegal performance-enhancing drugs, Major League Baseball decided to levy heavier penalties for regular steroid users. The regulations, which were accepted by Major League Baseball players as well as owners, were issued at the start of the 2005 season.

After this it was seen that first positive test resulted in a suspension of 10 games, a second positive test resulted in a suspension of 30 games and the third positive test resulted in a suspension of 60 games. The ones showing positive for the fourth test resulted in a suspension of whole one year and fifth positive test resulted in a penalty at the commissioner’s discretion. The baseball players were to be tested at least once a year but the ones suspected could also be tested more than once or many times a year.

The reward of taking steroids is considered to be a quick avenue for increased muscle mass, performance as well as endurance. One might also get a feeling of invincibility . The risk is permanent physical morbidity and psychotic episodes that include aggression, violence, and rapid mood swings. Steroids are abused by athletes today for the quick gain of fortune and fame. It is believed that by using steroid in baseball it will lead you down the path of fortune and fame which it indeed does but should always be exercised in controlled measures

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