Steroids and Baseball
By: Derrick Wetz
In the past decade Major League Baseball has seen its biggest increase in homerun production. This is also the first decade steroids have been documented in baseball. One columnist wrote and suggested the game of baseball might put "a big, fat asterisk over the whole era. That asterisk would say: Records are in question because of widespread use of anabolic steroids." (Verducci, 2004) Homerun records are the biggest example with the use of steroids. Over seventy seasons from 1928 through 1997, Roger Maris was the only man to hit sixty or more homeruns. Then from 1998 through 2001 the 60-homerun mark was broke six times; by Mark McGwire twice, Sammy Sosa three times, and Barry Bonds once.
Two former homerun sluggers recently admitted to taking steroids during their career. One was former Most Valuable Player Ken Caminiti and the other was Jose Canseco. They both admitted in 2002 after both of their careers were over.
Ken Caminiti told Sports Illustrated that he was on steroids when he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1996 (Verducci). Even though he was left with health problems Caminiti defends why he used them. He said that the use of steroids is so rampant in baseball that he would not discourage others from doing the same. Caminiti believes it’s all about the money and if you don’t do it, the guy waiting behind you is going to take your job. Caminiti after being released by the Atlanta Braves was arrested in a Houston crack house. Caminiti said, " I’ve made a ton of mistakes, and I don’t think using steroids is one of them."
Athletes, whether they are young or old, professionals or amateur, are always looking to gain an advantage over their opponents. The desire for an "edge" exists in all sports, at all levels of play. Successful athletes rely on practice and hard work to increase their skill, speed, power, and ability. However, some athletes resort to drugs to improve their performance on the field or the court (American Academy of Pediatrics). In a recent interview, Gary Huckabay, asked an anonymous major league trainer, "How much benefit is there, really, to using steroids?" The trainer responded with, "That would vary wildly from individual to individual. There is definitely a physical effect that allows for greater and more rapid muscle gain. But you can get enough muscles to hit the ball 400 feet without steroids. It’s more of a question of what you do with the muscles. For some guys, though, it’s the difference between making a few million bucks and staying in Double-A."
Even though Caminiti was the first major leaguer to publicly admit to using steroids, Caminiti said, "It’s no secret what’s going on in baseball. At least half the guys are using steroids. They talk about it. They joke about it with each other. I don’t want to hurt fellow teammates or fellow friends. But I’ve got nothing to hide." (Verducci).
Caminiti began using steroids midway through the 1996 season after injuring his shoulder. At the time Caminiti was 33 years of age and had never hit more than 26 homeruns in a season. He hit 28 alone after the all-star break that year, finishing with 40 homers, 130 runs batted in and a .326 batting average. "I think it was more of an attitude," Caminiti said of the steroids’ effect. "There is a mental edge that comes with the injections. And it’s definitely something that gets you more intense. The thing is, I didn’t do it to make me a better player. I did it because my body was broke down" (Verducci).
Caminiti and Canseco are not the only ones disputing that "Roid Rage" is going on in Major League Baseball. "I look around the league, and I see guys a lot bigger," says Andy Van Slyke, who in the 1980s roamed the Pittsburgh outfield with Bonds and who recently said he believed Bonds took steroids. "When I played, I worked out with weights, I ate right, and I could never gain 25 lbs. in the off-season. I just couldn’t do it."
With the remarks that Caminiti and Canseco have put forth, many players felt that they needed to clear their name. There will be no accurate way to discern which players used and which didn’t. Some players — Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti — are admitted users, and others were anonymously busted in mandatory steroid tests. Baseball’s popularity rose in part because of home runs after the damaging 1994 strike. We remember the commercial, "Chicks dig the long ball." But it’s not just chicks. It’s everybody. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds are credited with restoring America’s faith in baseball (Zillgitt). These three players are among the most popular players currently trying to clear their name.
November 2004, Major League Baseball announced that as many as 84 of its 1,200 players tested positive for steroid use. This was the first official time that steroid use was accounted for in professional baseball. This triggered automatic testing and penalties for the next season. Both the MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced these results. It showed that five to seven percent of Major League Players chosen randomly tested positive for steroids. The tests were all anonymous so the players who tested positive could not be identified. This was proof for both the MLB and the players’ union that recent claims of widespread steroid use, made by Caminiti and Canseco were wrong.
The issue of steroid use in Major League Baseball extensively elevated last September with a raid involving a nondescript supplements business in Burlingame, California. The raid produced into a significant steroid scandal that has overwhelmed the sports world and has even went all the way to the White House. President Bush since the raid has stepped in and attacked doping by sports figures during his State of the Union address of January 2004. Steroid abuse has never seen this amount of attention and clearly when the President of the United States addresses the problem to the nation it is a crucial predicament in sports.
In September of 2003, law enforcement officials including the IRS raided Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and the condominium of Barry Bonds’ personal trainer, Greg Anderson. The lab, also known as BALCO Laboratories Inc., has worked with elite Olympic and professional athletes for over fifteen years. One quote from their website reads "Scientific Analysis of Essential and Toxic Elements Impacting the Quality of Life". BALCO has provided testing and consultation for over 250 NFL players including the entire 1998 Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos team and the entire Miami Dolphins team. BALCO works with many professional athletes in many sports including baseball, tennis, hockey, soccer, and basketball. The lab is located at 1520 Gilbreth Road Burlingame, California.
In February 2004, four men accused of distributing steroids to top athletes in the BALCO case pleaded innocent to federal charges and were allowed to remain free without bail. The men indicted were BALCO’s founder, Victor Conte, lab vice president James Valente, Greg Anderson, and world class track coach Remi Korchemny, whose sprinters won gold medals but then flunked drug tests. The charges for them include conspiracy to distribute steroids, possession of human growth hormone, misbranding drugs with intent to defraud and money laundering. The drugs included anabolic steroids, the stimulant modafinil and the new steroid THG. THG was given to athletes since it was undetected by most tests given by professional leagues.
Greg Anderson admitted to federal agents back in February that he provided steroids to Major League Baseball players according to the court documents. The affidavits did not reveal any names of athletes. At first Anderson denied distributing steroids, but then admitted that he gave them to people whom he knew.
According to the affidavits: Anderson is well known in the "steroid community" as a steroid dealer, and his clients include professional baseball players. While under surveillance by agents, Anderson was seen September 11th stopping briefly at BALCO offices, then driving to Pacific Bell Park, the San Francisco Giants’ stadium, and parking in the players’ parking lot. While searching Anderson’s home, agents found steroids, syringes, invoices for steroid sales, and about $60,000 in a locked safe. Agents also seized files with athletes’ names and calendars that showed daily doses of steroids and growth hormones.
Barry Bonds has played for the San Francisco Giants since 1993. Major league officials believe this directly links Bonds to steroid use. While current United State laws state, innocent until proven guilty, people have continually accused Bonds of these acquisitions. Law officials have to find substantial evidence linking to Bonds to use of steroids. Major league baseball has instilled a drug testing policy that includes steroids, among other drugs, in testing. Baseball is trying to clean up its image. Will the records broken during this era be honored? Fans, players and everyone else are waiting for the answer to this question. Baseball simply has their hands tied until more evidence is found.
http://www.aap.org/family/steroids.htm>American Academy of Pediatrics. Home page. 4 May, 2006.
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Verducci, Tom. "Caminiti comes clean" AP 28 May. 2002. Sports Illustrated.
4 May. 2006 <
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/special_report/steroids/>Huckabay, Gary. "Steroids in Baseball" AP 3 May. 2001. Baseball Prospectus.
4 May. 2006 <
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1003>Zillgitt, Jeff. "Because of steroids, baseball needs a change in leadership" AP 10 March. 2004
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/zillgitt/2004-03-03-zillgitt_x.htm>4 May. 2006 <