Effects of Steroids in Baseball

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Many baseball players have been tested for use of prohibited or rather burned steroids. Research has revealed that most professional players indulge in this act in order to boost their performance during the game; these steroids are meant to increase the protein synthesis level, resulting to large body mass and extraordinary strength. It is obvious that the above features enable athletes to perform very well especially in field and track events, bearing in mind that sports athletes require explosive energy during this activities.

However, there are speculations that baseball players don’t find it necessary to use steroid for performance enhancement as the way the game is played, since the presumption of explosive strength a hitter could be used to bat the ball with extreme force and also the hitter must make contact with the ball first and the increase in body mass may hinder this actions (Schmotzer, Kilgo and Switchenko,  22).

Steroids are just a single type of drug that an athlete may use; there are divided into classes, high performance popularly known as performance enhancing drugs (PED);

These drugs incorporate the growth hormones in human beings and are responsible for building muscle and general body mass. A report dabbed ‘Mitchell Report’ written by former Senator George Mitchell submitted to the commissioner of Major league baseball, showing the magnitude to which (PED) and steroids had been abused in the larger fraternity of baseball. The summarized report involved top league baseball players and touched on the season that is rampantly used and the type of PED used by the accused.

Steroids were first tested in 1991, but major testing for the baseball players started in 2003. A series of injuries and changes in nature resulted in rapid increase of steroids being used among the players. Furthermore these injuries transformed to other ailments due to large muscle moving away from the bones that cannot support them. Harsh penalties were put in place for the players who tested positive in 2003 and they range from counseling for the first test failure to a suspension of one at maximum for a fifth offence. Majority of this test were conducted on random basis to keep players steroid free at all times, stricter penalties were imposed to victims in 2005 and included ten days unpaid for the period of suspension in first offence and a life burn for the fifth offence (Assael 2005).

Dr. Harrison Pope of McLean hospital in Belmont agrees that steroids work effectively to users, but it shortens their life span by a significant duration although specific time is still not known, since the life expectancy of a major baseball player cannot be perfectly predicted (Baily 2003). Steroid brings a form of elusion that while a player’s performance increases in the pitch the gains are not achieved through the required process like more hours of practice, less intake in alcohol and other dangerous effects that can result from luxuries.  Steroid users’ posses a notion that they can get richer within a shorter time and less cost is incurred as compared to achieving the success without steroids (Osborne 2005).  Children in the society should be educated and protected from viewing these players as their role models, since they can easily fall into using steroids when they grow up.

Athletes also purchase over the counter drugs, example of creatine; a supplement that most manufacturers claim that they don’t come with side effects and boosts body strength within a short period of time, although some nutritional supplements may not be harmful when consumed in small doses, but when mixed with other components like alcohol and aspirin they can affect the normal functioning of the body. Creatine has been linked to muscle injuries and kidney complications, also it has been associated with diarrhea and cramping.

When anabolic steroid is not correctly used it can really cause dangerous complications from high blood pressure, liver damage, cancer, heart disease and even blood clots. There are various side effects that are associated with steroid and have these symptoms; risk of ligaments, nausea, severe body ache and vomiting among others.

Performance enhancing drugs should have zero tolerance in Major league baseball players, since it tarnishes the picture of the beautiful sport especially in the Latin America. Nevertheless, these drugs destroy our young stars and even rip them of their careers forever; Countries should practice very strict policy measures to help curb these drug malpractices within the society. Pharmaceuticals should not be allowed to sell drug s over the counter and those who are found committing these offences should be punished.