One of my first experiences of this so called “asterisk era” took place in 1998, and I can still vividly remember it to this day. It was September 8, a night like any other, except on this night a historical baseball game was to be played facing the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs. I sat on my family room couch as my father was explaining to me that there was a good possibility that Mark McGwire, the season home-run leader at the time, could break the sought after 61 homers in a single season. I watched with great anticipation for this historical record to be broken, and finally during his second at-bat, it happened. Everybody watching the game went crazy in amazement that the record that had lasted a strong 37 years had just simply been surpassed within an instant. Furthermore, Mark McGwire finished out the season with an astonishing 70 home runs, which was later passed once again by Barry Bonds with 73 home runs in 2001. Mind-boggling statistics like these have been a dime a dozen in the past couple decades as the “asterisk” (or “steroid”) era of baseball has grown out of control. Many records in history, like those previously mentioned, seemed to be reached through honesty, hard work, and determination. However, just like with anything else in life, with time came the truth about how these records were actually conquered. It’s depressing to think about how America’s favorite pastime has turned into such a dirty sport with new players being exposed almost every week and many major league analysts wondering if the game will ever return to its once pure state. At this rate however, it seems as if baseball is just heading to become a huge cat and mouse game of trying to catch which players are cheating this beloved game throughout their careers.
As of late, it seems as if every great player has been linked to performance enhancing drugs in someway or another. These accusations have ranged from recent finding of Alex Rodriguez, to the ongoing investigations of many stars such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Rafael Palmeiro. This list of stars players, along with their statistics, has grown to ridiculous numbers that seem to get more out of hand every single day. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and Steroids have been the two prime enhancers that the majority of major league baseball players have been convicted of using to this date. Anabolic Steroids (definitely the more intense drug of the two) are known to greatly increase the strength of muscles and provide the user with superhuman characteristics. Even though the side effects of this drug are numerous, many players continue to put their careers on the line to increase their statistics and live up to their beefy contracts. On the other hand, HGH (which is a much more commonly used drug) is a bit less harmful and in many studies has actually shown to be beneficial to the human body. According to a recent slate analysis, “A research team led by Daniel Rudman of the Medical College of Wisconsin gave regular growth hormone injections to a dozen men over the age of 60. At the end of the six-month treatment period, the test subjects had denser bones, thicker skin, less fat, and more lean body tissue. The paper likened these effects to a reversal of 10 to 20 years of aging.” (Engber). Now, in no means am I supporting the use of any performance enhancing drug, however, there is a large controversy about whether this seemingly harmless drug should be accepted and allowed throughout major league sports.
In the past, many critics have blamed this downfall on the major league association for being too loose on their substance abuse policies. Prior to 1990, this clearly was the case due to there really being no rules against cheating in the game. However, this was also because there was no need; you didn’t see Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron juicing up in the locker room before ballgames. In other words, we wouldn’t need jails or the death penalty if nobody committed any crimes. However, this isn’t the case anymore, so we now need to enforce the law. Since 1990, however (when the Anabolic Steroid Control Act was first passed), the lack of rules has definitely not been the fault in Major League baseball. More and more drugs have been added to the ban list and studies such as the BALCO, Canseco, and Mitchell Report investigations have leaked several different players that easily top over 100 as of yet. (Timeline) Throughout the media, baseball is quickly becoming known as one big joke, and unless somehow it gets turned around, there seems to be no end in sight.
Along with all this controversy comes many opinions about how baseball has arrived with such a gloomy future, and how likely it is to come out. Warren Cromartie, an old outfielder for the Montreal Expos said in a recent interview “We weren’t about the money then. We didn’t make the money they make now. We went out and played ball and got dirty, so that means something. That’s something that we’re going to hang onto.” (Phillips) It’s this kind of attitude that I believe many players have drifted away from in recent years. They forget why they started playing the game in the first place; not for the million dollar contract or to make SportsCenter’s top 10, but for the little kid that simply played because he loved the game and never looked back. I strongly agree with Warren on the fact that all of these huge multi-million dollar contracts may be the root of so much trouble in baseball. Players are put under enormous amounts of pressure and basically told that if they don’t produce, their contract will be in jeopardy. Due to such strenuous circumstances, many major leaguers find it necessary to put their reputations on the line for a shot at stardom. However, Cromartie continued to comment on the subject of substance abuse; “I’ve got a father who taught me, who played in the Negro leagues,” he said. “We went out and played. We practiced. We practiced, practiced, practiced, we got good. So either you had it or you didn’t, so we didn’t think about putting anything but vitamins in our bodies at the time.” (Phillips) The horrors of this steroid era have spread throughout the college ranks and are even affecting our high school players on a daily basis.
I truly believe that unless all baseball associations start to severely crack down on athletes soon, the future of the major leagues is in for a long and dark road. While there is definitely a chance of resorting back to the old days, what is now called the “clean era”, it won’t be achieved without great optimism and cooperation of all parties involved. Therefore, I can only hope that all the players involved own up to their mistakes and take the punishment so that this game can get back on track to once again being considered America’s favorite pastime.
