The Negative Effects Of Steroids In Baseball

The Negative Effects of Steroid Use in Baseball When talking about the greatest negative effect on any sport only one thing comes to mind and that is steroids. Steroids have tarnished every sport but in particular they have put tons of negative setbacks on the sport of baseball. To better understand the negative effects that steroids have in baseball, one must know the effects it has on a player, how it affects the rest of the league, and how steroids affect the fan base. First and foremost, Steroids bring an enormous effect on the player. Most people overlook the fact that steroids can affect a player on the outside rather than just the inside of their bodies. Firstly, steroids can tarnish a player’s reputation. The steroid scandal that …show more content…
Consequently, if one player uses steroids it usually results in more players taking them as well. Before the 1996 baseball season, the ‘61 New York Yankees stood alone as the only team to knock out more than 225 home runs ever in a season. However in the past nine seasons, twenty six teams have accomplished this once unheard of feat (Verducci 39). 40 year old pitchers were aging backwards since the later years of the 1990’s. They were throwing just as good and as fast of pitches as the young twenty year old pitchers entering the league. Along with pitchers, Veteran hitters were still swinging the bat just as good as or even better than the younger players in the league. (Roberts and Epstein 28). It has been seen as almost a chain reaction that has been set off from the Major Leagues to the Minor Leagues. If Major League players think that they need steroids and start using them then, consequently, Minor League players will also begin to use them as well (Kuehl and Tefertiller). If the rest of the League uses steroids than it is also giving players an unfair advantage to beat records set previously before them by players that were all natural. Any player that uses steroids gives the most simple statement they can give if they are asked why they used steroids. That statement is that they wanted to get stronger. More home runs come from that strength that …show more content…
The fans are what makes baseball the sport it is today. Without a doubt, fans keep the sport going by paying for tickets, buying food and drinks at games, and getting their favorite players gear. But steroids have negatively affected the fans and the biggest negative effect would be on the youth. Taylor Hooton was a star baseball player in Plano, Texas and was the cousin of a Major Leaguer named Burt Hooton. Taylor had deemed steroids as the only option to reach the next level and that decision forever affected his family and friends. Taylor ended up committing suicide due to steroid use and his story was put on the television show “60 Minutes” (Kuehl and Tefertiller). As stated above, the chain reaction continues from the Majors, to Minors, and then to the high school level. High school players are starting to view steroids as not just something to try to be better, but rather as something that is necessary to stay competitive and reach the next level (Kuehl and Tefertiller). Taylor Hooton’s story is just one of many more to come if steroids continue to play a big role in success in baseball. Fans also begin to negatively view player’s as a result of steroids. According to Keith and Nicholls in the article A Major Mess, "’The players should be suspended for life,’ says 11-year-old Tommy S., of Franklin, Tennessee. ‘They cheated’" (Keith and Nicholls 11). If a young kid like Tommy