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Table of Contents

• Preface
• If
• My First Meeting with English
• Bringing Up
• Becoming a Writer
• What I Have Become
• Free Trade Treaty: Beneficial or Destructive?
• The Man in a Box
• Copyright Laws and the First Amendment
• Steroids in Baseball
• How to Prepare for a Successful Job Interview
• Religion Belongs in the School Curriculum
• Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997
• A Note to my Teacher
• Ideas and Imagination Flying Through Reading and Writing
• China as the Next Shining Nation
• How to Make a New Friend
• March of the Penguins
• Raising Children Yesterday and Today
• Almost a Woman
• The Power of Aids
• Credits

Steroids in Baseball

Erick Herrera
Colombia
ENG 1430

The use of steroids in Major League Baseball (MLB) has become a big problem. Most of the players have decided to use steroids because it helps them to increase their muscles faster. This drug makes the players anxious and the desire for exercise is more often. Most of the fans think that the increase of home runs of the 2006 season is mostly caused by players using performance-enhanced drugs; this fact is based by earlier results of 47% of the fans agreeing on this issue conducted by USA Today/Gallup Poll (Newman, 2006). Also, the players see this like an opportunity to move faster in the system and be seen as a top player to be considering a big value on the market. This situation is so important for the fans and anyone that follows this sport. It is more important for the youngest players that grow up watching and playing baseball, admiring professional players like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. These are some of the big names that appear in the book published by an ex-player, Jose Canseco, implicating them that they had used steroids in the past. Since then, the commissioner of MLB, Bud Selig, issued a tougher steroid policy, which says “‘three strikes and you're out approach’ which goes as follows: The first positive test would result in a fifty game suspension. The second positive test would result in a one-hundred game suspension. Finally, the third positive test would result in a lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball” (Selig, 2005). This means that if any players violate this policy more than three times, they would not be able to play anymore professional baseball for the MLB.

The “three strikes and you're out approach” policy has been implemented to solve the use of steroids in baseball. It is easy to put in practice (Implement), is effective in solving the problem, is cost and time effective, and has a preventive effect. This is a good solution because in the time that the MLB has implemented this policy, it has been effective so far. As you read along, you will see that the number of players involved in this problem have decreased. Also, the cost and time aren’t a problem. The expenses for this policy isn’t a lot, the MLB would only pay their private laboratory for their provided test. The time is so convenient for this steroid policy because it is twice a year or when it is necessary. This problem will educate the adolescent to learn from it, and leave them a message that consuming steroids would harm your health. I can say that this goal is been efficient, and the policy would reach its goal.

This policy is easy to implement because most of the players agree to the rules of this policy issued by the commissioner Bud Selig. The MLB runs this policy with year-round random testing for all players: this means that every year each player has to be tested before each season. There is also off-season testing: this requires testing only for the two initial seasons after the date of their agreement on this policy, and this test would be before each Pre-Season and in the off-season. Another method is testing for more substances: This test would not be only for steroids. They would be looking for other enhanced drugs that the players may use as well (ESPN, 2005). The owners, managers and coaches also play an important role. They will help the commissioner to implement this policy by encouraging their players in their respective clubs.

The cost and time are also effective. First of all, the cost is not that much to run this test. The MLB has their proper laboratories especially for this purpose (steroid test). This is not for sure, but it is speculated that owners pay a little extra to help the MLB to support their laboratories. There are also fines for players that violate this policy. These fines are issued for punishments and part of them to contribute the steroids policy. The fines would only work for the first offense. The MLB decides if the player should get a 10-day suspension without pay or that player should be fined $10,000 (Bodley, 2005). One of the best things of this policy is that the time is convenient. As I mentioned before every player is tested every year, and they can have the results during the season. I have heard that the MLB also tests randomly, or if anyone is suspicious they may be asked to take a test to determine if that player is using steroids.

The steroids policy of the MLB is effective in solving this problem, because the result shows that the number of players taking steroids has decreased since the steroids policy was issued in 2005. In the season of 2005, twelve players were suspended for the use of steroids. Among the suspensions were Alex Sanchez from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Rafael Palmeiro from the Baltimore Orioles, Ryan Franklin from Seattle Mariners, Felix Heredia from the New York Mets, and Matt Lawton from the New York Yankees, all of them had ten game suspensions (Press Release, 2005). Besides, this year the quantity is below twelve. The number and names for the 2006 season haven’t been released yet, but it is known that it is not as high as the 2005 year. All these suspensions that had generated the results from the steroids policy tell us that this policy is working and that the commissioner is following the policy as is stated. “We did what we said we were going to do” Selig said, “Alex Sanchez tested positive, there was no doubt that he tested positive and he's gone for 10 days.” (Rumberg, 2005)

I think that the most important thing of this policy and what the commissioner wants is that it has a preventive effect. This is mostly for players that are in high schools and colleges that follow the big leagues very closely, and become aware that it is not appropriate to use steroids. Also, this policy would let them know that it wouldn’t be tolerated and is not good for them. I know that the schools teach them all about the effects of these kinds of drugs, although it is not that bad to keep them in mind about this big problem nowadays. Also, knowing that many years ago steroids was a big problem in high schools, colleges, and many athletes in sports were using steroids. The policy works for the professional players as well, for the new upcoming and for the one that are already at that level. As the Commissioner Bud Selig said during a Yankees’ and Red Sox’s game in New York, “38 minor leaguers were suspended for violating baseball's minor league steroids policy” (Rumberg, 2005). This policy is to make sure that adolescent and young adults never think to take this drug.

Many fans and writers may say that this policy would not be easy to implement. However, as I specified before how the MLB is running this policy, to test the players is easy to manage. Also, the players, coaches and owners have agreed to make it more capable of success. The Commissioner decided to issue a tougher policy because the results of 47% from 594 baseball fans on a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll that was run in June showed that the fans believed that the amount of home runs is caused thanks to the consume of illegal drugs, like steroids (Nightengale, 2006). So to put an end to this speculation the Commissioner Bud Selig decided to fight against this steroid problem issuing this steroid policy.

In conclusion, we can say that this policy is been successful in reaching its purpose. The players are now aware what would happen to them if they don’t stop using this drug and that they would not get any advantage by consuming steroids. I think that through the years this policy will succeed completely, because everybody will know exactly the effects and the damage that this drug would cause to the body, and the impact to the society. I’m positive that this policy will achieve their purpose, stop the player once and for all from consuming steroids. This is thanks to the support of the Commissioner, owners, coaches, and players.

References

Bodley, H. (20 Mar. 2005). MLB to change steroid player-suspension language. USA Today. Retrieved 1 Dec. 2006 at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-03-20- steroidlanguage_ x.htm.

Newman, A. (12 Jul. 2006). Why so many home runs? USA Today. Retrieved 19 Nov. 2006 at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/allstar/2006-07-10- acover-homers_x.htm.

Nightengale, B. (12 Jul. 2006). Why so many home runs? USA Today. Retrieved 18 Nov. 2006 at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/allstar/2006-07-10- acover-homers_x.htm.

Rumberg, H. (5 Apr. 2005). Selig touts drug policy's effectiveness USA Today. Retrieved 1 Dec 2006 at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-04-05-selig- steroids_x.htm.

Sides to announce new plan Thursday (MLB). (13 Jan. 2005). ESPN. Retrieved 28 Nov. 2006 at http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1965565.

Steroid Suspensions 2005 Regular Season (2005). Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 28 Nov 2006 at http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/steroids_baseball.shtml.

Rumberg, H. (2005, 4/5). Selig touts drug policy's effectiveness (BASEBALL). Retrieved 12/1/2006, from USA TODAY: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-04-05-selig-steroids_x.htm.

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