Steroids In Baseball:The More Change, The More The Same

Miguel Tejada is expected to plead guilty Wednesday in federal court to a count of lying to Congress about his knowledge of Major League Baseball players using performance-enhancing drugs.

With the recent happenings in baseball in regards to steroids in the past few years it has come to everyone’s attention that steroids, or “roids” as they are often referred to, had become common place in baseball at some point a long time ago. Steroids are no longer the white elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. They are the one of the biggest topics in baseball and most difficult to deal with or understand.

Finding out that such greats from the 1980s and 1990s such as Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, and others had used steroids has been tough to stomach. Major league baseball has had a difficult time policing it, understanding it, addressing it, and penalizing it. It was finally addressed after the 2003 secret testing that occurred and revealed that over 5% of tests came back positive and the next year strong consequences were put in place for anyone that tested positive, but for decades before that MLB really did not pay attention to the matter.

It was a “clubhouse” thing that was always protected and swept under the rug. Almost EVERY team in baseball knew which of their players were juicing and which were not. It has been revealed in internal scouting reports for players like Paul LoDuca of the Dodgers. The Dodgers were well aware that he was on steroids but did nothing about it, well they did end up trading him the season following the report.

Not addressing it, not penalizing it, and not testing for it are all ways in which MLB and its teams condoned the use of steroids! I do agree that everyone is entitled to a choice and that those that choose to use steroids need to be accountable for their actions. But MLB did know that players were using steroids and choose to skirt the issue for as long as they could. And the player’s union is as much to blame as anyone, especially for the ways that they go about protecting players that use steroids!
Many questions arise when it comes to steroid use in baseball. What happens to a player’s records and stats? Are they to be barred from the Hall of Fame?

McGwire has yet to be elected and seems to be getting fewer votes each time they vote. I believe that he has one more shot at it and it does not look like he will make it. What happens to Bonds’ home run records? Or Alex Rodriquez’s ? What about other players like Mickey Mantle, who was infamous for his late night partying yet was able to play at a very high level throughout the season.

A then-controversial book called Ball Four by Jim Bouton was published in the 1970s that made a note of players popping “greenies.” This was the name for green pills that contained amphetamines. They are “pep pills,” dextroamphetamine sulfate to be exact. And Bouton noted that a lot of baseball players couldn’t function without them. They were banned substances then and now. He even goes as far as noting that he felt that AT LEAST half of all baseball players used them, at least!

I have no option but to believe that baseball players, and athletes from all other walks, have been using what are or could have been labeled as illegal performance enhancing substances forever. Heck, it would not surprise me to hear that Ted Williams, yes Teddy baseball, had taken something at least a few times during his career. It was apparently a widely accepted and protected thing. Most good ball players are used to special treatment because of their skills, think of the best jocks at your high school or college. And when they made it to the professional levels things were not any different.

So where does this big mess leave us as fans, owners, players, and employees of major league baseball? My guess is that the rest of the over 100 players that tested positive along with A-Rod back in 2003 will be made known soon. Then what? As far as stats and Hall of Fame potential go, it’s a hard decision to make when you consider all things. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on how this should be handled.