Steroid Use in the MLB: 50 Year History - Research Paper

Introduction

When athletes are placed in a competitive setting, they will attempt to win by developing an advantage over the opponents. Since the beginning of sports, the competitive nature of sportsmen has been intense. As years go by, especially over the last fifty years, the athletes have changed particularly in the pursuit of their competitive drive. Indeed, the training techniques, equipment, rules, and the game have all become even more complex. Sadly, the continued transformation in different sports in terms of sophistication and athlete's drive has impeded sportsmanship as some athletes have resolved into using anabolic steroids with a goal of improving their competitive drive. Steroids which has existed for over five decades according to Grossman, Kimsey, Moreen, & Owings (2007), is a synthetic version of the male hormone testosterone which people use to boost their athletic prowess by promoting tissue growth through protein creation. The effect on the athletes is that it makes them not only to train intensively but also faster and stronger. Because of the dreadful side effect on the use of steroids and the fact that most users these days are minors in high school, it has been strongly opposed in many sports and more so in baseball. In fact, any performance enhancing drugs are negatively viewed in baseball games than in any sports since baseball is seen as a representation of a simpler and a purer world through its history. Ideally, as the steroid problem begins to get serious in baseball, it is important to understand its history in MLB, the economic reasons behind its use, the expected impact of the testing and banning policies of steroids as well as its punitive measures in MLB.

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Background Information

The use of performance enhancing drugs can be traced back to the ancient Olympics and Roman times when athletes used certain herbs and mushrooms to enhance their success (Yesalis & Bahrke, 2002). Before then, the Greeks had already started using testosterone in sports. Initially, the effect of the substance was realized when the behaviors of animals completely changed, following a castration. Consequently, people started eating the animals' testicles and even that of other humans in an attempt to gain strength and speed in sports. According to Yesalis & Bahrke (2002), the Greeks are also known to be the first people to administer sports performance enhancing drugs through a portion of wine and brandy especially during training. In Rome on the other hand, the gladiators were known to use different kinds of stimulants, all made from plant extractions, to overcome fatigue and exhaustion, and to reduce the length of injury time.

With the developments in modern pharmacology and medicine, the use of performance stimulants significantly increased as there was an increase in the number and types of these substances. At this time, it was medically proven that stimulants were effective in bodybuilding and were now used as ergogenic aids to enhance muscular work capacity (Holt, Erotokritou-Mulligan, & Sonksen, 2009). Also through medicine, people started to recognize the anabolic effects of these harmonic substances. However, after being tried in different sports for a while to enhance athletes' physical strength and stamina, the use of self-enhancing drugs reduced significantly in the post-Roman era. Even so, with the coming of the spectator sports and the presence of commercials and other rewards, athletes began using performance-enhancing drugs again. These rewards were precious and were beneficial to the sportsmen and those associated with them. Eventually, the use of stimulants became a routine in sports and every athlete was required to use them as a winning strategy and an added advantage over the opponents until the enactment of the first anti-doping rules in 1928 by the IAAF, track and field's international governing body.

History of Steroids in MLB

The use of modern-day steroids began around the 1970s when some players publicly admitted their involvement with steroids and human hormones. According to Del Cid (2007), by the year 1990 after the shift from amphetamines, the use of steroids had become epidemic which made it one of the baseball's banned substance by 1991. At this time, baseball as a sport had completely changed with all pieces of evidence pointing to the use of steroids. For instance, by 1996, many players had become completely aggressive and the offensive numbers rose significantly (Latiner, 2005). Even more, the number of athletes breaking previous records also went way up: something which was suspiciously common between 1991 and 2001. Similarly, there was a change in the players' injury list which significantly rose from between the year 1989 and the year 1998 in terms of the players' number and the average stay period on the same list. In some cases, it became worrying as injuries which were initially considered as common ailments became more intricate muscle rupture.

Steroids Testing in MLB

In 2003, there was a crucial agreement between the teams and the management of Major League Baseball who orchestrated a forceful random test among the players to determine those who continued to used steroids after its classification as a banned substance in 1991. The MLB player association also agreed the samples tests will be mandatory and annually, nevertheless, no punitive actions we put in place during the first year of testing. Additionally, as Mitchell (2007) states, the association also agreed 5% and 2.5% as the lower and upper limit respectively, with which the testing would be implemented or dropped. The results from the testing indicated that more than 5% of the players were on steroids, therefore, the plan was implemented in 2004.

Economic Impact of Steroids

If one leaves moral and ethical issue aside, the question that usually arises is the economic impact of steroid use on the players and to the league as a whole. Indeed, the major league baseball generally involves a number of stakeholders ranging from teams, athletes, the league itself and other sports organizations as well as the fans who are actively involved in the sport both emotionally and economically. According to Grossman, Kimsey, Moreen, & Owings (2007), many fans and other entities commit to the league and sometimes make certain investments for the good of their teams. In some cases, donor organizations invest a significant amount of money to boost teams financially so as to achieve their goals. Either way, these investors when making their contributions care not only about the individual teams but also the league as a whole, and may sometimes incur great loses if the value of baseball suddenly decreases.

The MLB league players must derive some kind of utility, whether it is perceived or actual from the continuous use of steroids, which can impact the league stakeholders financially in a positive manner. For instance, with the improved players' performances as a result of steroid use, the league has seen a significant increase in its franchise finances. According to research, the league's franchise value had a significant slip especially during the early 1990s before the era of steroids (Tainsky & Winfree, 2008). However, during the steroid era, the league franchise finances have dramatically improved with the average league's franchise value increasing from approximately over $100 million to almost $400 million in a span of 10 years (Grossman et al., 2007). During this period, it appears that the use of performance-enhancing drugs and particularly steroids provided positive financial results to the players, the club owners, and the league investors.

The Ban of Steroids in MLB

The ban on steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs have been an ongoing issue for Major League Baseball. Despite the substance making it to baseball's list of banned substances as early as 1991, the real drug test for major league players was never established until 2003, and currently, different reports indicate that almost 80 percent of the league players rely on steroids (Del Cid, 2007). However, the MLB management is clearly against the drug and with an agreement with the players they decided that the use of steroids is unethical and will no longer be tolerated. According to Butterworth (2008), in 2002, the league management, the players and the club owners entered into an agreement that would require a survey urine test for banned steroids. The deal which was to commence between the year 2003 and 2004 conditioned that if over 5% of all the tests indicated the presence of the drug in a year, then drug testing with heavy penalties was to begin in the subsequent year. Otherwise, if only 2.5% of the tests indicated a positive result for steroids or any other growth hormone, then the continuous test would be abandoned. Indeed, the league only enforced the 1991 ban on steroids on November 13, 2003, when over 5 percent of all the 1438 tests were confirmed to be positive for steroids (Butterworth, 2008). As a matter of fact, this new ban not only triggered continuous testing for steroids but also a series of penalties. For example, the league together with the players decided that players will be involved in treatment if they test positive for the first time. Unfortunately, any person who would test positive for the second time would be subjected to either a fine adding up to $10,000 or a 15-day suspension (Mitchell, 2007). Additionally, players would be subjected to a fine of $25,000 or a 25-day suspension if they tested positive for the third time, and a $50,000 fine or a 50-day suspension if they tested positive for the fourth time.

According to Showalter (2006), even though the MLB has reasonable rules against doping particularly against the use of steroids, the pressure from the US Congress ensured that new measured were initiated by January 2005. Ideally, under the requirement of the Congress, a new agreement was reached between the league and the players that first offenders would be subjected to a suspension for a period of ten days. Again, the Congress required that second violators be subjected to a thirty-day ban from any league game and a more than sixty days ban if an athlete tested positive for the fourth time. Unluckily, fifth-time offenders could be sidelined for an unknown period which could only be determined by the commissioner (Mitchell, 2007).

Crime and Punishment

Although the league established punitive measures against the use of Steroids when forceful substance testing was introduced in 2004, the MLB and many of its players have called for even harsher penalties due to the rise in steroid use in recent years. As a result, the major league baseball with the pressure from Congress enhanced the testing procedures as well as the penalties for taking steroids. According to Craft (2015), from the new Joint Drug Program, the first time offenders who were initially suspended for only 50 games, can now be sidelined for up to 80 games under the new rules. Similarly, with regards to the same rules, the punishment for second violators was increased from 100-game suspension to unpaid 162-game suspension. This meant that the offender's pay would be held for a period of 183 days since baseball players are paid based on a 183-day schedule. The Joint Drug Program also concluded that a third violation from any player in the league will result in a permanent elimination from Baseball.

Apart from strengthening the drug testing program and its punishments, the new system also came up with new improvements. For instance, unlike the old system, the players who test positive can appeal to an arbitrator (Mills, 2017). In this case, it has become advantageous to players who can now argue that their use of performance-enhancing substances was not me...