To inform fans on developments in Baseball and steroids I have included five articles that may help make a decision regarding the issue at hand.

Baseball and Steroids:

Articles From The Past Few Years

Baseball and Steroids- The Controversy
By Bill Bathe

There has been a lot of controversy about steroids in baseball. Does it enhance performance and what are the side effects. Are records today the result of steroids. And are athletes harming themselves.

First of all, we need to understand what is a steroid. And why do players use it. Anabolic steroids are a synthetic version of the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone in it's normal state promotes and boosts muscle development and growth. When it is supplemented with steroids, you have an increase of muscle mass, reduction of body fat, and enhanced endurance. It is used by athletes to try to have the edge on the competition. It is believed that by using a steroid in baseball it will cause you to hit the ball further. And longer.

What are some of the side effects? They range from psychologically to physically. From a psychological standpoint, they can range from a feeling of well-being to depression. Mood swings. And even rage. Sometimes called 'roid rage'. Other adverse psychological effects can include intense aggression and violence.

From a physical standpoint, you can have all kinds of changes. You will have increased muscle mass and increased endurance, but the side effects can include a plethora of problems. The worst being liver damage, and cancer. You can have acne, excessive hair growth or loss. Testicular atrophy (shrinking), etc.

What is the reward vs. risk? The reward being a quick avenue for increased muscle mass, increased performance, and increased endurance. A feeling of invincibility. The risk is permanent physical morbidity and psychotic episodes that include aggression, violence, and rapid mood swings. Also feelings of depression and suicide. Is the reward worth it? Absolutely not! Yet it is abused by athletes today for the quick gain of fortune and fame. It is believed that by using a steroid in baseball it will lead you down the path of fortune and fame.

There has been a lot of controversy whether Mark McGwire or Barry Bonds or Gary Sheffield and others have used a steroid in baseball. There is the infamous BALCO incident where there are accusations that Barry's long time friend Greg Anderson was supplying Barry with an untrackable steroid, sometimes called "the cream" or "the clear". Which raised a lot of questions in the baseball world. Did they use a steroid in baseball and is there proof it enhanced their game? We can draw several conclusions from this.

First off, is there any proof that a steroid in baseball has enhanced the record book with unfair records. At this time, no. We have to remember a couple of things before trying to point fingers, etc. Barry Bonds went on to have an unbelievable season setting a single season record of home runs that will probably never be surpassed in my mind. This happened from a guy that usually averaged around 35 homers a season. Can you explain the sudden jump in home runs? Probably not. But you can make the assumption that he has matured to the top of his game and that he had a dream season.

Now, let's look at Roger Maris. When Roger went on to hit 61 home runs from a guy that usually never hit that many. Did everyone in the world suddenly start saying there must be a steroid in baseball that he is using? Or he must be doing something to enhance his game. No they did not. They assumed that he just had a magical season that only comes around ever so often. Can we draw the same conclusions about Barry, and about Mark? Yes, we can. Could it be that they had magical seasons? Absolutely.

Until the evidence comes out, we don't know what any athlete is doing. What I do know as a former major leaguer is how difficult it is to perform at such a high level day in and day out. In my mind, whether they are doing steroids or not, you still have to hit the ball over the fence. You still have to make solid contact consistently. You still have to have great fundamentals. I think what has happened on the baseball field has been remarkable and we are lucky to be able to witness such great athletes perform daily.

Steroids in my mind take away from the game. Even though they provide a quick explosion of muscle mass and endurance, over the long run, they will harm you. They will cause psychotic events, and physical damage that will last a life time. The bottom line is simple. Play the game the way it is meant to be played. Play with honor and pride and dignity. And above all, leave steroids out of it.Using a steroid in baseball is simply not worth it.

Bill Bathe- former major league ballplayer who played in 1989 world series. Been coached by Eddie Matthews, Harmon Killebrew, Billy Williams, and Dusty Baker to name a few. You can learn more by visiting http://www.pro-baseball-drills-and-equipment.com which provides tips, advice, drills, equipment and video analysis of your swing. Also, inspirational stories and pictures of the journey to the big leagues.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Bathe

Steroids and the Baseball Hall of Fame

Should the suspected steroids users make it to Cooperstown?

Vigilante justice is not the way we do things in the United States of America. Accused persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Except, it seems, in the case of steroids in Major League Baseball and, more specifically, whether baseball’s alleged steroid users should be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. When it comes to those issues, baseball fans – and, more disturbingly, baseball writers – appear ready and willing to dispense with the formality of such frivolities as trials and hard evidence in favor of conviction by the court of public opinion.

That is profoundly sad and pathetically unjust. With steroids so pervasive throughout the game from at least the mid-1990s through the early part of the 2000s, how can anyone possibly single out one player? Or two? Or even a dozen? How can we even single out hitters over pitchers? Are we going to vilify possibly hundreds of recognizable stars to prove a point that we don’t like cheaters? Do we put an asterisk next to all records from the last 25 years?

And most importantly to guys like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Barry Bonds, are we going to keep all the players we merely suspect of using steroids out of the Hall of Fame?

My fear is that we are going to do all of the above.

Forget that had they played in any other era in Major League history, all four of those guys would be absolute locks for the Hall of Fame. Forget it because we believe these guys cheated and they should pay.

Not so fast. There are plenty of reasons the stars of the steroids era in Major League Baseball should find their way to Cooperstown anyway. What follows are the top five.

1) The baseball writers who vote are not the morality police.
This excellent point has been discussed at length by ESPN analyst Buster Olney. It is the job of the baseball writers with Hall of Fame votes to choose the best players of each era and send them to Cooperstown. If their numbers scream Hall of Fame, regardless of alleged steroids use, in they go. Writers can’t take the law into their own hands, so to speak, and do the policing of the game Major League Baseball and the Players Association should have done. They failed. Let’s just enjoy the records these players gave us, get the steroids out of the game for the present and future, and move on.

2) We absolutely cannot punish the few for the sins of the many.
We have no way of knowing how many players used steroids during this era. And that is precisely the problem. If we knew exactly who they were, perhaps we could dole out appropriate punishments and keep some otherwise deserving players out of the Hall of Fame. But the likely scale of steroid use is staggering. We cast blame on the bulky home run hitters because it’s trendy, but how many steroids-induced home runs were hit off of juiced pitchers? How many otherwise fringe major leaguers had decent careers because of performance enhancers? We don’t know, we can’t know, and we’ll never know. So as much as we might like to, we can’t punish the stars because they draw the most suspicion. And we can’t keep a guy like Bonds out of the Hall of Fame because we’re pretty sure he used steroids and eventually allow Alex Rodriguez in because we’re pretty sure he didn’t.

3) This is not the same as keeping Pete Rose out of Cooperstown.
It’s not even close. Rose knowingly broke a long-standing major league rule against betting on baseball, a rule that baseball has enforced with vigilance for decades. Major League Baseball makes certain every season to remind players about the gambling rules and the consequences of breaking them. For steroids, baseball had no such vigilance. In fact, until the early 2000s steroids weren’t even officially against the rules. If MLB tries to suspend players – or rule them ineligible like Rose – for steroid use, it will be doing so retroactively, punishing players for breaking “unwritten” rules of fair play before any official rules existed. Did the players cheat? Definitely. Were they wrong to do it? You bet. But they didn’t actually break any rules. MLB failed in their oversight duties. So lay off the Rose comparisons. He’s banned from baseball and should never grace the Hall of Fame.

4) This was just the steroids era.
That sounds like a copout, I know. But it’s true. Every era in baseball history carries some sort of taint. Babe Ruth did not have to face the full spectrum of talented pitching because of baseball's institutionalized racism. Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax pitched in an era when the mound was higher and pitchers could dominate. Hank Aaron was able to hit the last few of his record 755 home runs while playing DH. Hitters today must face a litany of relief pitching specialists, making it harder to get a read on pitchers. Every era has its issues. This was the steroids era and fans are perfectly capable of putting all of its stats and records into proper historical perspective all by ourselves. We do it all the time with all the other tainted eras.

5) We are just as much to blame as anyone.
Before we banish the baseball stars who allegedly took steroids, we need to take a good hard look in the mirror. The players, the owners, the union, the television networks, Major League Baseball, Bud Selig, and the fans share blame for this whole mess. We knew this was going on. If we didn’t know, we sure suspected something was fishy. But you know what? We didn’t say a word. We just sat back and watched the home runs fly out of the park at record rates. The players cashed the checks. The owners raked in the gate receipts. The league enjoyed unprecedented growth, and a rebirth in 1998 due in large part to – guess what? – a monumental home run chase. And now we want to pretend it was all the players’ fault. That’s just a little too convenient.

Article Source: (http://baseball.about.com/od/halloffamers/qt/steroidshall.htm)

Baseball, steroids and the truth
By Dan Patrick

The estimate of the number of players on steroids in MLB rises and falls more than the Dow Jones.

In his recent interview in Sports Illustrated, former NL MVP Ken Caminiti unintentionally lit a match -- and it's spreading like wildfire. There isn't a big enough fire extinguisher to put it out.

Caminiti has acknowledged his problems with substance abuse, and as part of his recovery process he's been told to come forward and be honest. He didn't do the SI interview to get sympathy. He did it to talk about life after baseball, and he said the steroid issue was just touched upon. Now it's the focal point of an ongoing debate.

Caminiti acknowledged "dabbling" in steroids; he said he began taking them in 1996 for medicinal purposes (coincidentally or not, the year he won the MVP). He also saw other players take steroids. But he's not interested in bringing others down. Despite being quoted in SI as saying that half of baseball players use steroids, Caminiti told me his statements were misconstrued and the actual number is far fewer than 50 percent.

Unlike Jose Canseco's plan for a tell-all book, there was no intent to expose others behind Caminiti's SI interview. Perhaps now that he sees the repercussions of his statements, he's backpedaling. But Caminiti's only ax to grind is with himself. He's not blaming anyone else for his mistakes. He admits he cheated. And now he just wants to disappear. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for Caminiti.

Curt Schilling, however, isn't as sympathetic. Arizona's All-Star pitcher believes the bottom line is that Caminiti took steroids. But Schilling thinks only about 15 percent of MLB players use. Even if it's only 10 percent, is it 10 percent too many?

So the witch hunt has begun. It's a shame, with everything that Major League Baseball has had to deal with lately (labor issues, contraction, payroll, etc.). The last thing baseball needs is another black mark on the sport.

The use and abuse of steroids are not new, so why now? Why the sudden surge of attention? The knee-jerk reaction might be to blame the media. Baseball insiders might hope that if it isn't talked about, it will just go away. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

Schilling said pitchers take steroids, too. He knows pitchers who threw 91 mph one year and then showed up the next season throwing 95-96 mph after using steroids. Schilling also quipped that anyone who looks at his body knows he does not take steroids.

Schilling acknowledged it would be tempting, given the money involved, to use steroids if you know that your employer doesn't care and can't test you. Because of the cash -- and knowing that others use and may be more talented without the help of a performance-enhancing drug -- what would prevent a player from taking steroids? But Schilling pointed out that you have to look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day. He hoped that personal morals and ethics would come into play.

With reported levels of steroid use varying widely, it's clear there's no accurate way to estimate usage. Speculation and association play a large role in those estimations. The only fact is that conjecture and speculation won't get at the truth. Form all of the opinions and assumptions you want, folks, but the truth is we'll never know.

The obvious answer is to introduce mandatory testing, as they do in the minors.

But who's the judge and jury? Whose responsibility is it to clean up this mess? And what can be done? Just like with Olympic drug testing, if an athlete is smart enough, he just needs to stay one step ahead of the law. Testing in MLB could begin today. But who would run these tests? Would they be hired by the owners or the players? In either case, the likelihood of the big-name, top-dollar stars getting called out is slim.

Testing raises questions. Who would run these tests? Would they be hired by the owners or the players?

There are further questions. Can testing detect all steroids? What about the player who takes steroids in the offseason only to test clean during the season? If a player goes on the disabled list with a mysterious injury (one potential side effect of steroid use), should management have the right to test him? All ethical questions. And they won't go away.

Former Oakland Raiders great Lyle Alzado died in pain and in vain. He withered away due to steroid use, but it didn't stop anyone in the NFL from taking steroids. Meanwhile, MLB has had its head in the sand -- for far too long -- and must find a way to police itself. If players are using an illegal substance that can land them in jail, baseball should care. If baseball cares about other illegal substances, it should address steroid use.

I took a drug test to work at ESPN. Every baseball player should have nothing to hide. So despite all the questions raised by testing, this begs one final question: Why not take the test?

Article Source: (http://espn.go.com/talent/danpatrick/s/2002/0531/1389144.html)

McGwire mum on steroids in hearing

Sosa, Palmeiro deny use in front of House panel

Thursday, March 17, 2005 Posted: 11:07 PM EST (0407 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire refused to answer questions about steroid use during his playing career at a congressional hearing Thursday, repeatedly telling a House committee he was "not here to talk about the past."

McGwire, who broke Roger Maris' single-season record for home runs in 1998, was among a panel of current and former all-stars who appeared before the House Government Reform Committee to discuss the use of steroids in the majors.

Two other witnesses -- Baltimore Orioles outfielder Sammy Sosa, McGwire's rival in the 1998 home run chase, and Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro -- denied using steroids.

Asked by St. Louis congressman William Clay whether he could assure fans he had played "with honesty and integrity," McGwire said, "I'm not going to go into the past or talk about my past. I'm here to make a positive influence on this."

He also refused to address allegations of steroid use leveled against him and other ballplayers by his one-time Oakland A's teammate Jose Canseco -- the author of a recent tell-all book on the issue -- and said he would not be "naming names."

"My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family and myself," McGwire said.

Canseco told the committee that steroids were "as acceptable in the '80s and mid-to-late '90s as a cup of coffee." And he urged Congress to take action to stop the use of steroids.

"I think it would be a major mistake to let the league police itself, no ifs or buts about it," he said. "We'll be back here quicker than quick."

But baseball Commissioner Bud Selig vowed "zero tolerance" for performance-enhancing drugs, saying drug-test rules negotiated with the players union have been toughened over the past four years.

"I will suspend any player who tests positive for an illegal steroid," Selig said. "There will be no exceptions. The union is aware of that, and they accept it."

Canseco bashed

McGwire retired in 2001. He has previously admitted using androstenedione, a precursor to anabolic steroids and a legal substance at the time.

When Clay, a Democrat, asked what other substances he may have used, he said, "I'm not here to talk about the past."

McGwire acknowledged that "there has been a problem with steroid use in baseball" and said he is willing to help lawmakers combat the use of performance-enhancing drugs by younger players.

But he did not directly address Canseco's allegation in his remarks.

"It should be enough that you consider the source of the statements," he said.

In another jab at Canseco, who was just a few seats away, McGwire said his testimony could be used by prosecutors willing to rely on "convicted criminals who would do or say anything to solve their own problems."

Canseco received probation in 2001 after a brawl outside a nightclub in Miami, Florida, and was jailed in 2003 for violating his probation after testing positive for steroids.

Canseco had asked for immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony, but that request was refused. In his book, he also accuses Sosa and Palmeiro of using steroids.

Palmeiro told members of the House committee that Canseco is lying.

"I have never used steroids. Period," Palmeiro said. "I do not know how to say it any more clearly than that."

Sosa said in an opening statement read by his lawyer: "Everything I have heard about steroids and human growth hormones is that they are very bad for you."

In 2001, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit 73 home runs to break McGwire's record. Bonds, who has testified before a grand jury in a California steroids case, was not subpoenaed by the House panel.

Chairman: 'Cloud' over game

Earlier, committee members said officials of the national pastime have failed to confront the problem of performance-enhancing illegal drugs.

"There's a cloud over the game that I love," said Republican Tom Davis of Virginia, the panel's chairman.

"I would hope that baseball would see this hearing as an opportunity."

But Selig blamed the "cloud" on critics "who, although well-intentioned, are not well-informed about baseball's multifaceted campaign against such substances."

Lawmakers said they are concerned about steroid use because of the perception it creates among college and high school athletes, pointing to studies showing increased steroid use in youths.

In their testimony, the players offered condolences to the families of young players who committed suicide after taking steroids.

Donald Hooton of Plano, Texas, provided emotional testimony about his 17-year-old son Taylor, who used steroids and killed himself in 2003.

"Let me implore you to take steps to clean up this mess," he told the panel. "Please help us to see that our children's lives were not lost in vain."

"Players that are guilty of taking steroids are not only cheaters, you are cowards," he said.

Panel formed

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and Chicago White Sox designated hitter Frank Thomas, outspoken critics of steroid use, were named to an advisory panel, along with committee leaders. Palmeiro volunteered to serve on that body.

Schilling warned lawmakers against "glorifying the so-called author" or "indirectly assisting him to sell more books."

"A book which devotes hundreds of pages to glorifying steroid usage, in which he contends steroid usage is justified and will be the norm in this country in several years, is a disgrace, was written irresponsibly and sends the opposite message that needs to be sent to kids," he said.

He disputed Canseco's assertion that the major leagues and its players would be unable to police themselves, saying the more than 90 percent of players who don't use steroids want those who do to be exposed.

"I think the fear of public embarrassment and humiliation upon being caught is going to be greater than any player ever imagined," Schilling said.

And even Canseco said that the fact that ballplayers were sitting in front of a congressional committee "is going to be a major deterrent."

The antipathy toward Canseco by his former teammates and rivals was such that committee leaders agreed to swear in the witnesses one-by-one, since the other ballplayers objected to the image of being sworn at the same time as Canseco, said a top committee aide who asked not to be identified.

Questions about punishment

Selig said the players union took an "unprecedented step" in December by reopening its current labor agreement to discuss a stronger policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

President Donald Fehr said the union does not support or condone "the use of any illegal substance."

"We are committed to dispelling any notion that the route to becoming a major league athlete somehow includes the taking of unlawful performance-enhancing substances," he said.

Sen. Jim Bunning, a baseball Hall of Famer, was the first witness. The Kentucky Republican said the league's penalties for a positive steroid test "are really puny."

Players who break the law should be severely punished, and their records should be wiped out, he said.

But Davis and California Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat, said a key loophole suspends baseball's steroid policy in the event of a government investigation.

They also blasted baseball officials for hailing the drug policy as the "gold standard" in sport, when its standards fall short of those used by the Olympics.

And despite baseball officials' calls for full public disclosure, the actual policy says all testing results should "remain strictly confidential," they said.

CNN's Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

Article source: (http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/17/steroids.baseball/)

SPORTSDAY; He saw early chapter of steroid story

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The, Apr 5, 2006 by BOB WOLFLEY

As he prepared for the start of the 1989 baseball season at Fort Hays State in Hays, Kan., senior centerfielder Joe Blandino noticed a significant change in his teammate, Greg Anderson, the starting shortstop.

Anderson, an avid workout warrior, had added 20 pounds of muscle to his upper body. Blandino noticed that Anderson's hitting was improved but he also noticed that the shortstop with the reconfigured body had trouble fielding his position. He had limited range and couldn't make throws to first.

Eventually, the shortstop was taken off the field and made the designated hitter.

At the time, Blandino didn't think much of his teammate's transformation.

Today, Blandino, who lives in Milwaukee, is thinking much more about it because Anderson is one of the central figures in the investigation into the alleged performance-enhancing substance use by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants. Anderson was Bonds' trainer who, according to a recently published book, delivered substances to the slugger.

Anderson's time at Fort Hays State is recounted in "Game of Shadows" by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. Blandino's observations about Anderson are contained in the book.

Blandino, 39, was an outstanding outfielder on a Milwaukee Tech team that won the state baseball championship in 1985. After graduating from Tech in '85, Blandino enrolled at Indian Hills College in Centerville, Iowa, where he played on the baseball team. After two years at that junior college, he transferred to Fort Hays State, where he met Anderson and became his friend. Both players were juniors in 1988.

Blandino, who installs security systems for a living, said that when one of the "Game of Shadows" authors contacted him, he mistook him for someone else.

"It was kind of weird," Blandino said during an interview Monday. "I thought it was a bill collector. I was ready to hang up until he asked, Is this the guy who plays baseball at Fort Hays State?' Then I became interested."

Blandino said he had read portions of the book. He said the authors accurately reported what he told them in "three or four" interviews.

"When I read that part, I was kind of surprised they didn't mention other guys from Fort Hays State in there," Blandino said. "I paged through and I was looking for names of guys that I knew who did steroids. I wanted to see if they said anything. But they either didn't want to talk or they didn't make it in there."

Blandino befriended Anderson in 1988, when both players were new to Fort Hays State and stayed in the same dormitory. Anderson was a transfer from Butte Community College in Oroville, Calif.

"He was, like, a 160-pound shortstop," Blandino said. "Our junior year he batted second and I was lead-off. He didn't drink. He wasn't up to running around to the bars that we used to do, which is OK. He hung around the weight room a lot. He really got upper-body thick."

But the next season, Anderson came to practices with his new body.

"He couldn't throw," Blandino said. "We had a shortstop who couldn't throw. Our coach kept him in there for a little while, but then he made him DH. He went from a 160-pound slap two hitter to a 180-pound five hitter."

According to the sports information office at Fort Hays State, Anderson batted .321 with two homers his junior season. His senior season he batted .372 with seven homers. He led the team in RBI (48) and doubles (13) his senior season.

Blandino said there were a few guys on his team he thought might have been using steroids, and Anderson was one of them. Two pitchers were thought to use them as well.

"We kind of knew he did them, but I don't know he did them," Blandino said about Anderson using steroids. "He didn't tell me. I never saw him using them. But it was kind of obvious."

Blandino said he never used performance-enhancing substances.

"I lifted weights. But I never really even thought of it," Blandino said, referring to using enhancers. "I don't know if it was a real big deal at the time. It's a big deal now, but it wasn't a big deal then."

He said his playing weight was 160 pounds. According to the Fort Hays State sports information office, Blandino batted .322 his junior season and led the team in stolen bases (11 for 11). His senior season he started all 45 of his team's games, batting .291 with four homers and again leading the team in stolen bases (11 for 14).

Blandino said he did not consider his teammates or anyone else who used enhancers back then to be cheating.

"I didn't know much about it," Blandino said, referring to steroids use. "You'd hear about it. You leave school in May for summer. You come back in the end of August, and a guy's got 30 pounds on him and looks like he should be playing football."

Blandino said it was a good idea that Major League Baseball is now testing for these substances and trying to prevent players from using them.

Call SportsDay at (414) 223-5531 or send e-mail to bwolfley@journalsentinel.com

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Article Source: (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20060405/ai_n16196962)