David Haynes
Mrs. Szabo
ENG – 102
5 December, 2012
Hall of Famer? Major League Baseball (MLB) has always been one of the worst offenders of players engaging in questionable behavior. With the MLB featuring as a key example in the steroid debate, how can the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) electors decide which players are eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame? Located in Cooperstown, New York, the National Baseball Hall of Fame is in anticipation for new members. An election is held each year, no later than January 15th, for players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The electors from BBWAA consist of retired baseball players, which have been active writers for the BBWAA for at least ten years. These
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These candidates should not get the benefit of the doubt for playing during a time where steroids were commonly used. Taking steroids is a choice; any player willing to take steroids is giving up the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame (Shipigel B17). A prime example of steroid controversy on the Hall of Fame ballot is Mark McGwire. McGwire (pictured left) hit 583 home runs, including what was once a record of 70 in the 1998 season for the St. Louis Cardinals. McGwire’s career was tainted when he was caught with Androstenedione in his locker during the 1998 season. Androstenedione better known as Andro, is a steroid precursor which is banned from baseball. When McGwire was questioned about steroid use at a Congressional hearing on March 17, 2005, he repeatedly said, “I’m not here to discuss the past” (qtd. in McGwire Unlikely). This damaged McGwire’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame ballot by raising the suspicion of drug use, influencing BBWAA writers not to vote for him. McGwire has received close to a 25 percent vote on the ballot the three-years running up to 2012. Not nearly the 75 percent needed for induction. Several BBWAA writers discussed their stance on McGwire’s silence at the Congressional hearing; that it was a tacit admission that he used steroids while playing. McGwire needs to clarify his past and explain whether or not he used steroids, in order to maintain his integrity and character. When evaluating McGwire’s 16 year
The Major League Baseball organization is one of many sport organizations that takes a strong stance on athletes that use performance enhancing drugs. Mark McGwire played for the Cardinals in 1998. He had an amazing career as he broke the homerun record with 70 homeruns. Through his accomplishments, there was speculation that he took steroids. He was questioned about it in Federal Court and at first, he denied it. Later on, he admitted using Andro, which is a form of anabolic steroids. Another baseball player had a very similar story. Barry Bonds played for the San Francisco Giants. He likewise had very notable achievements, such as beating McGuire for the homeroom record and he passed Hank Aaron as the career all-time home run hitter.
One of the most controversial subjects in Major League Baseball is that of hall of fame voting. Players who have tested positive should not be eligible for the hall of fame ballot. This is a great honor for players who are truly great and play the game the right way. The hall of fame has no room for players who try to gain unfair advantages through performance enhancing drugs. One of the greatest players of all time, Pete Rose, was denied from the Baseball Hall of Fame do betting on his games. This shows how seriously the voters take being inducted. Players who have tested positive for steroids should be banned from the hall of fame, which is what Major League Baseball is moving toward.
Since Major League Baseball all-star Ken Caminiti openly admitted to Sports Illustrated to have used steroids during his career, steroid use as a muscle and performance enhancer has been uncovered and become a big issue Major League Baseball is wrestling with. The “ongoing and delicate subject, baseball’s dirty, little secret that is no secret anymore,” is a huge and growing problem (Curry B20). Now that light has been shed on the issue, critics are beginning to realize the magnitude of this problem and do not like it. Steroids are a cheating virus that is spreading quickly. Users cheat other players, themselves, the fans, and the game itself. Action must be taken to rid Major League Baseball of this virus
The "steroid era" has been devastating for fans that appreciated the game, but no one cannot say that. Kids and adults were leaving the action players brought to the field every day. Many did not know a lot about the steroids being used by famous players, but there were rumors in and out teams. Having a substance that will guarantee help in hand-and-eye coördination, better endurance, speed, power, agility and more is the miracle substance for any athlete. Being fun and all, there are numbers that alarms scouts, managers, general managers, fans, media, and more when a player is being productive. When a player is having a good year on the field, making a noise and maintaining the level of play throughout the season is coming. Seeing the same player having more than one horrible season is also common. But when players’ stats are constant for many seasons, that is when red flags come up and questions are followed by it.
According to the dictionary a Hall of Fame is a building set aside to honor outstanding individuals in any profession. The Baseball Hall of Fame specifically is an American History Museum and Hall of Fame for Major League Baseball. There are however certain players who have not been allowed entrance to the hall of fame. These players may not have been allowed in for two reasons; the first is possibly because of their use (alleged or proven) of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), or it may also be due to a personality issue. Having players who are widely considered the best to ever play the game not be in the Hall of Fame due to the mindset of people who report on the sport is not a fair or balanced system. Players should be allowed in based on what they did on the field and not what they did off the field.
The steroid era, which began in the 1990s, provided some of baseball’s best entertainment. It was filled with home runs and fastballs, but as Joe Solberg and Richard Ringer say in “Performance-Enhancing Drug Use in Baseball: The Impact of Culture," sports fans can only wonder which records achieved during those twenty years were earned fairly, and which ones were achieved through the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) (92). This blemish on the history of baseball makes stats and record keeping complicated. Barry Bonds, an admitted steroid user, broke Hank Arron’s all-time home run record during this time. This raises questions such as, should these record breaking players be allowed to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Bonds, who was eligible for induction into the elite club for the first time in 2013, did not receive enough votes to get in. Fans are now forced to question if a player used steroids, which negatively hurts baseball’s reputation and integrity. However, since increased measures have been taken to improve drug testing, it is assumed that PED use in baseball has decreased if not gotten rid of. This is a cultural impactor because it changed how the fans feel about the game. Baseball has always had a culture of cheating in some way, whether it’s altering the baseball in some way or corking a bat. Now that the steroid era is over, what
It was a warm, sultry night in September. The fans were crazed in anticipation as Mark McGwire stepped to the plate. With a gentle stretch, he paused, patiently poised, waiting for what would eventually be the greatest hit baseball had ever seen. The pitcher, Steve Trachsel, came set. He shot a determined look to the dirt. In a rivalry such as this (Cubs, Cardinals) he did not want to be the one to give up the great number 62. He cocked his arm back, to let loose what would be an eighty-eight mile an hour fastball that most men would not see fly by, but Big Mac was not most men. With one mighty swing, sixty-one was no more, ney sayers were silenced, and the game
There has been no precise evidence that can relate steroids to Hall of Fame performance. I do agree that steroids will help an athlete a little but, it will not give them all star numbers. For example, steroids will not turn a Minor League player to a first ballot Hall of Famer. It is just not logical, the game of baseball is too complex and there are many other factors other than strength that makes an athlete great. Steroids would give an athlete more power but, even power will not lead to a drastic increase in performance. Not all hard hit baseballs go over the fence for home runs. To best measure power in baseball, they look at the players’ total bases per hit, this is how many bases you get to after you hit the ball. For instance, if you hit
That means a player who did use can be voted in by people against the drugs without them even knowing. And of course that works the other way as well. There seems to be a common consensus between all groups about the issue. The Hall of Fame needs to change in some form or another. The way it is right now is not getting things done. People who may not deserve Hall of Fame honors may be inducted and players who do deserve to be honored may
“The New Eight Men out.” NY Daily News, NYDailyNews.com, 14 Feb. 2009, www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/news-examines-hall-fame-chances-mlb-new-men-article-1.389225. Accessed 17 Jan. 2017. The article was a list of big time players who had been accused of using Performance Enhancing Drugs at some point in their career. Some of the players used the PED’S because it helped you get better and it kept you away from injuries. Although some of these players may not be fully accused yet for their doings it shows that players will do whatever they have to do to keep playing the game they cared about for so long. I can use this as both a pro and con due to why some players used it and which ones use it. All these player on this are big name players who had a storied career which may be drawn short due to use of steroids.
It’s that time of the year again, for Baseball Writers’ Association of America to vote for who they believe should be candidates for the Baseball Hall of Fame. The conversation of steroids always pops up at this time because some of the most prolific baseball players have been known to use steroids, such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and Alex Rodriguez. These guys have been proven that they used the enhancing drug, but these are some of the league’s best players of all time and they aren’t getting the representation that they deserve. The system needs to be changed because it is keeping great ball players out of this superior club.
Steroids are a hot topic of debate and controversy in the world of athletes and sports. Steroids fall under the umbrella of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and are a dark cloud that have been hovering over the sports world for a long time. In the world today, steroids are the most relevant in major league baseball. Many baseball players, such as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and Mark McGwire, just to name a few, have ruined their reputations because of steroids. There are repercussions for PED use in major league baseball, which have cut down on the substance abuse by players but have nowhere near eliminated the problem.
The sport that has gotten the most attention on the subject of steroids is Major League Baseball. Due to the suspected prevalence of them from the late 80’s up until the present day, the so-called baseball purists now question all the records and achievements
Professional athletes from the beginning of pro sports have been doing any and everything to try to gain an edge on their opponent. It can be done by eating healthy or exercising more, taking care of your body or taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Baseball is a sport where that has been a bigger issue than it has for many other sports. Many great players have been disallowed from entering the hall of fame because of this. Many associated with baseball tried to protect players from scrutiny of drugs but when revealed to the public they took the stance of opposing them. Since punishing them is so difficult with their army of lawyers baseball’s punishment is to deny them entry into the hall of fame. Zev Chafets also believes that the issue PED's getting into the hands of minors can be easily fixed. By simply allowing the government to regulate it, he believes we have an easy fix. Chafets’s argument relies too heavily on argumentative fallacies and isn’t very convincing in spite of the fact that his opinion is correct.
Using illegal substances to help win? Is that acceptable to any Hall of Fames of sports? “All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy.” Scott Alexander. What Alexander is saying in this quote is that cheating and loosing is easy to do and that’s why the real winners and the role models of sports take the hard path and earn what they deserve for being at that level of competition without the easy way. In no way shape or form is cheating acceptable to any of the halls due mostly to that the halls don’t only induct great players but great men. If a man had to break the law to become the “best” is he really the true best? Or are they just the best of the juiced up players? There are