Biogenesis and Baseball
In today's sports how far are players willing to go to get the edge. Biogenesis has brought out what some players are willing to risk just so they can shine bright for a while. "Everyone should do it the right way; A lot of guys are doing it the right way and I respect those guys," said Girardi on Alex Rodriguez and the Steroid scandal (Caldera). However players like Nelson Cruz and Melky Cabrera risked their value as a player and also risked losing respect from teammates and players in the MLB. “Braun will face the most scrutiny” (Nightengale). Not only did he lie to the public but also to his peers and teammates (Nightengale). Even with the investigation winding down there are still many unanswered questions the MLB and its fans have (Cuccuiara). The Biogenesis Scandal is the biggest unanswered PED scandal in baseball since the BALCO scandal of the early 2000’s.
Biogenesis was an anti-aging clinic in Miami Florida and is also the center of “one of the most unbelievable PED scandal since BALCO”(Thurm, Cuccuiara). At the center of the scandal was the clinic's director Anthony Bosch (Thurm). Anthony Bosch's history with
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Even before Alex Rodriguez “Bosch was connected to banned substances when Manny Ramirez was suspended for violating MLBs drug policy in 2009” (Elfink). Alex Rodriguez topped the name of all stars that were allegedly using these PEDs. The list containing the players involved included the 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun and All Stars Jhonny Peralta, Bartolo Colon, and outfielders Melky Cabrera and Nelson Cruz (Oz). The list also included minor leagues Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona. Although Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, and Yasmani Grandal were among the list of players associated with the Biogenesis Clinic but were not suspended because “they already served their suspensions connected to biogenesis”
To fully understand this book, people must go behind the book and find the true state of mind of the author. Unfortunately in this case, the author is the one and only Jose Canseco. Jose Canseco is what I like to call, “The black sheep in the family of baseball.” Canseco’s history can be related to such incidents of drug using, heavy drinking, numerous sexual encounters with hundreds of partners, and unreasonable acts of violence. This book goes into grave detail on how steroids have changed his life and how it is currently changing baseball.
Players since the beginning of baseball have used some type of drug to enhance their game such as in 1889 Pud Galvin ingested monkey testosterone and Grover Cleveland Alexander used banned alcohol to enhance his game (Chafets). This should prove that baseball will never fully stop the use of PEDs, they can only cover up the ones that have. As Zev Chafets puts it “Chemical enhancement won’t kill the game; it is the cover-up that could be fatal” (Chafets). This cover up will ultimately hurt the game of baseball so the league should give the players the opportunity to use the PEDs, and if they choose not to then that is their decision ...
Major League Baseball (MLB) has widely been regarded as America’s pastime for the longest time, however it is now becoming known as the sport tainted by one thing, anabolic steroids. An anabolic steroid is related to the natural steroid, testosterone. They are able to stimulate growth in the muscle tissue. They usually increase muscle mass and strength. The MLB has created some of the most historic American icons, such as Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Players like them showed us what it was like to play baseball the right way. They played with passion, heart, and above all they had fun playing. Players today in the MLB focus way too much on becoming the best player ever to play. They see what the greats did before them and they want to match them, so they turn to anabolic steroids. An example of this is Alex Rodriguez. In 2003 he tested positive for anabolic steroids because he was “naïve” and couldn’t take the pressure of his expectations of being called the best. He felt the pressure from the game and he turned to steroids. Anabolic steroids are ruining the game of baseball. They are tainting the records and the changing the game for the worse.
Baseball?s reputation has been painted with a red asterisk. The non-medical use of steroids has been banned according to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990. Many baseball athletes have been caught or presumed illegal users of HGH or Steroids since the act passed in 1990. All these athletes have one thing in common, they want to have an edge or advantage on the game. Some athletes even admit to administering the drug to other athletes and themselves. Jose Conseco testified to personally injecting the steroids into Mark McGuire (Cote).
Performance enhancing drugs have been a longstanding problem in sports. It not only deteriorates the honesty of the game, but also can have broader social affects that one may not even realize. The use of performance enhancing drugs is especially apparent in Major League Baseball. This problem can be traced back to the 1980’s when baseball was facing one of its first “dark periods”. During the 1980’s Major League Baseball was experiencing a home run drought. Home run totals were down as far as they had been since Babe Ruth, and fans were seemingly becoming bored with the sport. The lack of home runs was a growing concern for players whose salary relied on home run totals. Players needed to find a quick way to boost their power and performance in order to keep the sport alive and to keep bringing in their paychecks. This desire for fame and fortune introduced steroids into Major League Baseball in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Home run totals jumped tremendously during these decades and players were willing to risk being caught using illegal substances in order to shine above the rest. New idols and role models started to sprout up from these outstanding home run statistics and young children started to take notice. This all came tumbling down when these new idols and role models who were making the big bucks and hitting the ball out of the park tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Here lie the affects of a growing social problem in sports. These famed athletes become walking advertisements and promotions for the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. The influence professional athletes have over aspiring young athletes is very powerful and these roles models make it seem acceptable to use performance ...
Steroids have become prevalent in baseball, with more players getting involved with them. Although they entered the game through trainer Curtis Wenzlaff in 1992, they have become a big part of the Major League today in 2014. However, players and the game's image suffer when they become caught up in steroids. Some of the best players to ever play the game, including Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire, have been caught up in steroids. These players are supposed to be role models for younger kids, yet when they see their idols using steroids, they are tempted to use them as well.
of using HGH, a steroid, including Ryan Braun, 65-game ban, and Alex Rodriguez, 2014-season ban.
We face the issue that players are not motivated to try hard, have an alternative option that puts a reoccurring substance in their body. Young adolescents should focus more on getting bodies into shape and ready for the sport they are pursuing. While upcoming stars should be making a name for them showing that without drugs can play my best and be the best too. But performance enhancing drugs have played a major role in sports, especially baseball. The usage of the drug has players performing over the top of others who work equally and mentally as hard. Enacting the new system will catch the players who are cheating in game of baseball with a blood test that checks if a player is enhancing their performance in the...
Children who have grown up in America have been brought up with baseball and have looked up to a sports figure as one of their heroes. Steroids and other PEDS have tarnished the American past time favorite game. These drugs have cause doubts and suspicion about the validity o...
Recently the topic of steroid use in baseball has been everywhere in the news. It has finally come to the attention of Major League Baseball, and now the general public, that a vast percentage of players have been using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. This not only casts a cloud of suspicion over which players are using steroids, and makes one wonder which players are genuine, but it tar...
Since at least the 1980’s performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) have been a major challenge in the world of Major League Baseball, and past trends indicate they will continue to pose an ongoing problem. A number of the most prominent and accomplished professional baseball players, such as Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, are also the most famous examples of baseball players who have broken longstanding records, attracted countless numbers of fans, and allegedly have taken performance-enhancing drugs. Athletes who have been caught using steroids in order to increase and better their performance rates have been suspended, fined and traded from the teams on which they once played. Despite the punitive actions taken against them by the League and lawmakers, players continue to use performance-enhancing drugs and likely will continue to do so, because the associated athletic effects will draw more fans and bring more money to the individual player and franchise.
The era in sports from the late 90s and into the 2000s has often been nicknamed “The Steroid Age” due to the raging use of anabolic steroids and other PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) by professional athletes. The usage of drugs in sports has never been more prevalent during this time, and many people are making it their goal to put an end to the abuse. Influential athletes such as Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez, and Roger Clemens, who were once held as the highest role models to the American people, now watch as their legacies are tarnished by accusations of drug use. The American population, and lovers of sports everywhere, have followed in astonishment through recent years as many beloved athletes reveal their dark secrets. As organizations such as the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) and BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) attempt to halt the use of PEDs, both the drug users and their high-end suppliers work diligently to avoid detection. The use of performance enhancing drugs in recent years has proven to be cancerous to the honesty and competition of modern sports. Although some strides have been made over the past few decades, the use of steroids is in full swing in Major League Baseball, The dangerous side effects of the drugs are often overlooked and many do not realize the message this sends to the youth. The support for halting the usage of PEDs is in need of attention or professional sports will face the loss of all progress made through the past two decades in its war on steroids.
The use of Performance Enhancing Drugs is considered cheating. For example, Lance Armstrong and Mark McGwire got caught using PEDs and their credibility was stripped. Lance Armstrong lost all his Tour De France titles. Mark McGwire then became the St.Louis Cardinals hitting coach. Also using PEDs can get players suspended. Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon faced a 50-game suspension in baseball. Fans want to see natural talent and not fake talent. An example of natural talent is running 100 meters in 9.8 seconds and running a even
20 Feb. 2014. Nardo, Don. A. Biomedical Ethics.
In the essay “Let Steroids into the Hall of Fame” from the book Patterns, Zev Chafets argues that the practice of performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed on the field of baseball players. For example, in the essay, he mentions that the game of baseball is always growing and allowing players to use steroids will help the game grow even more. It's not just the rookies who are using substances to improve their performance but professional like Paul Molitor and Ferguson Jenkins have been caught utilizing it. In addition, Zev Chafets states that athletes who do use performance-enhancing drugs benefit from it because it helps them calm their nerves before an important game and it also helps them operate better throughout the game. But there is more than just using drugs to increase performance in a game. An athlete must make sure to use it in a proper manner or they could experience long term or short term health risks like infections or swelling causing. In addition, if they are caught using drugs before or during a game then they will be dismissed from playing in the upcoming game. Although this may affect a player's reputation, most of them have lawyers and enough money to buy themselves out of the situation. Chafets also explains that the use of drugs show a bad