Baseball and steroids

[Archive]

Posted By: J Levine

Do steriods help performance in baseball? Yes and no. Being a pharmacist's son, I know a little about the effects of steroids. Does it help batters hit farther? Actually no, the last post really hit on why one of the effects is more homeruns. Steroids increase blood flow and muscle mass (depending on which you take). One of the advantages is better eyesight. This is what really helps the batter. Muscle mass does not really make a ballplayer hit homeruns. Bat speed and hand-eye coordination are far more important. Size helps a little but those two things are far more important. The comment about steroids letting you train harder is not really accurate. They let you train just as hard but the results are increased a lot quicker. Meaning if you train five days a week and gain 1 pound of muscle mass without steroids, when you take them, the same training will gain you 2 pounds of muscle mass (very simplified version of what happens). About you being able to recover faster, also not really accurate. Steroids do allow you to recover a little faster (see reasoning above) but you do get injured more often. Steroid users typically break bones easier, pull muscles easier, have joint problems sooner, etc. Heavy steroid users typically land on the D.L. a lot (Canseco jumps to mind as does Big Mac and even Jr.).

Steroids also affect brain function, fertility (in both men and women), bone density, etc. You have all heard it before. What I hear often is "Who cares if they want to destroy their bodies for a little performance enhancer? It is their bodies correct?" I would agree with this argument if baseball was played in a vacuum.

Baseball players influence children. PERIOD. I teach a first grade class just north of Los Angeles. The kids in my class over the last five years have given milk up for Gatorade, Drink Pepsi instead of water, wear jerseys of the Lakers, Angels, Dodgers, and Raiders, eat Met-Rx bars for breakfast, etc. I am not joking when I say athletes influence children. They often choose to write about their favorite player. They color pictures of them constantly. They pretend to be them on the playground. And let's not forget that they are only 6 and 7 years old! Heck, when I was a kid, I ran around with a wad of gum in my mouth just to look like a "big leaguer." Steroids are most dangerous when used by children still growing (before 21 years of age). They see their favorite players getting an advantage from performance enhancers, they want to try it. They are available from any mall GNC too. Outlaw steroids in the major leauges. Do it and do it now. Outlaw tobacco on the field while we are at it.

My two cents (probably not even worth that much)...

Joshua