How steroids saved baseball
Listen, I realize steroids are wrong and anyone who uses them to enhance their athletic performance should be brought to justice.I acknowledge that athletes using steroids have led the youth of America to hurting their developing bodies in order to stay competitive. I know the damage steroids cause is not worth the athletic advantage a person gains from using.
However, if there was one time period in the history of baseball that steroids could benefit the game it was during what we have deemed, “The Steroid Era”.
Before the strike of 1994, baseball fans felt that there was no way Major League Baseball would cancel the playoffs and World Series. It was absolutely not possible. When the strike became official, fans were astonished, disheartened, and angry. Many vowed never to return and thus, baseball entered the dark ages.
Too clarify, there is no official “start date” of the steroid era. We know that Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco along with others in baseball were using in the 1980s. Interestingly enough, McGwire is the center of the story about how steroids brought baseball back.
1993 was a fantastic year for the sport. In the National League, attendance rose over 10 million while the American League attendance increased by almost two million. The year after the strike, baseball fans kept to their word as attendance in both leagues fell by almost ten million each.
Major League Baseball needed something to light a fire in the sport. As sluggers began to emerge, fans started to trickle back into the stadiums.
In Los Angeles, Mike Piazza was on his way to astonishing spectators, little known Brady Anderson clobbered 50 home runs for the Orioles, and Mo Vaughn was the believed savior of Boston. The more balls that left the yard, the more tickets were sold.
By 1996, the National League had over 30 million fans in attendance for the first time in over three years. Seemingly, a story line about the comeback of baseball was building. What would the climax of this story be?
In 1998, the most exciting saga baseball had seen in decades began to unfold before our eyes. A middle class slugger on the St. Louis Cardinals, a prodigy son of an All-Star on the Seattle Mariners, and a poor boy from the Dominican Republic on the Chicago Cubs began a race for the unreachable mark: 62 home runs in a single season.
Initially, Ken Griffey Jr. was the frontrunner. His swing was artwork; every home run he hit, a masterpiece. Soon though, it appeared he would not be able to keep up. The entire nation was captivated by the “friendly” home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Two athletes as different as possible, yet, they embraced each other and their march to history.
Baseball was officially back.
The race was talked about everywhere. Attendance in 1998 increased to almost 39 million in the National League, up seven million from the season before.
The fact is, the increase of almost seven million fans coincided with an increase of almost 400 home runs in the sport. The home run brought people back into the game. The homer rate increased because many players all throughout baseball were using steroids.
Going back to high school math, the transitive property shows steroids helped increase attendance. Players were giving fans what they wanted to see, albeit illegally. Just like anything else, history was repeating itself.
Baseball took over the nation when Babe Ruth began belting bombs; people simply have an affinity for the long ball. However, the difference is that Ruth used hot dogs and beer to back up his numbers. Simply put, the MLB needed a boost and turned to performance enhancing drugs.
Baseball as a whole acted exactly like a player who felt the extra strength or speed gained from using would put him over the top. Those in charge realized that the sport needed an extra jolt.
I do not believe that managers, front office personnel, and those who run the MLB had zero knowledge of steroid use. The situation was assessed and it was decided at the time that the positives of steroid use outweighed the negatives.
However incorrect that assertion was,it worked. MLB turned a blind eye to the steroid use but consequently, baseball was back in the spotlight.
As the saying goes, “The past is the past”. What would have happened if there were never steroids in baseball? Would fans have stood firm, still angry at MLB for committing treason by allowing the strike to happen? Would baseball have needed to change rules to make the game more exciting as the NHL did after a strike? Would players who looked up to the unnatural sluggers have moved on to different sports?
These are among the infinite amount of questions that will never be answered. I know that steroids are not good for baseball. I am certain that the harsh penalties (suspension or silent banishment) placed on Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, and others shows the baseball is moving in the right direction.
Without steroids, I am unsure if baseball would be in the exceptional position it is in today.