Steroids project

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Ramirez Suspended

At the start of the 2009 Major League Baseball season, Manny Ramirez, a member of the five hundred home run club, got suspended for fifty games during the regular season. He tested positive for a female fertility drug that steroid users use to restore testosterone production to normal levels. Getting suspended forced him to give up $7.7 million of $25 million dollar salary. "He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me," Manny said. Most users that get caught won’t admit it like Manny does here. Manny is another one of the great players in the game to get caught using steroids to enhance his performance.
I think that Manny would have been a great player all along without using steroids in the first place. Any player that has hit five hundred home runs obviously has a natural ability to hit the baseball hard. But now that Manny has tested positive, people will always call him a cheater, which is a shame because of how good of a player he really is. Manny will not be the last great player to test positive. I think there are many more to come.

Hernandez, Dylan. "Manny Ramirez suspended 50 games for positive drug test." 8 May 2009: 1-3. Web. 20 Apr 2010. .

Juiced

I read the book Juiced by Jose Canseco, who played Major League Baseball from 1985-2001. In the book he talks about how he took steroids to become a better athlete and a better baseball player. Canseco was born in Cuba, but his family came to America when he was young. They lived in Miami with a lot of other Cuban people. Jose says he was always an average athlete in high school, and that he didn’t even play on the varsity baseball team until he was a senior in high school. He took steroids for the first time in 1984, when he was playing in the minor leagues for the Oakland Athletics and he instantly became addicted to them. After he started to learn about them, he started injecting some teammates with steroids, including Mark Mcgwire and Ivan Rodriguez. He admits that steroids helped him be a better baseball player. But he also says, “If I had it all to do over again, would I live a steroid-enriched life? Yes, I would” (2). He doesn’t regret taking steroids one bit, even if people do call him a cheater.
I respect Jose Canseco for admitting that he took steroids. He almost sounds proud to say that he took them. He claims that he was the “Godfather” of bringing steroids into baseball, and I believe him. Before the late 1980’s no one ever mentioned people using steroids in baseball. Throughout the book Jose did tend to brag about his accomplishments and how he was such a great baseball player, and a big time ladies man. It is great that he hit lots of home runs, and even talked to Madonna a lot, but he could mention those things a little less. If a person knows anything about Major League Baseball, they will know that Jose Canseco was a great baseball player without him mentioning it so much throughout the book.
The thing about the book that I found most interesting is when he talked about all the players that he injected with steroids, or told them a person about who could sell them steroids. He mentioned players that I would have never even thought about taking steroids before the famous Mitchell Report came out. Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, and Roger Clemens are among the many that he talks about. I sure would be mad if I were one of the players that Jose called out, but in my opinion, they should have never taken the steroids in the first place.

Steroids Interview

I interviewed Terry Jones, who played in the Major Leagues from 1996-2001. He played his rookie year for the Colorado Rockies, and then played the rest of his career for the Montreal Expos. He says he suspected of some of his teammates doing steroids, but never actually saw anyone inject themselves. I asked him if he thought doing steroids was right, and his answer was, “No. If you can’t do it naturally, don’t do it at all.” He thinks that the main reason players take steroids are because of the pressure they feel to produce. Every player wants that big contract, and they feel that steroids can help them get it. However, he does think that players who hold MLB records that have been caught doing steroids should be able to still claim that record. “We all make mistakes. There are players now that haven’t got caught and will go down as some of the best players of all time” said Terry. But the answer he gave me to the question, “Could players still break records without steroids?” caught me off guard the most. He says, “Yes. If you get in shape and work hard, the sky is the limit.”

Terry was a great guy to listen to. I could’ve sat and listened to him talk for hours if I had the time. Terry got me thinking that a baseball player can do anything that he sets his mind to if he works hard. Terry believes that if a person can’t play naturally, then don’t play at all. I think that is a good way to put it. If you love and respect the game of baseball, then you will play it to the best of your ability by working hard and playing with your natural body. After talking with Terry for a little while, I will always remember, “If you get in shape and work hard, the sky is the limit.” There is no need for steroids.



Terry’s number is 205-706-9045



Jake Fagan. Interview with Terry Jones. Trussville. 3 May. 2010.

Mcgwire Interview

This video was taken the day after Mark Mcgwire admitted to using steroids during his baseball career. In the video, he says he thinks that steroids didn't help his home run totals. He says that they kept him healthy through the time where his body was breaking down. He says that he has been a home run hitter ever since he was a little kid. He worked hard every day to learn how to hit long home runs. So in the long run, Mcgwire claims that the main reason he took steroids was because they helped keep his body healthy.

I think Mcgwire is being honest when he claims that he took steroids the keep from getting injured. Mark always was a home run hitter; even when he didn't take steroids. In college, he led the nation in home runs. In his rookie season in the major leagues, he hit forty-nine home runs, which led the league. During these times, he didn't take steroids. Most players obviously take steroids to get stronger and hit more home runs, but maybe a few of the steroid users did take them to help stay injury free.


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=100114/mcgwire-inspired-page-2-staff-admissions


Mark Mcgwire admits steroid use, inspires us to finally come clean, too. By ESPN. ESPN 2010. 13 April 2010.

Dr. Goodman thinks that steroids should be allowed in sports. He says, "I don't care if they're juiced. I want to see the best performances from the best athletes, and if they accomplish this through some chemical experimentation, no problem!" He wants to see the most excitement possible out of the players, and if steroids are the answer, then he thinks they should be allowed. During the 1998 baseball season, when Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa were both chasing Roger Maris's home run record, the fans got the best performances out of those two players possible. A decade down the road, Mcgwire admitted to using them, and Sosa was tested positive.

Dr. Goodman has a good point about getting the best performances out of players. Steroids obviously make players have better performances, but if no one took steroids, all players would be equal. Sure, the players may not hit as many home runs, but the game will never lose its excitement. No player has hit seventy home runs since Barry Bonds did in 2001. The game has been just as exciting since then.

Goodman, Gary. "Steroids Should be Allowed in Pro Sports." 26 March 2006: 1. Web. 13 Apr 2010. .

Mcgwire at Congress

In this video, in front of congress, Mark Mcgwire never gives a "yes" or "no" answer to whether he used steroids or not. When he was asked if he had used steroids, he simply responded, "I'm not here to talk about the past." Also he was asked if he had ever had a problem seeing his colleagues (other players) used drugs like steroids. Mark didn't even answer this question.

I think that this video clearly shows that Mark used steroids in his past to make him a better baseball player. Mark was obviously one of the best baseball players of the 80's and 90's because of steroids. A few months ago, Mark openly admitted to using steroids. Mark says is was something that he felt he had to get off of his chest, because he was about to go back into baseball as a hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.






Mark Mcgwire Senate Testimony. 20 April 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942HcHKbOno

Canseco Admits

Jose Canseco is a former Major League Baseball player who used steroids. In fact, he was the first one to ever use them in the major leagues. He says that steroids made him a better baseball player without doubt. He also says that if he could go back and have the choice of taking them again, he would take them. According to him, steroids can also make you healthier in some ways. They can help cure certain diseases.

Jose Canseco was one of the greatest baseball players in the 80's and 90's. Clearly he was better than a lot of other baseball players because of steroids. We will never know if other players could have been as good as him if everyone took steroids though. That is why I think that steroids should be illegal. Barry Bonds, the home run record holder, has been tested positive for steroids. The world now has to know that the home run record holder cheated to get his record.

Canseco, Jose. Juiced. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2005. 1-10. Print.

Mitchell Report

In the 2007-2008 Major League Baseball season, George J. Mitchell released a report containing all of the the players that had used steroids. There was a total of eighy-nine players on the list. Mitchell talked to people talked to the steroid dealers, and managed to get the names of the players. The list included players from all thirty major league teams. Most players denied using the drug, but if that player ever tests positive for using steroids, he will be fined and suspended.

Mitchell recommended that the players do not get punished, but Commissioner, Bud Selig, said that he would look over each individual player's case and decided then. Mitchell did a great job finding reliable sources who could help him figure out which players took steroids. Players such as Mark Mcgwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palimero have testified before congress about whether they used steroids or not, and all declined. Later, Sosa and Palimero tested positive, and Mcgwire admitted to using them.

Wilson, Duff. "Steroid Report Cites ‘Collective Failure’." 14 December 2007: 1-2. Web. 4 Apr 2010. .

Should Athletes be Allowed to use Steroids?

Mike Thomas thinks that steroids should be allowed in sports. HIs main point for his decision is that athletes use all different kinds of treatment to be better at their sport, yet steroids are illegal. He thinks that if people can harm their bodies by using drugs and getting tattoos, then steroids shouldn't be a problem for athletes to use. He also would like to see steroids be legalized for athletes because it would elevate the level of play and it will educate people about their bodies.



Mike has a good point about people using different types of treatment to elevate their level of play, but I think steroids elevate the level of play too much. Athletes that played sports one hundred years ago didn't even have the option of using steroids, so why should they be allowed to use them now? Athletes that use steroids can break records set by athletes that didn't use steroids. I thinks that is unfair.


Thomas, Mike. "Why Steroids Should Be Allowed ." 14 March 2007: 1-2. Web. 26 Mar 2010. .