Upon Further Review: Rumors of steroids upsetting
|
Now that he is retired, Jose Canseco is threatening to write a book that will blow the lid off steroid and supplement use in baseball.
Before I go any further let’s look at one word, “threatening.” Why is he using the word threatening? Is he trying to blackmail Major League Baseball?
Why would you threaten to write a book? Nothing has ever stopped Canseco from doing what he wants before. I’m sure he could cause some embarrassment to players and stir up a big mess of trouble for baseball.
I know he would sign a big book deal and make some big money off a book like that. And you know, it is all about the money. So go ahead and write it, most of the steroid use by players we already know about.
We all remember Mark McGwire, who acknowledged during his 70-homer season in 1998 that he used the testosterone-booster androstenedione. And I always had a pretty good idea Canseco used them to make his body look like The Hulk.
If you just look back at players five or six years ago and look at them now you know some of them are using more than weights to build those massive arms and shoulders. And if you are stronger, you can hit the ball harder and longer.
The same question has been asked about Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa over the past couple of years. And now that Bonds is ripping the ball out of every major league ballpark with ease, maybe chemicals are helping him.
Bonds has denied using steroids and said tests would show he’s clean. Yeah, like he is going to go and take a drug test. Baseball has no drug tests, so people will just have to take his word for it.
Bonds is three times the size he was just three years ago, and says it’s all from fierce workouts, four to five hours a day. I personally don’t think so.
The question is, does it really matter if he is using chemicals to help him hit all those home runs? I say yes, it does. I personally would like to know a person’s natural ability is the reason for his or her success — not the use of chemicals. Maybe if Hank Aaron used steroids he would have hit 900 homers.
More important than breaking records or being the best, what kind of message is this sending to our kids? If you want to be an athlete, you have to take steroids to be on top seems to be the message.
And why doesn’t Major League Baseball do drug testing? Maybe it’s because people fill the seats to see these guys smash the ball out of the park. As usual, it has to be about the money.
Unlike the Olympics, the NCAA, pro football and several other sports, baseball has no rules against steroids. The players’ association won’t stand for drug tests and the owners aren’t pushing for them. It’s not in either side’s economic interest to stop players from bulking up to hit more homers.
With all that pushed to the side, what about a player’s health? Liver, kidney, heart problems and even death have been linked to steroid use, but it doesn’t seem to matter if your at the top of your game. All the money and fame just fuels the players for every advantage they can get.
Kids watch the pros and try to emulate them. The more players are perceived to be using steroids and supplements, the more young athletes will try them.
Lets hope Bonds is telling the truth, and has transformed his body in his mid-30’s. Let’s hope he’s breaking records through hard workouts and sharpening his skills. That kind of work ethic, and not the use of chemicals, is the example kids truly need.