STEROIDS 2010

The great news is, The era of the HULK is over.

The Bad news is, Steroids are here to stay.


In the late 70's and early 80's, Cocaine usage was rampant. It was at parties every where. It wasn't until John Belushi, and other popular celebs were found dead because of Cocaine did the public start to respect Cocaine. Cocaine was glorified at Studio 54 in NYC. It was glorified in the movie Scar Face. In the early 80's, I didn't know many people that hadn't done Cocaine.

Is Cocaine still around? Sure. There are still some people that end up selling their kids college tuition to get one last wire. But it's still here.

Steroids had it's glory days as well. Long before Barry saw Mac beefing up at the Home run hitting contest in Pac Bell. Once again we can go back to the early 80's. Steroids have been prescribed to help the body heal faster. HGH (Human Growth Hormone) aided in the maturity of muscle tissue. So almost over night; the average lanky baseball player started looking like Hulk Hogan or at the least, a power hitting linebacker. In the early 2000's I asked a ball player from San Mateo College if he saw much juice at the college level. He told me he and his friends had been injecting since high school. When it comes to multi-million dollar bonuses, whats a little testicular shrinkage anyway? But unfortunately steroids go beyond just minor annoyances.

Take Bret Benoit. (1967-2007) Bret was a soft spoken Canadian WWE wrestler that was being treated with testosterone for low hormone levels as a result from illegal steroid abuse. When police entered the Benoit residence the once loving father had killed his wife and only son before taking his own life. This fueled speculations of "Roid-Rage" .

In the early 1st decade, Steroid use in Baseball was ubiquitous which led to a congressional hearing in March of 2005 and strict testing in 2006.

The Players are smaller now. Even the He-men that are still playing look like shadows of themselves. But offensive numbers have dropped. Is this proof that the game is steroid free?

NO!

In fact, steroids are there if you have the right chemical connections. The scam is to find new steroids that haven't been put on the list of 58 PEBs or 30 Stimulants. Add a molecule here or there and the substance becomes something else with the same results. That's how certain home run records were broken. Chemistry combinations are endless and the Chemist is the chef.

But like Cocaine in the 80's; better education of long term steroid abuse has encouraged more players to play clean. In fact, those who put up steroid numbers are watched like the KGB. It's not worth getting caught. The era of steroidal promiscuity is over. Steroidal use isn't, but the attitude of "everybody else is doing it so I have to" is gone.

More runs are being scored by "little ball" and "base running".

This is great news and an even better reason for fans to come back to the park. Baseball is and has always been a team sport. With less steroid monsters in the league; the more "team play" you'll see on the field.