Users, Cheaters, and Liars
By Adam Colmone
IV Leader Sports Writer
No, this isn’t about an episode of last night’s Jerry
Springer show; it’s about the drug crazed game of baseball. Yes, our American
pastime.
Baseball has been infected by the use of steroids at a
rampant pace. The balls are flying out of the park at will, and players seem to
be getting as big as Arnold Schwarzenegger when he won Mr. Universe.
All this could come to a stop as more players are coming
clean about their use of steroids. Two former MVP’s have come clean and admitted
their use. Ken Caminiti, who passed away months ago of a drug overdose, was the
first player to admit that he used steroids during his 1996 MVP season. Caminiti
claimed many others were also on juice.
The other former MVP, Jose Canseco, wrote a tell-all book
about the use of steroids, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits, and
How Baseball Got Big.”
Canseco, referred to many as the Godfather of steroids, went
on in his book to talk about how he would inject himself, and also former
teammate and homerun king Mark McGwire. He also named many other baseball greats
that he suspects or has seen use steroids.
Many people say Canseco wrote this book to make money and pay
his debts. He says he did it to come clean and get back at baseball, who he says
stopped him from reaching the milestone 500 homerun list. Believe whatever you
want, all I know is that steroids have tainted the game of baseball and its
records forever.
Barry Bonds is one of the biggest names in the game of
baseball as he is chasing after Hank Aaron’s career homerun record of 755. He
has been in the eye of the media for years, as he has been smashing towering
homeruns. Bonds is as solid as an NFL linebacker as he is 6’2, 230 pounds. When
Bonds came into the league in 1986 he was 6’1 and only 185 pounds. He began to
get bigger as he worked out with trainer Greg Anderson, who was arrested for
steroid use. Bonds still says he is clean, but did take a “Cream” from Anderson
not knowing what it was.
Seven MLB players have been subpoenaed by the court to
testify about what they know of steroid use in baseball.
Those 7 players are Frank Thomas, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa,
Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, and Canseco. These players have
been linked to steroids, either arguing against them, or been accused of using
them.
The game of Baseball has changed a lot over the years, many
of the records have fallen, many of them because of the use of steroids.
These players can deny that they have ever taken them, but we
know they have. Just the way their bodies have grown over time, no one can get
that big that quickly and have your head swell up like a balloon. The truth will
come out eventually, and I just hope all the players will know they tainted the
game of Baseball.
Baseball once was a game were everyone worked hard to get to
the top, now all they have to do is go down to the gym and get a needle and
shoot up(steroids). Baseball has been damaged by a large group of steroid users,
cheaters, and liars. It now needs help repairing the damage.