Baseball and Drugs

In this post, I will clarify the relation between players using enhancing drugs and the profit that the teams and players make as a result of it. I will do this by using a Forbes article by Chris Smith.

SOURCE - postpioneer.files.wordpress.com

Alex Rodriguez, one of the most dynamic and fun players to watch, was one of the biggest reasons why baseball became so popular in the last 15 years. It was a big deal when he was caught for using performance enhancing drugs, or “PEDs” in his system. It put a big open gash in the entire league and made it look like the league had not much oversight over its players. Now whenever we hear the word “PED”, or performance enhancing drug, we usually think of something or someone negative having to do with cheating by using drugs. The fans should make PEDs less of a negative term and make it more about the potential of this sport. With the athletes more prone to do better while using these drugs, it will make fans more likely to tune in, even if they are considered cheaters, just so that they don’t miss any of the action during their favorite teams games.

Another reason that PEDs would be accepted is because, of course, it will boost ratings, but also if all players had the ability to do these enhancing drugs, “the playing field [would] suddenly be even for all players, [and] it would be at a higher level” (Chris Smith). This would bring the ratings up even more and make this sport and the athletes even more profit each year that it would continue to thrive. Even if it seems unethical, it is what the fans really want; so see their favorite players at the highest level at the peak of their ability. Statistics show that crowds respond in a very positive way. During the 1998 season, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were hitting home runs left and right, both breaking previous records, and their  “jerseys flew off the shelves, games sold out and baseball was so exciting that some have gone so far as to claim it ruined post-steroid baseball” (Smith). This just goes to show that using PEDs are the best option to expand the sport and increase the profit that they already make. Over the last 15 years, these drugs have augmented the talent of the athletes which directly enhanced the quality of the game to spectators. These PEDs will expand the horizons of the MLB and the franchises farther than they could have imagined. Drug use in the MLB has made it have a huge popularity spike in the last two decades.

Future Post: I will discuss how baseball overseas has become popular and profitable and how this is good for teams here in the US.