For my first subtopic I am arguing that the effects of PEDs on baseball performance are not well known, and what is known points to PEDs having almost no effect.Therefore MLB should keep the records and status of known PED users. Along with this subtopic I am also disproving many common myths. In my research I have found some interesting facts.
The first is that the amount of home runs and power has been steadily increasing since the beginning of baseball. This could be caused by many different factors. Such as hitter friendly ball parks like Coors Field. Also, the pitching mounds have been lowered and strike zones have been made more hitter friendly. Also, they type of ball is different now and is better suited for power hitting. But, if you take out major inconsistent falls in power such as WWI and WWII then power is actually decreasing now.
A myth that PEDs can actually help prolong someones career is false. In fact, PEDs are more likely to decrease a players career. Longer careers today are due primarily to better conditioning. Also, it is proven that an athlete reaches its prime around 40 and stays at that level for approximately ten more years. This could explain why Barry Bonds had his amazing season at the age of 37 and has stayed above the pack since then.
Another myth is that PEDs help a player hit and see the ball better. No one has ever reported that PEDs help make them see the ball better. Also, most PEDs just help build muscle. While you think this may be helpful, in most cases it isn't. Most athletes don't train properly for the extra mass to help them. Furthermore it is known that steroids add more mucle onto the top half of the body in a ratio such as 4:1 or 3:1. In baseball this would not help a player significantly. Hitting uses the lower part of the body to hit with power. Having the extra mass uptops can actually slow down a batter's bat speed, hindering his performance. Even if the extra mass on the bottom does help, it is projected that it would only make the ball go 30-40 inches further than if it were hit with out assitance. This means PEDs would only affect the average homerun total by one.
There are many crazy claims as to what PEDs do the body. But, there is actually no proof of long term effects. Also, other side effects of PEDs can be attributed to other factors. I do not remeber the specifics on a lot of the medical cases but for the most part all claims of health risks can be cause by something else.
It is commonly accpeted though that PEDs can help make recovery from an injury faster, but this is the only certain thing PEDs can do. Also, this is why certain PEDs are allowed with a perscription from a doctor. There have not been enought studies on PEDs. There is a lot of question as to what they do or do not do. There is a lot of propoganda as to what PEDs can do. I believe that my argument will disprove many of the myths. But it furthers the argument that PEDs d not effect the game, and the little amount they do it is unknown how.
4 comments:
Here's my question- if these PEDs don't work very well, then why have so many athletes, decided to take them? They can sometimes be deadly, and if they really don't help a player's performance, as you have stated, then I don't see the point in using them. Many of the side effects of taking PEDs are, acne, liver abnormalities or tumors, aggressive behavior, psychiatric disorders such as depression, and drug dependence, as documented by the Mayo Clinic. It seems to me that liver failure and tumors constitute a long term side effect. I read that one body builder about five years ago died at the age of 23 from a cardiac arrest. I believe an article about it was published in the Legal Medicine Journal in 2004. The body builder was purported to be using steroids as well as PEDs, which was determined by an autopsy to have ultimately caused his death.
I am sure that this is not the case for the majority of users. However, the ill effects have to be acknowledged, what is unknown and still in question, however, is the extent of the health risks posed to the greater number of athletes who elect to incorporate PEDs into their training regimen.
Well, the problem is that there are a lot of myths with PEDs and the health side effects. Although they are definitely not good for the body, like anything not natural, some of the "known" health effects are exaggerated, and most of them could be caused by something else.
I like that you mentioned the changes in ballparks and the hitter-friendly strike zones; I think tha's probably something that most people don't take into account when they discuss the growing amount of home runs and the like. That is, they automatically assume that everyone (an exaggeration) is using steroids. So information like that, I think, will defiantely help your paper if you're trying to prove that steroids don't have as much of an effect as people commonly assume.
Also, I believe that I've heard, and correct me if I'm wrong, that some players are given steroids for medical reasons. If that is the case, would the player need something along the lines of a doctor's note? Again, I'm not really sure if I'm rembering that correctly, so I could be completely off.
Kaitlyn,
You are right. Players can take certain drugs with doctor's notes. But this can be abused. For example there is an extremely high diagnosis of ADD/ADHD in MLB. This allows players to take drugs such as ridilin, which is essentially a booster in energy.
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