Why Barry Bonds Should Be Admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame - Research Paper Example

?Why Barry Bonds Should be Admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Though Barry Bonds may have used steroids while a player in the MLB and this is a violation of the steroid regulation implemented by the league, it should not diminish what he accomplished as a player and he was not banned from the league for steroid use. Not only is there a lack of evidence that steroids actually enhance an athlete’s performance, the Hall of Fame Regulations do not prevent any retired player from being inducted unless “The player may not be on the ineligible list (banned from baseball).’ (Hall of Fame). Whether or not the use of performance enhancing drugs is ethical or not is irrelevant as it is not a criteria for election. Even if it is eventually proven that Bonds did use PEDs, this alone is not a violation of Hall of Fame requirements. If ethical and moral behavior were a factor, many existing hall of famers may need to be re-examined and removed as even the great Babe Ruth was known to abuse alcohol. Regardless of personal conduct or ethical choices, Barry Bonds has not been banned from baseball and has not violated any of the criteria for being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Therefore, any consideration for his nomination should be objective and consider only his accomplishments on the field. One argument for preventing Bonds from entering the Hall of Fame is that he used PEDs which are not only a banned substance, but also would give him an unfair edge making his numbers invalid. Players who have been found to use illegal substances are often given an asterisk next to their record that places a question mark on the validity of the accomplishment. Yet, this assumes his batting was based on drugs alone. It is impossible to make this determination conclusively. Even if a player used anabolic steroids, scientific studies have mixed results making it difficult for an absolute conclusion to be reached. In fact, if PEDs were all it took to become a professional athlete the use of these drugs would be out of control in the amateur leagues as well. After an intense study of steroid use and it’s affect on athletes, they “conclude that although the data suggests that well trained athletes may have a greater strength gain while taking anabolic steroid compared with placebos, the data are insufficient to allow any firm conclusion about the efficacy of anabolic steroids in enhancing overall athletic performance.” (Braunstein, et al. 392). These results indicate that by taking steroids, a professionally trained athlete such as Bonds may have gained strength, but this would not have had any impact on other hitting factors such as swing, eye hand coordination or the ability to determine which pitches to swing at or not. In other words, an athlete must still have talent and ability to be successful. If these drugs do assist in this, the impact appears to be minimal. Additionally, according to Hartgens, most studies prove that steroid use alone does not increase strength. “Based on available well designed studies it can be concluded that the impact of enhance the effects of strength training.” (528). Therefore, the use of steroids does not eliminate the need for an athlete to train and certainly would not replace a lack of ability or talent. The talent of Barry Bonds should not be called into question. Though it might be argued any edge he received from these drugs might have been cheating, it should also be considered that Bonds was not alone in taking steroids. This does not validate usage of the drugs, but it does demonstrate that even if these drugs did give an athlete an edge, it is not much of an edge if many other players are taking these same substances. In one confidential survey and testimonial of former users and coaches “suggest that around 80-100 percent of national/international standard body builders , weightlifters and field athletes use anabolic steroids.” (Choi,349). Though the use of anonymous individuals might be suspect, it does indicate that the use of steroids is likely far more prevalent than realized and it is unknown how many players, including current Hall of Famers may have used PEDs before mandatory testing. It would be naive to think PEDs were not used in prior decades as steroids have been in use by athletes since the 1950s. Major league baseball even initiated its own investigation and the results also support the conclusion that the use of steroids has been so widespread that it would be difficult to argue that only Sosa, McGuire and Bonds would have benefited or received an unfair advantage. “The Mitchell Report, an investigation into the breadth of steroid use in baseball, confirmed the worst fears of MLB*the use of performance-enhancing drugs was not the exclusive transgression of a few rogues but a pervasive practice polluting the entire game.” (Von Burg, 351). Though the argument that Bonds was doing what everyone else was does not eliminate the question of the morality of ethics of his decision, it does show that Bonds was not alone and was not he may have been on a more even level playing field than people realize or are willing to admit. The difference between players like Bonds and many others in the league are that his success made him more susceptible to scrutiny. There is even argument that many players take drugs due to the pressure to succeed from their organizations, teammates and even fans. “The sport thrives on demands from its fans that athletes do everything they can to succeed. Athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs have done nothing more than what was asked of them from the fan base. We love home runs. They demonstrate power, grace, and the promise of individual success. However, when our athletic heroes disappoint us by doing exactly what was asked of them, the media and fans continually sacrifice them on the altar of historical purity.” (Von Burg, 368). In reality, many fans and organizations are looking for results and often organizations and coaches as well as teammates are aware of the prevalent use of drugs and don’t care as long as the player is producing results. In actuality, the player is risking personal health problems and even death by taking these drugs. Hassan encourages the stoppage of steroid indicate because of these risks. “These results confirmed that the use of AAS is associated with a lot of deleterious effects on the myocardium either at the cellular or at the ultrastructural levels. They also suggested that echocardiographyby its modern modality SRI can early identify those steroid-using bodybuilders who are prone to develop cardiomyopathic changes and they must abstain to avoid these detrimental consequences.” (282). Yet, they do so because they feel they have no choice. As Rosenthal of the Sporting News concludes, “That was the environment created by MLB, by the players union, by teams—such as Bonds' Giants—that ignored the problem. Each bears responsibility for creating the Bonds monster.” (38). This does not justify what a player might chose to do, but it does extend the blame as it is not just the players who are at fault. Steven Goldman believes players should be held accountable to cheating and breaking the laws of the game. However, the punishment should reflect their refusal to play by the rules and is not a reflection that the steroids themselves have corrupted the game or stats. “These artificial substances have indeed become known as "performance-enhancing drugs," or "PEDs," but this is a misnomer. As applied to baseball, they seem at best to be VMPEDs, or "Very Mildly Performance-Enhancing Drugs," and therein lies the complexity of interpreting baseball's steroids era: the dishonesty of the players, their sin of omission, was almost certainly greater than the sin of taking the drugs themselves.” (27). Too much emphasis seems to being placed on how effective these steroids really are and if they make enough of a difference in a player’s abilities to argue over the achievements of a player. In fact, many players who have tested positive for steroid use are not elite players. “Testing also caught a large number of pitchers, almost all of whom were below-average players. This attests to both the marginal effects of the drugs and the kind of player who takes them.” (30). Most evidence seems to support the lack of impact PEDs really have on overall performance of the athlete. To claim steroid use has any significant impact on a player’s stats is unproven. Therefore, a player should not be excluded from the Hall of Fame even if drugs were used unless that player has been banned because of repeated offenses. Goldman argues that while steroids might cast a shadow over the accomplishments of any athlete, “Given how long this situation persisted, the vast majority of baseball's historic records were compiled under contrived conditions.” (28). As an example, Goldman notes that Babe Ruth was a great player in his time but played in a time where the talent was not as strong as it is today. Perhaps Ruth would not been as successful against many of today’s pitchers. Not only was the competition less, but many talented players were not allowed to play. “Ruth's achievements were prodigious by any measure, but he and baseball's other greats founded baseball's record book in a league watered down by racism.” (28). Each era is different and all records could be scrutinized. The impact of those variations are hard to measure as there is no way to know if Ruth would have the same success in today’s game or what Bond’s numbers might have been if he faced the same pitchers as Ruth. Throughout this argument, there is also one key aspect that must be considered as well. As Ken Rosenthal reports, “Selig can't suspend Bonds, who never has tested positive for performance enhancers and never has admitted using them.”(38). If Major League Baseball cannot suspend or ban Bonds from baseball because it cannot prove usage of steroids, then it seems reasonable to conclude it cannot ban him from the Hall of Fame either. Though there might be convincing evidence against Bonds, there is not enough proof to punish him even if the use of steroids alone were enough to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. In conclusion, PEDs have not always been banned from the National Baseball League and as mandatory testing has not always been in place and they have likely been used by many players. Bonds is not alone on the list of confirmed and suspected users and this usage is a symptom of the current climate of professional sports rather than a reflection of the values of any individual player. As a banned substance, players caught using these substances may be suspended or face other consequences. This same procedure occurs for any player violating any league rule. However, these infractions do not prevent a player from being inducted into the Hall of Fame unless that player has been banned from the league. Not only has Barry Bonds not been banned, he has not been suspended or received any other punishment by the league for steroid use. In fact, there is no concrete evidence that he is even in violation of this regulation. Therefore, there is no reason for Bonds to be excluded from the Hall of Fame. Works Cited Choi, P. Y. L., A. C. Parrott, and D. Cowan. "High-Dose Anabolic Steroids in Strength Athletes: Effects upon Hostility and Aggression." Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental 5.4 (1990): 349-356. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Glenn D. Braunstein, et al. "Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids on Muscular Strength." Annals of Internal Medicine 115.5 (1991): 387. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Goldman, Steven. "The Steroids Morality Play." Commentary 128.1 (2009): 27-30. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. “Hall of Fame.” Baseball Reference.com. N.p., N.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. . Hartgens, Fred, and Harm Kuipers. "Effects of Androgenic-Anabolic Steroids in Athletes." Sports Medicine 34.8 (2004): 513-554. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Hassan, N. A., M. F. Salem, and M. A. E. L. Sayed. "Doping and effects of anabolic androgenic steroids on the heart: histological, ultrastructural, and echocardiographic assessment in strength athletes." Human & Experimental Toxicology 28.5 (2009): 273-283. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Rosenthal, Ken. "The Bonds monster wasn't a solo creation." Sporting News 230.12 (2006): 38. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Von Burg, Ron, and Paul E. Johnson. "Yearning for a Past that Never Was: Baseball, Steroids, and the Anxiety of the American Dream." Critical Studies in Media Communication 26.4 (2009): 351-371. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. 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