Steroids Saved Baseball - And Everyone Knew It

I have never started an article with a link to a video, but in this case, the video is paramount to my theory of Major League Baseball players using steroids, and what I believe went on behind closed doors regarding the knowledge of steroid use.

https://www.c-span.org/clip/house-committee/user-clip-rafael-palmeiro-steroids/4722707

That’s former all-star ballplayer Rafael Palmeiro, one of several players who faced congressional hearings regarding widespread and rampant usage of illegal performance-enhancing drugs, adamantly and vehemently denying his involvement. While other names were more notable when it came to steroids, chiefly Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, Palmeiro was one of many players whose home run totals escalated massively in the mid-to-late 1990s. In 1998, Palmeiro slammed 43 homers, and that was the beginning of a string of four out of the next five years when he hit at least 40 longballs. He had never hit the 40 home run mark before in his career, and 1998 was the big year when things really happened with home run totals around the league.

How about Brady Anderson? Not necessarily a household name, this outfielder cranked out 50 homers in 1996, when steroids inconspicuously made their way into locker rooms. Why is the 50 number a big deal? Anderson had never topped 21 home runs prior to that, and would never hit more than 24 in a season after the ‘96 season.

Time to do a little tracking about home run totals in MLB to get a reference point as to the unprecedented explosion that came when steroids were introduced in baseball clubhouses. In 1995, the season prior to steroids making their way into the league, there were 4,081 total homers hit. The very next year, that total jumped to 4,962; an increase of 881 league-wide longballs. In 1985, just 10 years prior to juicing among ballplayers, just 3,602; 1,360 fewer horsehides deposited over the fence.

Deeper Levels

So, why were all these home runs being smacked into stands? I firmly believe it wasn’t a coincidence. Baseball had recently come off yet another strike or work stoppage. In 1994, the season opened with no labor agreement settled on between owners and players. The owners wanted to put a salary cap in place, much to the chagrin of the guys taking the field. The players decided to strike. They had already done the same in 1985, and the owners locked players out in 1990. So, we’re looking at three different situations in less than a decade where passionate fans were denied the game they love. And those people who plunked down hard-earned money to watch America’s pastime were more than miffed. They were furious. And it prompted somewhat of an unwritten protest against it. Fans stopped going to games, stopped buying concessions and paraphernalia, and dads stopped teaching their sons how to keep score. And it hit baseball right where it hurt– in the wallet.

938 games were lost in this latest strike that lasted 232 days. It was only after Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an injunction that brought the games back. But, it didn’t bring the fans back. In 1996, the year after the strike was over, But, two years after the strike, attendance had grown again by about 20 million fans. Why? The home runs, especially the ones that were mammoth blasts, were exciting.

Fans in America like action, they like scoring. It’s the reason that soccer, despite being the most popular sport on the planet, has never really found footing in the U.S. Now, with run totals up and balls landing on streets outside of stadiums, it drew eyeballs and interest. The numbers and the all-important dollars were trending in the right direction in a big way.

Everyone in the Game Knew

What started as whispers grew into cacophonously loud statements from both perspectives. Some were publicly denying and decrying the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Jim Thome, who was never under the steroid microscope said, “The strongest thing I put into my body is steak and eggs. I just eat. I’m not a supplement guy. Steroids are not even a thought.”

How about this from fellow Hall of Famer Lou Brock? “We have to make some radical move to get the attention of everyone. Cheaters can’t win and steroids have put us in the position that it’s OK to cheat.”

And then there’s the audacity of Jose Canseco, who has been dubbed as the godfather of steroids, “Does it enhance their career, does it give them a little more strength, a little more stamina, a little more psychological edge? Absolutely. How do you determine what their stats would be without steroids.”

The point is, everyone knew. And I contend it wasn’t just the players. I contend that managers knew. If they had players using steroids on their team, and it would help win games? That’s great for managerial contracts to be negotiated. I certainly also contend that the owners knew, for the same reasons of financial prosperity. But…they all turned a blind eye to the situation.

Back to the players. Commercials hit the TV about the rise in home run totals. Even this comical one featuring a pair of elite pitchers made its way onto the airwaves. While funny, it just smacks of arrogance, steroid use knowledge, and an “I don’t care” attitude. Here, we have “Chicks Dig the Longball” with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine:

In Closing

It’s not my place to say if steroid use was good for baseball or bad for baseball. Positively, it did return the passion and joy for fans who were soured on the game. Negatively, it promoted cheating, greed, and telling youth ballplayers that putting foreign substances in the body is A-OK. Will there ever be another era in baseball like this? Probably. It’ll be in pill form or other, possibly undetectable. Like Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell once said, “Cheating is baseball’s oldest profession. Mr. Boswell was probably right.