Train Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: The Many Effects of PEDs in Baseball
In any form of competition, there is a pride that comes along with being the best, or one of the best at something. Now imagine there was a circulation of millions of dollars, fans, and life opportunities involved in this equation as well. The will of the person to succeed is strong, but sometimes the body is not as strong, and a little boost is all they need to get to the top. Perhaps this is a struggling person, who is looking for some sort of big breakthrough to live out his dream and take care of his family, is he evil if he were to give in to temptation that are performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)?
World series winning, former Yankee pitcher, Jason Grimsley admitted to HGH use.
The article written on by Jay Nault discusses the possibility of human growth hormones (HGH) becoming a new trend amongst baseball players, and the chances that it will “destroy” the game. He very often compares HGH to steroids, and deservedly so as they are both banned PEDs which have shadowed the game of baseball. Jay also discusses the cascade effect of suspicion. He mentions that most pitchers would not have been expected to use HGH until Jason Grimsley confessed to using them himself. After his admission, it made more logical sense as to why a pitcher would use HGH, and now the level of suspicion has been raised across the board for pitchers.
Information cascades can occur in many ways, the two discussed by Jay Nault are different. The cascade of fan suspicion is an information effect cascade, while the cascade of player’s substance abuse is a direct-benefit effect. The major difference between the two lies in the motive of choice. The suspicion cascade is based off of the information that many other players who have been accused of using HGH by the media have been found guilty of taking the PED, thus they will probably be correct again if they believe that another player may have taken HGH as well. In this scenario, the suspicious fan does not gain anything directly from booing a suspected steroid abuser. However, the situation of the abuser himself is quite different from that of the fan, as he could possibly directly affect his payoff. He sees that fellow baseball players are using PEDs, it makes sense for him to use them as well to keep up with the level of performance that the others will achieve on PEDs.
One thing not discussed in the article that relates to both the class and the subject matter, is the probability of a baseball player using steroids. The article does discuss the epidemic nature of PEDs, but it does not truly delve into the different levels of baseball that they have affected. Many prominent role model, hall of fame caliber performers have been tainted by their steroid abuse, and currently steroid abuse is not all that uncommon amongst high school players. With all of the pressure to go beyond the standards set by those on PEDs, combined with the fact that HGH is undetectable by current baseball testing, it makes it all too easy for players to give in to the temptation that are PEDs.
~ BigFav
Sources:
http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Hgh-Controversy—Will-The-New-Steroids-Issue-Lead-To-The-Game-s-Demise-/58392#.UKDd44dX2So
http://polomodel3.edublogs.org/files/2011/04/parade-com-steroids-2d201ar.jpg
http://www.lonecadaver.com/99Jason%20Grimsley1.jpg