Steroids: Good For The Game And Your Health?

So, with the steroid cloud incessantly looming over Major League Baseball, I ask this question, just how bad are steroids from a health standpoint and a business standpoint? After 1994 strike, baseball was in dire straits for the several seasons that followed it. It wasn't until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled for the homerun record chase in 1998, that baseball became the national pass time once again. Many credited the Sosa-McGwire home run chase in 1998 with "saving baseball," by both bringing in new, younger fans and bringing back old fans.

There was also Barry Bonds' record breaking season where he hit 73 homeruns in 2001, which captivated fans and generated much positive publicity.

There was Eric Gagne's single season record of 63 consecutive saves by a closer in 2003. All the aforementioned players showed up on the Mitchell Report and are alleged steroid users. One can make the argument that these records may not have been broken if it weren't for their steroid use, but regardless of steroids, no one can argue that these players are talented individuals and deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Bonds, Sosa and McGwire are still amazing hitters and just because one takes steroids does not mean that individual can suddenly have outstanding hand to eye coordination and can suddenly play major league ball. One thing is for sure, it was certainly a much more exciting time in Major League Baseball. Who doesn't want to see baseball players hitting 60 to 75 dingers a year or pitchers throwing 104 mph? Especially when that player is on the team you're cheering for.
As far as steroids being a legitimate health risk for users, well..there's use and overuse like any other drug. There are in fact several proven medical side effects from overuse of steroids such as acne, high blood pressure, lower sperm count, and the potential for gynecomastia, known in the gym as “bitch tits." None of these side effects are fatal. Columnist Jordan Heller wrote an article entitled, "Roid Rave: Steroids, They Do A Body Good?" Heller tackled the hard-hitting issues and asked a doctor trained in this specific field point blank questions in regards to the link between steroids and life-threatening side-effects. "It’s all anecdotal,” says Mauro DiPasquale, M.D., a widely renowned expert on ergogenic aids, of the so-called evidence linking steroids to various health issues. “The studies that blame steroids for certain heart problems, for sudden death, etc., are not the kinds of things that make up evidence-based medicine and the adverse effects of steroids have been wildly overstated.” There is a simple reason for this. Steroids are in fact still a drug and if not prescribed, why should an individual take them? A lot of it is simply sensationalized propaganda. The same way marijuana use is overtly criticized in our society, yet alcohol is legal and causes several deaths a year from drunk driving accidents to cirrhosis of the liver. How many people overdose a year on marijuana? What serious fatal illnesses are directly linked to marijuana use? I think you would be hard pressed to find any in either situation.
Heller indicated in his article that, "while Dr. DiPasquale won’t say that steroids are innocuous, he does allow that, under the right conditions, he’d give the green light to a healthy adult male wanting to use them."

http://www.thefanzine.com/articles/science/312/roid_rave-_steroids,_they_do_a_body_goodY/2