There’s a lot of Blame to Go Around for Baseball’s Steroid Era

I was on Facebook pursuing a group dedicated to baseball when I saw someone had posted a picture of Mark McGwire as a Cardinal. Immediately under the photo, someone posted a comment that said, “cheater pants.”  I posted that I thought McGwire and Sammy Sosa didn’t get a fair shake. My reasoning is that there was a lot of blame to go around for the steroid era, which included the fans. It was amazing to me how many people responded by denying history and hurling insults at me for daring to defend a cheater. But I stand by what I said. A lot of people were complicit in the steroid era, including the fans. 

Let’s go back in time to set the context. The baseball strike of 1994 was catastrophic. Not only did we lose months of baseball, but the Commissioner also cancelled the World Series. Once the strike was settled and the players returned, the fans did not. Baseball, losing popularity, was in a crisis. 

Then, something amazing happened. Baseballs were leaving ball parks in droves because of a surge in home runs. The casual fans, who love offense, started coming back to the ball parks. 

This culminated in the summer of 1998, when it became clear that two players, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, were on a pace to break the single season home run record of 61 set by Roger Maris. In fact, Maris’ record was marred because he needed more games than Babe Ruth did to break the record. McGwire and Sosa looked like they were going to reach 62 in less than 154 games. 

Ball parks sold out whenever McGwire or Sosa came to town as fans eagerly anticipated watching history. Baseball’s profits soared. 

Then, a sportswriter, Steven Wilstein, noticed something in Mark McGwire’s locker while conducting an interview. It was a bottle of a supplement called Andro. Wilstein did his research and learned that Andro was a precursor to steroids. Wilstein then broke the story on McGwire’s use of a performance enhancing substance. 

A funny thing happened after Wilstein published that story. Few people cared. In fact, many turned on Wilstein for daring to try to besmirch McGwire and his chase for Maris’ record. After all, at the time there was nothing illegal in baseball about the use of Andro. Stadiums continued to be sold out for McGwire and Sosa. 

People took notice, not the least of which was baseball management. Fans kept paying to see the home run ball. Steroids made players stronger, which meant more home runs, and home runs hit for further distances. Steroids also extended careers of star players. Some in management, seeing how stronger players meant more revenue, began encouraging steroid use. Curt Schilling, for example, reported that members of Red Sox management encouraged him to use steroids towards the end of his career. It was a suggestion he declined. 

Meanwhile, the Commissioner, Bud Selig, did very little to stem the tide of baseball’s steroid problem. When baseball wouldn’t act, Congress did, holding hearings on the use of steroids by players. The threat of congressional action is what finally forced the Commissioner to do something. This was until around 2007. 

Mind you, I am not encouraging steroid use. It is dangerous and it damaged the integrity of the game. All I am saying is that when you view things in context, players like McGwire and Sosa do not deserve the level of revulsion they get from those who decry them as cheaters. At the time, there was no rule against it. Fans wanted to see the long ball.  Management took notice and encouraged steroid use. The Commissioner, meanwhile, was slow to act. In end, there was a lot of blame to go around for the rampant steroid use. 

By: William J. Kovatch, Jr.