The Asterisk Era In Baseball…

Steroids were added to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act in the Anabolic Steroid Act of 1990. This means that before 1990, it was NOT illegal to possess or use anabolic steroids for anyone.

If steroids were no illegal before 1990, why are the HR numbers before then not astronomically high? Why did we not see a dramatic decline in home runs or extra base hits after 1990?

Simple answer: Major League Baseball did not take steps to ensure steroids were not being used by it’s players until 2003.

This still does not make much sense. Illegal substances are much easier for sports figures and other highly visible celebrities to get their hands on than regular Joes. Yet with one Google search you could find as many as 20 legitimate sites to purchase steroids from. If steroids were not illegal, available to everyone, and easy to obtain before 1990, the numbers should have been higher.

Let’s break down the numbers a bit and see exactly what they look like.

HRs by year for the MLB:
1980 – 3,087
1981 – 1,781 Labor Strike Year
1982 – 3,379
1983 – 3,301
1984 – 3,258
1985 – 3,602
1986 – 3,813
1987 – 4,458
1988 – 3,180
1989 – 3,083
1990 – 3,317
1991 – 3,383
1992 – 3,038
Two New Teams For Next Year – Rockies & Marlins
1993 – 4,030
1994 – 3,306 Labor Strike Year
1995 – 4,081
1996 – 4,962
1997 – 4,640
Two New Teams For Next Year – Diamondbacks & Devil Rays
1998 – 5,064
1999 – 5,528

Let’s break this down a bit more for a more accurate representation.

Average HRs per team by year:
1980 – 118.7
1981 – Labor strike year
1982 – 130
1983 – 127
1984 – 125.3
1985 – 138.5
1986 – 146.7
1987 – 171.5
1988 – 122.3
1989 – 118.6
1990 – 127.6
1991 – 130.1
1992 – 116.9
1993 – 143.9
1994 – Labor strike year
1995 – 145.7
1996 – 177.2
1997 – 165.7
1998 – 168.8
1999 – 184.3

From 1980-1989, the 10 years proceeding steroids becoming illegal, MLB teams averaged 133.2 HRs per year.

From 1990-1999, the 10 years after steroids became illegal, MLB teams averaged 151.1 HRs per year. So the average went up by 20 HRs per team per year the 10 years following them becoming illegal.

Baseball, unlike other professional sports, was slow to implement mandatory steroid testing. In 2003 the MLB implemented its first steroid testing policy. So let’s look at the numbers before and after that.

Total HRs by year:
1998 – 5,064
1999 – 5,528
2000 – 5,693
2001 – 5,458
2002 – 5,059
2003 – 5,207
2004 – 5,451
2005 – 5,017
2006 – 5,386
2007 – 4,957

Average HRs per team per year:
1998 – 168.8
1999 – 184.3
2000 – 189.8
2001 – 181.9
2002 – 168.6
2003 – 173.6
2004 – 181.7
2005 – 167.2
2006 – 179.5
2007 – 165.3

From 1998-2002, the 5 years before the testing policy came into effect, teams averaged 178.7 HRs per year.

From 2003-2007, the 5 years after the testing policy went into effect, teams averaged 173.46 HRs per year.

So while home run numbers are slowly declining, so are the number of users. In 2003, when the policy went into affect, 5-7% of players tested positive. As of 2008, less than 2% of players annually were testing positive for “performance enhancing drugs”. While the numbers for other illegal substances continue to climb.

In 2005 the MLB stiffened their enforcement policy on steroids. The penalties for a positive result are:

First offense: 10 day suspension
Second offense: 30 day suspension
Third offense: 60 day suspension
Fourth offense: A one year suspension

And all of these suspensions are without pay.

If steroids, and other “performance enhancing drugs”, are such a brute force in baseball, then why were players in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, when steroids were still legal to possess and use, not surpassing Hank Aarons record left and right?

How exactly are steroids ruining the game of baseball as most “experts” say?

“Experts”, aka the media, have made steroids out to be the black plague of modern baseball. Then fans simply regurgitate this notion into “common knowledge”.

I hate to think that people are turning away from baseball because they feel the players are cheaters. Cases of cheaters in baseball are few and far between, very well publicized, but nonetheless, few and far between. Even though meat heads, like Jose Canseco, claim that 85% of players in the MLB are using them. If 85% of players are using them, then why are there not a higher number of players getting caught?

This era in baseball should not be marked with an asterisk. Yes players have cheated, but not all of them. Those who have cheated have been ousted by the MLB and the player’s union. Some, like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, have not been signed to contracts even though their careers were not over.