HGH

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGuire, and countless baseball names have been dragged through the mud in recent years. The decline of legitimacy in baseball is largely based on the shoulders of Human Growth Hormone, a steroid. Although undetectable, Human Growth Hormone is quite possibly the largest issue facing the sport of baseball. Not just Major League Baseball, but minor league, college, and high school baseball have all felt the wrath of this harmful performance-enhancing drug. Jean Jacques Rousseau’s beliefs still hold true as HGH has taken a profound negative impact on the sport of baseball and its image. In creating health issues, amazing performance spikes, and controversy that is new to professional baseball, HGH is exposing America’s past time to many new social problems.
Many baseball fans would be shocked to find out that HGH has been used for decades. It was created in the 1930’s by University of California P.HD grad student Choh Hao Li. After thirty-two years of trying to form this new drug, Li finally began injecting it in to the bodies of his patients. Similar to many other drugs, it must be placed inside the blood stream to have an effect. Just like the notorious steroids currently in other sports, Human Growth Hormone increases the size and strength of whomever is using it. In 1985, HGH was deemed a healthy antidote to those who could not naturally produce the hormone. All of this changed once Ben Johnson, a contestant in the 1988 Olympics, tested positive for HGH. Performance-enhancing drugs create an unfair physical advantage in sports, especially a sport based solely upon stature such as running. Thus, the Olympic committee began taking a brasher penalty for those who used the drug in competition.
Like any drug, there are consequences and illnesses that can arise after extensive use. This hormone is found in the pituitary gland and is commonly absent in humans. In order to compensate, HGH is offered to those who have ill-effects without the hormone. As seen in many cases, bodies that do not naturally release HGH are small in stature, overweight, possess bleeding disorders, or have cardiovascular issues (Jeff Passan, HGH, a Problem). There isn’t a tremendous amount of understanding about how HGH functions; it helps to stimulate growth through the liver. Scientists have also found numerous health risks involving Human Growth Hormone. “For example, too much HGH before or during puberty can lead to gigantism…After puberty, inflated levels of HGH can cause acromegaly…The organs and digestive system may also increase in size, which may eventually cause heart failure. Acromegaly sufferers often die before the age of 40” (Human Growth Hormone: A History Of…). This excerpt clearly points out the disadvantages to using HGH, as death is a possible consequence for all who use the drug. Due to the influx of athletes involved with the Hormone, expect the sports-related death toll to grow exponentially.
It is not universally known how exactly HGH made its way in to the sport of baseball. The drug had been thrown around in former MLB player Jose Canseco’s famous book Juiced, but Bud Selig, Commissioner, had ignored it to a certain point. Heads began to roll once police found Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley in possession of over two-thousand dollars worth of the drug. When the enormous HGH stash was found in Grimsley’s home, pandemonium occurred. ESPN, the number one sports information broadcasting channel was now almost solely covering the topic. This spelled bad news for Selig and the MLB, as the nationally broadcasted service began to uncover some of the more important details. Grimsley started naming players left and right, which broke the universal rule of not throwing teammates or fellow players under the bus. At this point, Major League Baseball knew they had to take performance-enhancing drugs seriously. Stars of the game at that point Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Curt Schilling, and Sammy Sosa were called to testify in court. Bonds was soon indicted, McGuire’s legacy was ruined, Schilling was proved innocent, and Sosa completely forgot how to speak English. Steroids in baseball were now mainstream news.
There are some who feel Human Growth Hormone is a positive drug, just depending on its use. Ronald Klatz, a scientist who actually promotes this drug as an anti-aging formula is still defending its place in our lives. “There is this Puritan ethic in our country that anything in sports that isn't totally natural is bad," said Klatz, the author of "Grow Young with HGH." "I'm not saying it's right or wrong. I am for progress.” (Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports). What the avid anabolic steroid fan is saying is that HGH can help to replenish the bodies of aging athletes. Evidenced by some of baseball’s quick returns, it is now speculated that HGH can help the body recover from serious injury. Jason Grimsley, an Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher who recovered from the infamous Tommy John Surgery in only ten months has been pegged as the spokesman for this scandal. Grimsley has named numerous athletes, including Yankees legend Jim Leyritz, whom have injected themselves with the drug to get a leg up on the competition. Now, a popular question is brewing in the sports world. Should this illegal drug be used in rehabilitation? If it can indeed help players who are attempting to return from injury, why should HGH be banned from baseball? Well, there are two clear point-of-views to this story. Since HGH will be used predominantly on older baseball players, where does that leave the younger players and prospects?
This is where Minor League baseball factors in to play, and for numerous reasons. Where do these talented, raw players fit in if veterans are overstaying their welcome in the MLB? History has shown that the majority of baseball players peak at the age of twenty-eight and begin to decline at thirty-five. With HGH, experienced players such as those named earlier aren’t hitting their natural decline until the age of forty. This leaves very little room for Minor League players who are trying to break in to the Big Leagues. Angel Salome is a perfect example of this. “Milwaukee Brewers catching prospect Angel Salome was suspended for 50 games Tuesday after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance under baseball's minor league drug program. The 21-year-old is batting .318 with six homers and 53 RBI for Class-A Brevard County of the Florida State League. He became the 18th player suspended this year under baseball's minor league program.” (CBS Sports) Young, talented, and in impeccable shape; Salome felt the wrath of HGH’s growing numbers in Major League Baseball. Since many who should on their way out are still putting up numbers comparable to those of their peak years, talented and young players such as Salome are siding with the devil. As the old saying goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”.
Athletes participating in High School Baseball who are trying to break out on the scene and possibly get drafted are also being thrown in to the HGH issue. A recent article in the San Francisco Gate newspaper shows how rapidly illegal performance-enhancing drugs are growing in their respective sports. “Nearly half the students surveyed said they were using legal, over-the-counter performance-enhancing supplements such as creatine and Muscle Milk to bulk themselves up. And though none of the athletes said they had used steroids or human growth hormone, more than one-fourth said they knew somebody who had used the illegal substances.” "If there's people that you know that are taking them, and they're not as good athletes as you are, and they have a chance of taking your spot, it's tempting," said Gabriel Guastucci, a 16-year-old sophomore at Napa High who plays football and basketball and said he had resisted the temptation. (SF Gate) This is what the issue is about, competition. Competition comes along with any sport and just as strong as friendship, competition can be even stronger. Athletes, especially those who are still maturing in High School are willing to do whatever it takes to win, even if it does involve illegal substances such as HGH. High School teenagers are being pressured in to using HGH to compete with other cheaters.
This is the vast impact that HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs have had on society. Thousands of talented athletes whom have risked their lives and health by attempting to recover from injury are putting their bodies on the line. Recent developments have even shown that HGH causes high blood pressure. “Elevation of blood sugar can cause fat cells to break themselves down and release free fatty acids into the blood stream. The risks of hgh caused by these free fatty acids, is that these free fatty acids, as energy molecules can be taken up by organs and be used for energy. When our muscles are consuming free fatty acids as a fuel, they are far less interested in sugar, therefore they tend to resist the effects of insulin, and extract less sugar from the blood. At the same time, growth hormone can increase glucose output from the liver to the blood.” (HGH Side Effects) As indicated in the popular Side Effects article, the drug is damaging the well being of society. HGH is taking not just a serious effect on competition, but on the players’ bodies as well. This fact is well-evidenced by a bombshell that hit the baseball world in late 2003. Steve Bechler, a twenty-three year old pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles died from performance-enhancing drugs. “Monday's death of 23-year-old pitcher Steve Bechler of the Baltimore Orioles was attributed to heatstroke. A day later, the medical examiner cited several contributing factors, including that Bechler had been battling a weight problem and was taking a controversial ephedrine supplement, sold over-the-counter as a weight-loss aid and energy booster.” (USA Today) All of the baggage performance-enhancing drugs carried were finally catching up. It was later discovered that Bechler had also been using HGH to help breakout in the Major Leagues As evidenced by prior athlete or celebrity deaths, they hit much harder in the media than any other. Memorials and fundraisers against HGH were also used in teaching the world about the health risks of these dangerous drugs. How exactly would Klatz defend his HGH at this point? Steve Bechler’s death painfully proved that HGH is causing nothing but problems for the sport of baseball.
It’s not just the physicality of baseball that is feeling the wrath of HGH, but its image and presentation as well. It’s blatantly obvious how many players are using performance-enhancing drugs, as evidenced by the home run leaders of each generation. In 1985, the League Leader in Home Runs was Dale Murphy with 35 whereas Barry Bonds led the National League with 73 in 2001. In the last ten years, six of the leaders had been in steroid talks or found to be using performance-enhancing drugs. (Baseball Reference) Players are now bigger, stronger, and faster than previous generations. These obvious changes are putting stress on Bud Selig and Major League Baseball to clean up their image. Look at ESPN or any major sports network and all you see are accusations or references to popular scandalous baseball stars. Ever since the Grimsley find, the MLB and Congress have been working to put together a recording of every player known to be involved with performance-enhancing drugs. This infamous file is known as The Mitchell Report. A 404 page PDF, it has now slashed a permanent scar in to the body of Selig and the MLB. Players such as Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Andy Pettitte and other heroes now considered cheaters. What are impressionable young children who dream of becoming professional baseball players supposed to think? The Mitchell Report and HGH in general are a huge bruise on the face of the MLB. Since this drug is undetectable, it is almost impossible to truly find who is a user or not. Thus, every player is now guilty until proven innocent.
As displayed by numerous articles, reports, and statistics, Human Growth Hormone has taken nothing but a harmful toll on Major League Baseball. The social impacts on all levels of the sport and the way it is perceived by the media have changed the public outlook upon it. Hundreds of years before computers, televisions, and computer games, Jean Jacques Rousseau knew exactly what knowledge and technological innovations would do to humanity. Just imagine how enormous of an issue HGH will be once there is a proven detector. Until then, all Bud Selig and the sport of baseball can do is take their vitamins and say their prayers.