By Ryan Bologna
When it comes to athletes using performance-enhancing drugs there seems to always be a ton of outrage when a baseball player gets caught, while no one seems to care when it comes to the other major sports leagues. There are multiple factors that play into this, like how the leagues treat positive tests, record-keeping and how physically demanding the other major sports leagues are. Why does the baseball world feel so strongly about this while we seem to turn a blind eye when it comes to the other three major sports leagues? We have some theories.
First, here are the policies for the four major sports leagues:
NFL: The NFL tests for steroids, stimulants, and HGH (human growth hormones). There is a four to six-game suspension for the first violation, 10 games for a second, and full-season for the third. Suspensions don’t apply in the offseason — players complete a substance abuse program if they test positive at that time of year.
NBA: The NBA tests for steroids, related hormones, stimulants, diuretics, related masking agents, cocaine, opiates, PCP, LSD, and marijuana. The first violation results in a 10-game suspension, the second goes up to 25 games, while the third and fourth result in one or two-year bans.
NHL: Players tested at minimum twice a year. There is a 20-game suspension for the first violation, 60-game for the second, and a permanent ban for the third with the ability to apply for reinstatement after two years.
MLB: Players tested for steroids, related hormones, stimulants, masking agents, and diuretics. The first time testing positive for steroids results in a 50-game suspension, the second is 100 games and the third is a lifetime ban. The first positive test for stimulants results in mandatory drug counseling and increased testing, the second results in a 25-game ban, the third is an 80-game ban and a fourth is a lifetime ban. Players who serve a suspension are also ineligible for that year’s postseason.
When you take into account players who test positive being ineligible for the postseason, MLB has the harshest punishments out of the four leagues. MLB players also face the harshest criticism for testing positive when it comes to media perception. Do you think that the Hall Of Fame case for Deandre Hopkins will be impacted by his PED suspension in any way? I highly doubt it.
The #AZCardinals lose WR DeAndre Hopkins for the first 6 games of the season after a PED suspension. pic.twitter.com/5FoxpwkEkH
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 2, 2022
A PED suspension has all but ended Hall Of Fame consideration for some players. An example is Robinson Cano — he was on track to be a lock before he got suspended for the first time in 2018. The minute the news dropped that Cano was suspended, the prevailing notion was that he just threw away his Hall Of Fame chances. Why is there such a stark difference in the perception between the players who test positive in baseball and the players in other leagues? The nature of the way the games are played is definitely a factor.
In baseball, everything can be traced back to a one-on-one matchup of pitcher vs hitter. That makes it easy for anyone to see how it can give players an unfair advantage. PEDs will help a pitcher throw faster and help a hitter hit the ball harder and farther. That type of matchup is unique to baseball. All of the other leagues in the discussion are more teamwork-oriented.
There are a lot more excuses that fans can make for other leagues, especially the highly physical ones like the NFL and NHL. Those players take a beating and it is only natural for fans to have sympathy for the physical toll they go through. While that isn’t necessarily the case for the NBA, there is not that one-on-one matchup where the fans can directly see the benefits of PEDs like there is in baseball.
This plays into what is likely the biggest part of why baseball players are judged so harshly when it comes to PEDs. Individual records are celebrated more in baseball than in any other major team sport. When Miguel Cabrera recorded his 3,000th hit, the Tigers held a ceremony mid-game. Roger Maris’ 61 home run season in 1961 is still most-referred to as the single-season home run record even though Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds have seasons where they hit more.
"Barry Bonds has the title!"
19 years ago today, Barry Bonds set the single-season home run record ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/L7XKl5fBZ9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 5, 2020
This isn’t to say that records aren’t celebrated in other team sports, but it takes something as incredible as Steph Curry breaking the all-time three-point record to get the same reaction that Cabrera got for his 3,000th hit. Counting stats are more prevalent in Hall Of Fame debates in baseball, most likely because the situation a player is in can change and impact those stats, while a great player can still compile nearly identical statistics on a bad baseball team as they would on a good team.
What this says is that baseball is arguably the most unique out of the four major sports, and the aspects that make it unique directly relate to the perception of players that use PEDs. It will be interesting to see if any of the other team sports trend in the same way as baseball has over the coming years, but there is no indication that any of them will as of now.
Photo Credit: Jeffrey B. Banke
