Jordan Coughlin
Section I-B
The Real Effects of Performance Enhancing Substance on MLB
It is impossible to avoid the story of performance enhancing substances (PES) in Major League Baseball. Once simply news fodder for sports oriented outlets like ESPN and Sports Illustrated, The Steroid Era has now penetrated mass media outlets. Stories about Roger Clemens and The Mitchell Report are seen on the front page of the New York Times and reported on the CBS Evening News. The “National Past Time” and some of its biggest names are coming under attack as journalists and fans across the country bellow, “The Steroid Era has ruined baseball.” While those claims may be largely emotion-based, I suggest certain empirical evidence – player statistical performance, fan attendance, team revenue, and club value – can be used to prove that The Steroid Era has not had a negative effect on MLB or its fans. In fact, one could argue performance enhancing substances are the “juice” that saved the game.
1994 is an important year for two reasons: 1) it’s the year of the players strike that stopped baseball in its tracks; resulting in a shortened season and a cancelled World Series, and 2) it’s the year many mark as the beginning of the eleven season period known as the Steroid Era. While the strike only lasted until 1995, it served as a major black eye to the game of baseball and ruined player-fan relations. The 20% drop in per game attendance and 25% decline in per team revenue versus pre-strike levels signaled a very long recovery period for MLB. The disparaging start point of the Steroid Era is important to keep in mind as we examine the progress of MLB over the ...