Baseball has been America’s favorite pastime since its creation in the late 1800’s. Many boys all over the country dream of donning the jersey of their favorite team and taking the field with their favorite players. At the center of this great game is Major League Baseball or the MLB, the highest level of men’s professional baseball. The MLB has been around since 1869 and has given players the chance to make their dreams come true. Baseball players are considered by many to be their idols, but their idols may be tainted by a plague that has swept the MLB since the 1990’s: Performance Enhancing Drugs, or PEDs.

“Major League Baseball has always recognized the influence that our stars can have on the youth of America. As such, we are concerned that recent revelations and allegations of steroid use have been sending a terrible message to the young people,” said MLB commissioner Bud Selig.

Countless players have been accused of using PEDs to give themselves a competitive edge over their opponents. From the 1990’s dominated by players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens to now with players like Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez, people performed exceptionally and led their teams to success are being picked off by failed drug tests. PED use has angered many fans, players, and coaches such as the St. Louis Cardinals’ old manager Tony LaRussa.

“If you want privacy go play semi-pro ball. Drug use hurts baseball,” LaRussa said.

When the problem first arose, PEDs were not illegal to use in the MLB. Actually, it was believed that at one time possibly half of all MLB players used PEDs, although those claims were never confirmed. The lax rules on PED use allowed many players to begin using and as time went on, competition forced many players to start taking PEDs just to keep up. Beginning in 2002, MLB commissioner Bud Selig began combating the rampant drug use in his league. Mandatory drug testing was implemented as well as suspensions for those who were busted.

“I will suspend any player who tests positive for an illegal steroid,” Commissioner Selig said.” There will be no exceptions.”

Two MLB players who dominated the sport and were almost guaranteed spots in the Hall of Fame were denied access in their first year of eligibility. Those two players, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, tested positive for PEDs while playing although they both denied ever having knowledge of using them.

“Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH [Human Growth Hormone],”said Clemens while addressing a House committee.

Clemens, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, was an 11-time All Star and 7-time Cy Young Award winner. Barry Bonds, an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, broke the career MLB homerun record with 756 long balls.

“No. I don’t have to [use steroids]. I mean, I’m a good enough ballplayer as it is. I don’t need to be any better. I can’t get any better at this age,” said Bonds when asked by reporters after a game about his alleged drug use.

Hank Aaron, the player whose record was broken by Bonds felt his record was taken from his wrongfully.

“At his age, you have to ask, did he accomplish all of this by rejuvenating his strength from day to day with those substances?” said Aaron when asked about Bonds.

Players who did not use PEDs felt betrayed by those who did use like Jeff Kent, a now retired Los Angeles Dodgers player.

“All on-users feel cheated. I worry about the game not being clean,” Kent said.

Steroids and baseball have been a volatile mix and time can only tell whether the problem with stick around forever or slowly fade away.