Have Steroids Been Good For MLB?

As far back as my college days in the mid to late 80s, the subject of steroids and which Major Leaguers were juicing up were part of our “normal” sports conversations. However, my friends and I had no clue the problem was so rampant.

What’s most disturbing about the infamous Mitchell Report is not the names of the players - but that coaches and general managers were unaware of the problem. As my buddy J.T. likes to say, “I can’t buy that.”

Convicted steroid dealer, Kirk Radomski, said he sold anabolic steroids (Deca-Durabolin and testosterone) to Todd Hundley early in 1996. Radomski said he told Hundley that if he used steroids he would hit 40 home runs. That year Hundley hit 41 when his previous high was 16. Talk about a career year.

But it was players like Hundley - and it was a long, long list - who were transformed into sluggers almost overnight that had us teenagers suspicious way before Jose Canseco turned author. Yet, amazingly, the people who know baseball the best had no clue?

The truth, plain and simple, was that in so many ways steroids was a good thing for MLB and the owners in the beginning. Interest was waning in the game and fans were fed up with “rich” players going on strike every few years for even more money. And, surprisingly, the steroids issue has not shrunken the wallets of the owners

In 2007, baseball broke its attendance record for the fourth straight season when 79.5 million fans attended games. During the same year, revenue for MLB’s 30 teams went up 7.7%, to $5.5 billion. The average team is now worth $472 million, 9.5% higher than last year and 143% more than when Forbes first calculated team values in 1998.

Five years ago, 16 teams lost money. In 2007 only three teams - the Blue Jays ($1.8 million), Red Sox ($19.1 million), Yankees ($47.3 million) - posted an operating loss. But even those losses are misleading. For the owners of the Yankees and Red Sox, the huge dividends they get from their cable networks more than make up for the teams’ losses. And, Rogers Communications, which owns the Blue Jays, their stadium and the cable channel that televises its games, enjoy huge benefits from owning the Blue Jays not reflected on its team’s P&L statement.

I long for the days of Ferguson Jenkins and Brooks Robinson when the game was based on grit and dedication. But, I refuse to insult the Fernando Vina’s, Chuck Knobloch’s and Barry Bonds’ of the world. We live in a “Nip & Tuck” society where breast enhancements is a good thing and guys trying to earn a living playing a game they love are exiled.

Which “true” baseball fan did not enjoy Mark McGwire’s and Sammy Sosa’s Long Ball Circus Show? Perhaps the game would be better off if more players were like Mo Vaughn - afraid of those big needles. But, like it or not, steroids has been very, very good for Major League players and owners.

Marvin Moore writes about Major League Baseball. Contact him at mjmoore@baseballdeworld.com