In an article from the Detroit Tigers website, Tigers catcher Gerald Laird talked about the transformation he has noticed over the past few years in the way major league baseball is played. The way he sees it, the game has shifted from being a "slug fest" to focusing more on small ball and the speed required to play it. This shift was quite obviously a result of recent drug testing in the MLB. It's more difficult for players to use performance-enhancing drugs; therefore, they're forced to resort to small ball tactics. Ultimately, what Laird discussed was a transformation in the entire brand of major league baseball. In fact, some might call it a re-transformation. The first shift in the baseball brand occurred when drugs became popular and players started playing with more power. Then, baseball was seen as a sport where slugging was the name of the game, and to be good, you had to have power. The newest shift, however, focuses on speed, bunting, and base stealing. Now, baseball will be seen more as a sport that requires agility, speed, and probably more skill than when players simply relied on drugs to get the job done.
To read the original article from DetroitTigers.com, please follow this link:
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2010/03/tigers_gerald_laird_teams_emph.html
This is exactly what we were talking about in class! It is amazing at how anabolic steroids can affect a player's game. The steroids make them stronger as an athlete, however it is unnatural and considered cheating in the books. There are many side effects to steroids that shouldn't be taken lightly. They are a bad mix with strenuous workouts and tedious schedules.
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