-
First Use of performance enhancement drugs in baseball
Bud Galvin, a pitcher, was the first professional baseball player to be widely known for using performance enhancing drugs. -
Babe Ruth Missed a game because he was feeling side effects of a testosterone.
Babe Ruth tried to get an edge on the competition while playing for the "Much Hated" Yankees by injecting a testosterone suppliment from a goat testicle into his bloodstream. This backfired and he got sick. The "Much Hated" Yankees had to describe his absence from the lineup as a "bellyache". -
Anabolic Steroids were first synthesized from the testicle
Scientist Leapold Ruzicka in Zurich, synthesized the hormone found by Adolf Butenandt in 1931 when he purified 15 milligrams of the male hormone andosterone from thousands of liters of urin. -
WWII ends, soldiers come home, go to college and play baseball for their schools
During WWII, soldiers were given amphetamines so that they would have more endurance in the war and also so that they would be more focused, When the war ended and the troops came home, lots of them went to college and played baseball. They used the techniques they learned from the war by injecting themselves with amphetimines to give them an edge on the competition. The great players then brought this technique to the major leagues. -
The first documented use of steroids in major league baseball
Tom House Admits to using steroids in his 8 year major league career from 1971-1978. He said that 7 or 8 pitchers in every clubhouse were experimenting with some sort of performance enhancing drug, whether it be steroids or hGH during his career. -
MLB Commissoner Fay Vincent officially bans illegal drugs, including steroids
Commissoner Fay Vincent sent a 7 page memo to every team banning the use of illegal drugs in baseball. This memo included no testing policies, enforcement, or publicity, so many would later claim to have no knowledge of the policy. -
Curtis Wenzlaff, Mark McGwire's trainer is arrested
Wenzlaff was arrested for distributing steroids to Mark McGwire and upwards of 20 or 30 more MLB players. This is the earliest roots to the public's suspicion of McGwire's steroid use. -
Three teams — Baltimore, Seattle and Oakland — break the single-season home run record. Seventeen players hit at least 40 home runs.
Shows the developing benefits that steroids had during this time period. Players had become bigger, faster, and strong. No records were safe and this becomes clear in the years to come. -
Mark McGwire is found with a jar of androstenedione in his locker
He and Sammy Sosa go neck and neck to break Roger Maris's home run record of 61. Maris' record had lasted 47 years till that season Sosa breaks the record by 5 and McGuire by 9 -
Steroids were first banned in the MLB
The MLB announces that steroids are to be considered an illegal substance. However, there are no penalties included or plans for testing. -
Steroid Testing included in new MLB CBA
The policy called for "survey testing" in '03 to determine how widespread the use of steroids in baseball was. The test was to be anonymous with no punishments given to players who tested positive. -
Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative raided by federal investigators
Financial and mediacal records are seized by investigators, allegedly including records of payments for drugs by San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds. -
MLB institutes penalties for doping
Based off of the anonymous tests, between 5 and 7 percent of players tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. The initial penalties were counseling for a first offense and a 15 day suspension for a 2nd offense. -
High profile MLB players testify about BALCO
10 very high profile MLB players testify about BALCO, which had recently been raided. The most notable event came from Baltimore Orioles star Rafael Palmeiro. Palmerio, who was approaching the hallowed baseball milestones of 500 career home runs and 3,000 career hits, defiantly stated he had never used performance enhancing drugs, only to be suspended for a positive test just months later. -
MLB implements penalties for positive drug tests
Unanimously accepted by the owners the penalties were:
First positive test: 10 day suspension
Second positive test: 30 day suspension
Third positive test: 60 day suspension
Fourth positive test: 1 year suspension
However, just 10 months later Major League Baseball increased the penalties to a 50 game suspension for the first positive test, 100 games for the second, and a lifetime ban for the third. -
Alex Sanchez is the first player suspended for steroids under the new policy
Sanchez, an outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, is suspended for 10 days. -
Mitchell Report Released
The Mitchell Report is released, implicating many current and former Major League players for steroid use. The report admonished the widespread use of steroids in baseball and concluded that stricter drug testing was necessary. This report served as a conclusion to the steroid era in baseball as it brought to light the prevalent use of illegal performance enhancing drugs to the public.
