Also, popping two Sudafed versus taking steroids to drastically increase muscle mass. There is a difference between steroids, on the one hand, and strong coffee, on the other. And oh, incidentally, the amphetamine use continued through the “steroid era.”

Just to be clear, the “anti-steroids argument” we’re talking about here isn’t saying “people shouldn’t do steroids” — it’s saying players who we circumstantially suspect of having done steroids, or who did steroids when they were hardly against the official rules, should be shunned from baseball awards, etc. Rational arguments that steroids are very bad for people and shouldn’t be condoned are a different thing, and only the moralistic seem to confuse the two (not saying that you’re doing this, just to be clear, just that it’s common). Figuring out what caused ’90s baseball to be so power-happy is a totally different task from trying to work out how to disincentivize players from doing dangerous shit to their bodies in the future.

Like Gina’s also suggesting below, the competitive environment of baseball is a complicated multi-variable situation where it’s very hard, often impossible, to separate out single causal factors for things like why people hit more homers in a given decade. Only the steroid moralists claim to know the answer to that one for sure — the rest of us think there’s a lot of different stuff going on, from steroids to weightlifting regimes to pitching dilution to changes in the construction of the ball, and it’s pretty hard to disentangle one factor as the only thing to point to.

Anabolic steroids can cause many adverse effects. Most of these side-effects are dose-dependent, the most common being elevated blood pressure, especially in those with pre-existing hypertension,39 and harmful changes in cholesterol levels: Some steroids cause an increase in LDL “bad” cholesterol and a decrease in HDL “good” cholesterol.40 Anabolic steroids have been shown to alter fasting blood sugar and glucose tolerance tests.41 Anabolic steroids such as testosterone also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease2 or coronary artery disease.4243 Acne is fairly common among anabolic steroid users, mostly due to stimulation of the sebaceous glands by increased testosterone levels.4445 Conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) can accelerate the rate of premature baldness for males genetically predisposed, but testosterone itself can produce baldness in females.46
High doses of oral anabolic steroid compounds can cause liver damage, as the steroids are metabolized (17α-alkylated) in the digestive system to increase their bioavailability and stability.3
There are also sex-specific side-effects of anabolic steroids. Development of breast tissue in males, a condition called gynecomastia (which is usually caused by high levels of circulating estradiol), may arise because of increased conversion of testosterone to estradiol by the enzyme aromatase.47 Reduced sexual function and temporary infertility can also occur in males.484950 Another male-specific side-effect that can occur is testicular atrophy, caused by the suppression of natural testosterone levels, which inhibits production of sperm (most of the mass of the testes is developing sperm). This side-effect is temporary: The size of the testicles usually returns to normal within a few weeks of discontinuing anabolic steroid use as normal production of sperm resumes.51 Female-specific side-effects include increases in body hair, permanent deepening of the voice, enlarged clitoris, and temporary decreases in menstrual cycles. When taken during pregnancy, anabolic steroids can affect fetal development by causing the development of male features in the female fetus and female features in the male fetus.52
A number of severe side-effects can occur if adolescents use anabolic steroids.
For example, the steroids may prematurely stop the lengthening of bones (premature epiphyseal fusion through increased levels of estrogen metabolites), resulting in stunted growth. Other effects include, but are not limited to, accelerated bone maturation, increased frequency and duration of erections, and premature sexual development. Anabolic steroid use in adolescence is also correlated with poorer attitudes related to health.53
Other side-effects can include alterations in the structure of the heart, such as enlargement and thickening of the left ventricle, which impairs its contraction and relaxation

They take it because it improves their performance. When they get caught, they usually say, “Oh, I only took it because I was rehabbing from this back pain”, but that’s pretty much BS. MLB didn’t ban steroids because they didn’t want athletes to be healthy.

It’s a simple infraction. Someone citing it as a crime would be being a tiresome pedant.

Look, we all try to make our way in the world, getting ahead as best we can, without getting ourselves into undue trouble. Baseball players in the steroid era met that threshold, however we want to view it now. Best case, we make our way in the world without hurting others, and this is why Baseball Inc is culpable, if any entity is, because it didn’t protect those who were being harmed (if they were – there are so many variables) by losing work to the ‘roiding competition. But individual players cannot be held culpable for adhering to the norms of their time, skirting rules that weren’t taken seriously by their authorities.