However, during this period, the interest with baseball was at an all-time high. Players were achieving feats that fans thought could never be achieved. Records were being shattered, pitchers were throwing harder, and the overall performance and excitement of the sport was booming. Hall of Fame caliber players such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark Maguire, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa, all tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. While now their reputations are harmed, they were once beloved for their results on the field. .
The biggest problem with PEDs in pro sports, writes Andrew Sharp (senior staff editor at Grantland), "is that effective testing hurts the game more than PEDs ever could" (par. 14). Sharp believes, "when you're ruining superstars who get caught and making fans suspicious of anyone who doesn't, you're doing more harm than good" (par 13). Andrew Sharp provides the argument with an interesting take on the effect that these drugs make. He argues that this testing could do more harm than good because it forces the viewer to question what achievements are real and which ones are tainted with the presence of steroids. This stance prompts the idea that if the premier athletes from every sport all got caught using performance enhancers then the luster and appeal sports would greatly decrease. Sharp insists that instead of respecting and admiring the awe-inspiring things that modern athletes are achieve, fans might start doubting if what they are seeing is real and just assume every athlete is using PEDs. .
The common sports fan will acknowledge the harm that PED's can cause but most are not informed with the brutally harmful facts. August McLaughlin, with Livestrong, writes that these performance-enhancing drugs, "may cause increased blood pressure, heart palpitations and increased risk for heart attack and stroke" (par. 5). Along with these physical issues, "the DEA lists mood swings, irritability, nervousness, depression, hostility and delusions as potential side effects" (par.
