# Don't blame the players for steroid abuse in MLB **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 10, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-blame-the-players-for-steroid-abuse-in-mlb/485236 "2009-02-10T16:30:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-blame-the-players-for-steroid-abuse-in-mlb/485236/61 "2009-02-14T02:55:10Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [MLB Home Runs League Totals | Baseball Almanac](http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hihr6.shtml) > Here is a chart of home run totals since 1901. The totals did start to go up during the steroid era. Between 1992 and 2004, it went from about 3000 to 5500. That’s a pretty substantial jump! ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-blame-the-players-for-steroid-abuse-in-mlb/485236/62 "2009-02-14T03:18:24Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Of course what you wrote is true. This still does not mean that Players Union and players are equivilent. The players as a group is almost 100% the same as MLBPA. I don’t see how they are not equivalent. I mean I get that some players don’t always agree with what their union does. But when you talk about the players as a group, it’s exactly the same as the union. For example: > [@What\_Exit](#): > > BTW: [Most players actually wanted the testing](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/john_donovan/01/13/steroids.qa/index.html)and the MLBPA resisted the tested despite this. See the bottom of point 3 in the link. Again it is hard to find cites to things remembered in reading and listening from 2003-2005. When the player disagreed with their leadership, the actual players won the argument. The union does what the players want. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-blame-the-players-for-steroid-abuse-in-mlb/485236/63 "2009-02-16T16:26:52Z")
A guy who is just not quite good enough to make the team is a likely user too. You spend your whole life playing the game and might just miss. It is all you have done and millions lie just out of your reach. What do you do? You take steroids,HGH and whatever else will get you by. Get a few years in, make money and get a pension. It is not all about the superstars. They would have made the team anyway. They are answering to their egos when they take . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-blame-the-players-for-steroid-abuse-in-mlb/485236.md?page=3)