Analysis+and+Prediction

__Chapter 1:__ In the early 1990's, Major League Baseball commissioner Fay VIncent stepped down as he was under a lot of pressure to do so. When Bud Selig took over in 1992 there was a war between players and owners. A big thing Bud Selig did when he took over office was help the small market teams that were struggling because they couldn't have as much money as teams like the Yankees ans Red Sox. I learned baseball is more bussiness than sport. I predict the next part will be about the looming steroid era. __Chapter 2:__ In 1994, 700 members of the MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association) went on strike. This strike ended up to be the reason the Montreal Expo's no longer exist. In September of 1994, the owners canceled the rest of the season due to the strike. This was very devastating for Tony Gwynn, who was batting .394, looking for the magical .400 mark. Since the free agency was relatively new, one of the biggest problems that forced the strike was the overflowing salary cap. I predict after this strike of 1994, the era of steroids will come to full effect. __Chapter 3:__ The strike is now considered the line between old and new baseball. Now it is more of a game of bussiness. Baseball went on a mission to get its reputation back, because it was losing revenue. Cal Ripken helped the recovery of baseball with his record breaking 2,131st consecutive game played. The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians helped carry baseball back. I predict there will be some new conflict that appears in Major Leage Baseball. __Chapter 4:__ Baseball realized that football and basketball were starting to catch up with them in popularity. Ken Griffey Jr. was the man who ruled baseball after the strike. Griffey changed the sport making it more enjoyable for the younger generation. Now there was a new power surge that mysteriously appears in baseball. I predict that steroids begin to change the game from here on. __Chapter 5:__ In the late 1990's MLB players were looking for a step up from other players. The first thing they tried was creatine, a legal performance enhancer or muscle builder. But when the side effects outweighted the positive, players looked for something more effective. This was anabolic steroids. The Oakland Athletics were the first team to lift during the regular season and probably the for to take a chance on steroids. The two Athletic's superstars: Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire suspiciously became superstars from just being average players. I predict that both Canseco and McGwire are on steroids. __Chapter 6:__ In 1998, Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record with his 62nd home run, he went on to hit 70 home runs that season. During McGwire's emergence Sammy Sosa also became a star with his power hitting. It came out that McGwire was taking both creatine and andro, both performance enhancers. I predict most players will start taking steroids. __Chapter 7:__ All of a sudden steroids were being used from high school to the big leagues. By the early 2000's Mark McGwire's downfall began as injuries kept him off the field. Basball was wealthy and had never been wealthier. Baseball parks were averaging 35,000 fans per game, which was unthinkable just a few years previous. I predict someone will try to stop the flow of the drugs into the game. __Chapter 8:__ The people that were trying to prevent the cheating in Major League Baseball were called "Crusaders." Rich Melloni and Gary Wadler were two high profile steroid hunters. I predict they start to bust some of the players on steroid use. __Chapter 9:__ The first test injection of performance inhancers was done and it showed definite muscle gain. Through test and evidence the "Crusaders" were just more confused. But they knew Barry Bonds couldn't be a 185 pound twenty-one year old to a 228 pound thirty year old. That was outragious. I predict that soon there will be a big secret let out of the game. __Chapter 10:__ After Jose Canseco's declineand retirement, Ken Caminiti, a former most valuable player of the MLB, revealed Canseco's hidden steroid use. Through this scandal Caminiti started a drug testing revolution in the major leagues. There was no denying it steroids were alive and well in Major League Baseball. Players like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi were under more speculation than anyone else around the league. I predict more will be discovered about performance enhancers. __Chapter 11:__ There were two sides to steroids: rising hitting and falling pitching. Pitchers like Curt Schilling, Greg Maddox and Tom Glavine once ledgendary pitchers were getting bombed all of a sudden. Major League Baseball made effort after effort to rebuild the strike zone for pitchers. Hitters like Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez and Mike Piazza brough the game a new type of hitter. I predict baseball changes majorly again but this time for the good. __Chapter 12:__ Baseball history shows that the 1990's and 1930's were the two greatest hitting eras of all time. Almost all hitting records were broken or almost broken. I predict this era will be considered the greatest hitting era of all time. __Chapter 13:__ Baseball executives were noticing major change in the game such as players having personal trainers and chefs. In the early 2000's everyone around the MLB were worried about a strike like the one in 1994, but it never happened. Right before the 2003 season Baltimore pitcher Steve Bechler dropped dead during practice. He had used the drug ephedra which was known for heart related deaths. Yet players continued using it and ran a large risk. I predict steroids will crawl their way back into Major League Baseball. __Chapter 14:__ Ron Washington said that players worked very hard otherwise the steroids wouldn't have worked. This was against baseball's thinking that steroids did everything. Ken Rosenthal said that baseball didn't carry the responsability of the "National Pastime." It was also pointed out that baseball was less popular than football now. I prdict baseball will come back strong. __Chapter 15:__ In 2004 the Boston Red Sox won the world series for the first time in a long time. Also Jason Giambi's confession of use of anabolic steroids became public. Giambi testified that he received steroids from Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds personal trainer. I predict a bunch of players will come out with confessions, because they realized all the evidence was against them. __Chapter 16:__ This steroid era could be compared to only one thing in baseball's history. In 1986 seven MLB players were suspended for a year for cocaine use. In 2002, on live television Bud Selig announced the MLB's new collective bargaining agreement, steroids were the main reason for the change. I predict that Bud Selig busts a bunch of players on performance enhancers. __Chapter 17:__ Barry Bonds was great on the field but definitely not a fan favorite off the field. Worst of all he didn't get along with his teamates at all. It seemed that only some of Bonds fellow African-American players liked him. By the new century Bonds was beggining to wear down physically. But when he suddenly resurged it raised some critics eyes who instintly linked Barry Bonds to steroids. I predict Barry Bonds used steroids to recover from his injuries faster. __Chapter 18:__ By now all forms of evidence were coming out about steroids and some players were bound to get in trouble. Congress even invited seven steroid linked players to talk with them about baseball's connection to steroids. Don Fehr and Gene Orza were two baseball people that thought that steroids didn't do as much as people said they did. In the end (the last page of the book) Bud Selig says, "We need to move forward." I predict that baseball will move forward and it appear to me that they have in this present era.