For the past couple of years, baseball has lacked the action and intensity the game was played with in the past. For the fans, it has become a less enthusiastic game and less intriguing to watch.

Many fans argue the games have become too long and have more periods with no action. Sportsfan Focus states that the average game in 2018 was three hours and four minutes, compared to an average game in 2005 being two hours and 46 minutes. This is trending in the wrong direction, and is fans’ main reason why games have been less interesting. Along with this, baseball has no play clock like basketball and football. This creates a potential long and drawn out at bat for each player.

In a video about overtraining and recovery, Jeff Cavaliere, physical therapist and former MLB trainer, states “in 162 games, played out over 185 days or so, there’s a high chance for [players] to run into fatigue.” When players get tired, this can lead to them not performing their best and can make less interesting games. Players should be able to use a drug to help them through this constant weary feeling.

This drug should be anabolic steroids, a synthetic version of testosterone. Health care providers use anabolic steroids to treat some hormone problems in men and muscle loss from some diseases. Although doctors and many other educated professionals prescribe this, many misuse the drug. People, such as bodybuilders, use steroids to improve their muscle gain, and it can affect their health negatively when they’re not using a safe amount.

Some of the effects of misusing the drug are kidney problems, liver damage, tumors and constant high blood pressure. Drugabuse.gov says this in their article about anabolic steroids and says all these effects increase the risk of stroke and heart attack. The risks when misusing the drug are high, and if players would use it out of proportion, the effect would not be worth the downside.

These drugs should only be used when prescribed by a professional and can be used to bring baseball back. Healthline states that when used correctly, steroids can increase muscle tissue, strength and power, along with decreasing body fat percentage. Furthermore they also state it improves bone mineral density, red blood cell production and endurance. Along with this, it would make players less fatigued, giving doctors a reason to provide it.

It would be optional for any player to use the drug, and they would only be able to use it with the help of a doctor. Any player that would start to misuse the drug or receive negative effects due to taking advantage of the drug would be suspended and would no longer be able to consume it.

This would benefit the players overall health, along with creating a more compelling game for the fans and other spectators. Players would gain back energy from this adjustment and would be able to play a high amount of games each season without burning out so fast. In the end, it’s the players decision whether they want to use the drug or not. Many studies have shown both positive and negative effects of the drug and say it has many different effects. The change should give players the opportunity to use the drug, with a trained professional, if they choose to do so.