Ever since sports have been around, many athletes competitive drive has led them to do whatever it takes to be the best. As sports get more competitive, athletes find a way to improve their strength and performance with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), also known as steroids. Steroids first made an appearance in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 1970s and then became rampant in the 1990s. In 1991, Major League Baseball added steroids to the banned substance list. However they did not start testing the major league players until the 2003 season. Since then, proof of steroid use has sky rocketed and many big name players have been accused guilty of using. Steroids allow the players to add muscle, which leads to more power, home runs, and offensive production. Throughout the late 1990s, also known as the steroids era, offensive production was at an all time high. Many people were confused on how such high numbers were being achieved. Then a few years later when MLB started testing players, many questions were answered. Since the steroid era, steroid use has declined and the game of baseball has become much cleaner. Is steroid use in Major League Baseball really a bad thing? People are quick to assume steroids are bad, but the steroid era in baseball had many positive effects. The big surge of offense during the steroid era led to higher revenue and more fans. This increase in the sport’s popularity could have been due to the use of steroids making these players play at such a high level. Steroids also have many negative effects on the game of baseball. Players who used steroids made the sport unfair and it affected the entire league, fans, and society in many ways. Steroids have major side effects that could lead to injury or serious health problems. Also, players used steroids to make more money. The value of players and their contracts increases significantly when their production on the field rises. Another possible threat that steroids in baseball have is the health of the children who look up to these incredible athletes as role models. Although steroids are unfair, illegal and affect the sport in different ways, the steroid era may have saved baseball by bringing it excitement and popularity the sport has never seen before. By examining past history of steroid use in baseball, I will explain why the steroid era was a good thing for baseball but steroids are not. First off, steroid use in baseball makes the sport much more exciting. Offensive production throughout the steroid era was higher than it has ever been. Home runs were being hit at an unbelievable rate and players were looking bigger than ever. During the steroid era, it was common to have over ten guys hit over forty home-runs in a season. Over a six-year window from 1996 to 2001, an MLB Lead Writer on BleacherReport.com named Zachary Wymer explained, “There were 83 40-homer seasons in that span, and that's out of 310 40-homer seasons in MLB history.” Nowadays, it is rare to see 5 players hit over 40 home runs compared to the average of almost 14 players a season during the six year span from 1996 to 2001. The strength of these players was