Creatine Crazy
Now batting in the clean-up position at this year's baseball World Series is Mr. Creatine (Frankel 1). As the pitcher winds up, he knows in his heart that his new opponent, an amino acid supplement hiding in the muscle tissues of the batter, now threatens him. He delivers the pitch over the fat part of the plate and Mr. Creatine swings and drives the ball deep into center field. Back, back, back, going, going, gone, another awesome four hundred ten foot homerun for Mr. Creatine and the Major League Baseball Association! That's right, more homeruns and runs batted in, as well as an increased popularity and swelling revenue at the box office, have brought national attention to the sport of baseball. "To use or not to use, that is the question" (Frankel 1). For years and years, athletes of all sports were using steroids to bulk up their physique. Today, the use of steroids has dropped rapidly since the presence of mandatory drug testing in professional sports. However, athletes are still trying to obtain a performance edge, and many have found that answer in creatine. The controversy continues as trainers, coaches, and owners are arguing its use on a daily basis. What will the long-term effects be to young high school, colleg
Mark McGwire, with the help of creatine, has also helped the economy of both baseball and the city of St. Louis. "This aura that Mark possesses reaches far and wide. For instance, a suburban gas station near St. Louis, experienced nearly six hundred customers one day when the owner dropped gas prices to 62.9, in order to honor McGwire's record breaking homerun." This astonishing piece of information shows what kind of an impact and influence Mark McGwire has had on people's lives after he broke the homerun record in 1998. In fact, "According to the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association, the St. Louis' economy saw an increase of over sixty million dollars following the 1998 baseball season," (Sanger 1) This shows that not only has Mark's recent success helped baseball, but it is helping cities and states all around the country. In addition, the positive benefits of creatine supplementation are not limited to improvements in physical performance. In fact, "total cholesterol levels were reported to decrease in response to fifty-six days of creatine supplementation." Creatine supplementation has also been used as a treatment for several types of diseases. For example, it has been used to treat gyrate atrophy of the muscles. (Haff 15-18) In addition, "research indicates that athletes who exercise and supplement with creatine monohydrate increase the total creatine within their muscles. Creatine research has proven that it helps increase power, delay fatigue, and increase energy during exercise" ("Creatine" 1). Moreover, the controversy over creatine's benefits to side effects is growing each year. "On one hand, creatine is being praised for its performance enhancing capabilities, and on the other hand being blamed for side effects up to and including death." Some doctors argue that creatine is still a mystery, because it is fairly new and needs a tremendous amount of more testing. (Williams 1) The San Diego Padres and football's Tampa Bay Buccaneers have banned creatine in their clubhouses. Tampa Bay's football strength and conditioning coach does not recommend creatine use for his players or anyone else, simply because some unanswered questions still linger. (Williams 2) USA TODAY reports that one in three professional sports teams disapprove of the use of creatine. (Frankel 2) Cecil Fielder also believes that, "if I can't gain muscle strength and size through hard training, then it's just not meant to be." Cecil later that year perfectly put it, "creatine monohydrate remains on trial; no one can say if it is dangerous or completely safe at this moment. Only one word can answer that question, and that word is time." (Williams 2) All these athletes aren't using creatine for nothing. Creatine has a tremendous amount of benefits that especially are needed to shine in baseball and football. First of all, creatine monohydrate is used to build muscle strength. The creatine content of skeletal muscle can be increased by twenty to fifty percent when the diet is supplemented with five grams of creatine monohydrate, four to six times a day (Haff 15). "Creatine is one reason baseball players are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever" ("Creatine" 1). With an 8.33 percent muscle strength increase, creatine can change a 380-foot fly ball into a 410-foot homerun (Williams 1). Professional baseball players, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have stated creatine gives them more strength, and has helped produce a more powerful homerun swing. During the 1998 baseball season, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa broke the all-time single season homerun record set by Roger Maris; Sammy hit sixty-five and Mark hit seventy. When Sammy Sosa entered into the Major League of Baseball, "he wasn't known as a power hitter." He is now known as one of the greatest homerun hitters in the league (Williams 2). Derek Bell also added, "It [creatine] definitely allows you to put on some weight" ("For Baseball" 1). In the
Some common words found in the essay are:
Sammy Sosa, Department Science, ATP ATP, Manufactory DCM, Diego Padres, Terrell Davis, Mark McGwire, Olympics Atlanta, Association That's, Cecil Fielder, mark mcgwire, williams 1, sammy sosa, williams 2, homerun record, creatine monohydrate, muscle strength, mcgwire sammy sosa, hall fame, grams creatine, mcgwire sammy, mark mcgwire sammy, major league baseball, williams 1 creatine, 1998 baseball season,
Approximate Word count = 3765
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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