Nasty Stories That Rocked the Sporting World

We all have favorite people in various sports that we love or aspire to become. These sportspersons are a different breed of humans who have reached stages attainable only through sheer determination, discipline, and hard work. Unfortunately, we often expect too much from them and momentarily forget they're humans like us.

From our perception, the extremely successful ones are living perfect lives and have things under their control. It's different in most cases because their profession comes with overwhelming pressure, demands, and temptations. When these troubles come, those unable to stand the heat end up in the web of nasty stories. Here are 20 of the most shocking baseball stories.

If Only They Could Turn Back Time 

Our list will never be complete if we do not add the 1919 match-fixing scandal, ironically named 'The Black Sox scandal.' The incident is sometimes regarded as one of the biggest unethical behaviors in Major League Baseball. Eight Chicago White Sox players conspired with a gambling syndicate to lose the 1919 World Series they played against the Cincinnati Reds.

When the MLB discovered the shameful act, they created a new 'commissioner' position whose role was to make big league decisions. After investigations were completed, their first big judgment was to hand over lifetime bans to all the players involved. They might've reconsidered their actions if they knew this negative outcome or that the White Sox would wait till 2005 before their next World Series win.

When Baseball's On Steroids

The pressure to stay there gets intense when baseball players reach the summit of their sporting career, especially when they play in the MLB. The new-found attention means that people now watch, praise, and criticize their every move, both on and off the field. To stay relevant, some players resort to using illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

In 2007, when the intake of baseball reached a ridiculously high level,  the Mitchell Report breezed in like a hero to save the MLB. The report was a 409-page compilation of 89 league players guilty of using illegal substances. Of course, they faced the brunt from the MLB, their teams, and even their fans.

When Baseball Went Further Than Steroids

The Pittsburgh drug trials are probably the clearest evidence that MLB players were already using performance-enhancing drugs before the Steroid Era. In 1985, the league management conducted a serious investigation, and several Pittsburgh Pirates players were found guilty of using other drug paraphernalia

Those who only used it were suspended for a season, but the players involved in distributing the substance for monetary gain or other reasons were imprisoned. While some Pirates players learned from the experience and returned to playing, others like Rod Scurry and Willie Mays Aikens drowned in the scandal. It is rumored that the drugs scandal is why Davee Parker missed out on a chance to be a Hall of Famer.