There are many ways to cheat in sports. The 3 major ways are the use of technology, taking performance enhancing drugs, and using illegal equipment.
Example of cheating using technology
–The Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series. It was a very controversial win though. The MLB (Major League Baseball) launched an investigation to see what was really happening. They found out that the Astros were using technology to steal signs during the whole season, including the world series. In baseball it is generally alright to try to steal signs from the pitchers. In the article “The Houston Astros Cheating Scandal Explained” they state that stealing signs is “something of an art form in baseball”. In other words it is fine to try to understand the pitcher’s different signs. Every coach and player are fine with this because it is very hard to actually understand all of the pitchers’ different signs. If you are able to figure out a couple of signs from the pitcher that means you are a very good and experienced player/coach. What draws the line is when you use technology to assist you in learning about these signs. No matter how good you are or how many years you have played/coached in baseball you can never figure out all of a pitcher’s signs. It is just impossible. Pitchers and catchers will change their signs so people do not know what is going to be coming next. The Astros knew this, and decided to use the camera in center field to see the catcher’s signs to the pitcher. The cameras had no delay so they were able to determine the pitchers pitches live. This is completely against the rules and extremely unfair. After seeing the signs through the camera, people in the dugout would signal to the batter what kind of a pitch would be coming next. This makes it very easy to hit the ball, get on base, score runs, and win the game.
A table of the rules for different sports about PEDs
| League | MLB | NFL | NBA | NHL |
| Test Frequency | 2 times a year | 1 time a year | 0 to 4 times a year | 0 to 3 times a year |
| Every Player Tested | No | Yes | No | No |
| Test Type | Urine Only | Urine Only | Urine Only | Urine Only |
| Steroids/PEDs Banned | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Masking Agents Banned | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stimulants Banned | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Recreational Drugs Banned | No | No | Yes | No |
| PED
1st Offense |
31% of Schedule | 25% of Schedule | 12% of Schedule | 24% of
Schedule |
| 2nd Offense | 62% of Schedule | 1 Season | 30% of Schedule | 73% of
Schedule |
| 3rd Offense | Lifetime Ban | Released | 1 Season | Lifetime Ban |
| 4th Offense | Released | Released | Lifetime Ban | Released |
For the use of illegal equipment one of the most famous inccidnets is Sammy Sosa when he used his corkedbat. In 2003 Sosa gets a hit and breaks his bat. It is normal for hitters to sometimes break bats. The umpires picked up the bat and saw something strange in the bat. They saw cork in it. Now using a corked bat is against the MLB rules. A corked bat is a baseball bat that has been modified. It has been filled with cork. This in turn makes the bat lighter. A hitter can get a harder and faster swing because of this. When someone hits a ball with a corked bat it will travel farther than when using a normal bat. The rule is if the umpire finds out that you have been using a corked bat you are automatically out. Not out of the game or the MLB, just an out. This begs the question how long has Sosa been using corked bats, and are any other players using them too?
