From Buster Olney's blog:
Olney thinks that the steroid problem was caused in part by the solidarity between the players after the 94 strike.
Gwynn also had a specific recollection about playing against Jose Canseco's former team, the A's. The Padres visited Oakland's spring training facility, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, in the mid-'90s, and before the game, some San Diego players went into the workout room, where the progress of the Athletics' weight-lifting program was detailed in charts posted on the wall. "You were just blown away by the numbers," Gwynn said. "You're looking at it going, 'Oh, my God, who lifts 550 pounds in baseball?' Our guys were just mumbling to themselves. Then, you go down the tunnel and you saw the A's, and they were just huge -- enormous."
"Everybody knew what was going on, but guys felt like, 'What are we supposed to do about it?'"