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M. Rodenas 1
Michael R. Rodenas
Professor Paul Morris
MLS 580 - ASU
05 December 2014
Science and Baseball Just Don't Mix
M. Rodenas 2
Summary Presentation
The project or paper I worked on this semester, was quite a departure from the memoirs of my
daughter, which was my subject for my first Practicum class in January 2014, which seems like an
eternity ago, now that I have eight MLSt classes completed and under my belt. The primary thing I
learned in this second Practicum class was that putting together a research paper with several dozen
sources takes an enormous amount of time. Not only do you have to assemble the paper, but one must
also read and vet dozens of websites, while pouring over scads of articles, newspapers, books and blogs
while researching a subject in today's modern classroom. In this case, since I was fortunate enough to
select a life-long interest of mine, baseball, and the current situation of drug testing in the game, it
made my research and work all the more enjoyable. But, nonetheless, it still is a lot of time invested
that one must spend in addition to preparing the final document.
Therefore, I have concluded it is almost an imperative that you enjoy the subject matter before
you begin such an intense study or research paper. I can't imagine preparing a semester research paper
on the economics of indigenous, Amazon-based tribes or the political realities of Third World countries,
as those subjects bear little or no interest to me. I believe you need to have a deep appreciation or
fondness for your subject or course of study in order to be fully emotionally invested and engaged in
your work.
When I compare my time spent on the two identical Practicum classes, even though my memoir
project on my daughter was three times the volume in its' final work, I seemed to have spent as much,
or even more time on my baseball research paper because of all the reading and research required. I
literally read as many as 700 to 800 pages of material in preparing this paper, while the memoir project
for my daughter was simply recalling memories, and conveying them onto paper.
Another main difference was that even though I knew the subject matter of my daughter even
M. Rodenas 3
more intensely than I know baseball, afer all, Addison is my daughter, I believe I have much more
confidence in my attached work regarding the subject of drug testing in baseball. I fretted endlessly
about how one day my daughter might perceive every word in my memoir about her, as I had to be
especially careful describing the relationship I had, or have with her mother. I realize Addison is going
to have only one mother in her entire life, and I needed to be very cautious that I did not write anything
offensive to her that may come back to haunt me when Addison receives a copy of the memoir when
she turns 18 or 21 years old. Therefore, on some level, I did not have that kind of long-term anxiety I
experienced when I wrote my memoirs on my daughter, as my research paper on baseball was just met
with some sudden and unexpected family and life circumstances that had me playing caregiver again
for my mother the past two weeks in Chicago.
Although I have enjoyed writing a research paper this semester, can appreciate the process, and
am happy with the end product, I think I would much rather pursue another memoir, a creative non-
fiction or travel story for my Capstone Project in the spring. I would much rather enjoy exclusively
writing than spending eighty or more percent of my time researching.
M. Rodenas 4
Science and Baseball Just Don't Mix
The illicit use of steroids and other similar performance enhancing drugs by players in Major
League Baseball is a serious problem and threat to the game, and needs to be immediately addressed
for a myriad of reasons. The covert use of steroids and human growth hormones (HGH) has proven
deleterious to the game, a generation of its' stars and harmed the reputation of our national pastime, all
the while putting our nation's youth at risk.
The term, “steroids,” when used within the context of athletic performance enhancing drugs,
refers to a class of drugs more precisely known as anabolic androgenic steroids (AAH). Anabolic
steroids are natural or synthetic versions of testosterone, which is the primary male sex hormone
(Matsumoto, 2001). Steroids create an environment where it greatly enhances the natural process of
muscle growth and the increase of muscle mass, while limiting the breakdown of proteins in the muscle
cells. As a result, steroid users can increase muscle gain resulting from strenuous exercise and
maximize the impact of a high protein diet. In addition, because of their anti-catabolic effect, steroids
reduce the soreness which normally results from strenuous exercise, which allows athletes who are
using steroids to exercise more frequently (Mitchell, 2007). So, as long as a steroid does not lose
efficacy for the athlete, larger doses generally result in rapid gains of lean muscle mass and strength
(Basin, 2005).
Firstly, steroids, as well as HGH pose substantial health risks to adult users, while exponentially
enhancing the risks in younger, high school-aged children who use them. Because steroids and HGH
are illegal and banned substances, users often obtain dubious specimens, many of which are often times
contaminated, cut or laced with other less costly enhancements, and often from black market sources.
The illegally using ballplayers generally self-administer these products without the guidance of proper
medical supervision (Mitchell, 2007). Often times these offending athletes ingest or administer these
products based upon advice which was gathered from other contemporaries, such as other ballplayers,
M. Rodenas 5
body builders or internet sites, none of which are truly qualified to prescribe these illicit drugs, nor are
they legitimized by these sources (Mitchell, 2007). Even the United States Surgeon General, Richard
Carmona, has opined on the subject of steroids, while stating the following to the Associated Press that,
“the problem of steroid use is less a moral and ethical issue, than a public health issue” (Fainaru-Wada,
2004).
Secondly, beyond the dangerous health effects on the ballplayers, the public perception that
baseball players in Major League Baseball (MLB) use these substances contributes greatly to the
rampant and expanding use of steroids by younger, high school age children, who often times emulate
their heroes, which, in turn, greatly harms their physical well being (Mitchell, 2007). Adolescents
might even be at a much greater risk of harm than adult athletes from the use of steroids and HGH,
because of the intense hormonal changes during adolescence, which is naturally occurring in their
bodies, can exacerbate their adverse psychiatric side effects (Browser, 2005). Combine steroids with
the already high rate of depression in the 15-24 aged demographic, and it is a prescription for suicide.
“This age group is already at high risk; when you add steroids you are increasing the risk of suicide”
(UMHS, 2005).
Studies have shown alarmingly high rates of steroid use by teenagers, even at the high school
level. One such study, which was inclusive of all high schools, both public and private, in the United
States, showed that 4.1% of males, as well as 2.0% of all high school female aged athletes, spanning
the entirety of the 9th through 12th grades have used steroids. Based upon the numbers of high school
athletes, this translates into roughly 375,000 adolescent males, and more than 175,000 high school
females using illegal substances, in order to achieve superior strength and heightened results over their
rival classmates (Bahrke, 2000). Other studies have shown illegal steroid use ranges anywhere from as
low as three percent, to a high of eleven percent of all high school athletes across the nation (Darkes,
2005).
M. Rodenas 6
Medical ethics has prevented the study of massive doses of steroids and HGH taken by athletes
who use these drugs to obtain an athletic advantage, and there are still many who say the adverse side
effects of taking these illegal substances such as steroids and HGH are vastly exaggerated (Bagatell,
1996). However, despite of this ethical limitation on medical research, there is plenty of sufficient data
to conclude there is a direct link between steroid and HGH use and significant adverse side effects.
These side effects may include:
Psychiatric Effects – Studies have determined a link between steroid abuse and adverse
psychiatric side effects such as both mania and hypo-mania, as well as severe depression. Steroid users
and abusers also tend to be at a much greater risk of suicide, especially during withdrawal or whenever
the athletes stop taking them (Steroids, 2006).
Liver Damage – Oral anabolic steroids have been linked to liver damage, especially impaired
liver functioning, cholestasis (which is impaired bile drainage), jaundice, a heightened risk of liver
tumors, liver cancer, and peliosis hepatitis (the life threatening development of blood filled cysts in the
liver) (Steroids, 2006).
Harm to Reproductive System – Steroids and HGH can have significant adverse effects on the
reproductive system because of the interference they can have with the body's production of
testosterone. The long term use of these drugs can result in shrinkage of the testes, as well as a
reduction in sperm count, which can easily result in infertility (Steroids, 2006).
Musculoskeletal Effects – If taken by adolescents, steroids can cause stunted growth due to the
premature fusion of growth plates of the long bones in both the legs and arms. There is also evidence
to support that steroid use poses a much greater risk of tendon and muscle tears in athletes (Steroids,
2006).
Other Adverse Effects in Men – Other adverse side effects in men, is that steroids can cause
M. Rodenas 7
severe acne, an increase in body hair, accelerate male pattern balding and causes excess stimulation of
the sebaceous glands, as well as an enlargement of the prostate gland. Some men may also develop
breast enlargement, while some steroid users take anti-estrogen drugs such as tamoxifen to block the
effects of the excess estrogen in their bodies (Steroids, 2006).
Other Adverse Effects in Women – There is a hormonal imbalance that is caused by introducing
steroids in the female body which may include: breast shrinkage, loss of scalp hair, deepening of the
voice, acne, balding as well as body hair growth. Even more troublesome, many of these adverse side
effects can easily become permanent (Steroids, 2006).
Potential for Addiction – Last, but not least, a report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
concluded that steroid users suffer from the same identical addictive behaviors of addicts addicted to
other drugs of abuse, including mood swings, restlessness, fatigue, loss of appetite, reduced sex drive,
as well as a craving and desire to take more steroids (Steroids, 2006).
Take for instance, the hard lesson of illegal steroid use from the Rob Garibaldi case. Even as a
youngster, the fledgling ballplayer was blessed with enormous baseball skills and talent, with the
exception of one thing. Garibaldi was a kid with major league talent, but only had minor league size.
Being told by professional scouts he was just too small to play in the big leagues, and told to gain
twenty pounds in order to make it to the next level, Garibaldi's response was to start using steroids
(Fainaru-Wada, 2004). Friends and family of Garibaldi say he was only following behavior he saw
everywhere, from the college ball fields, where he competed for the University of Southern California
(USC) to the professional stadiums and sluggers of the likes of Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.
His father, Roy Garibaldi, says he learned of his son's use of the illegal substances only months
before the younger Garibaldi took his own life. The father, Roy, confronted his son, demanding to
M. Rodenas 8
know what drugs his son was taking. Rob erupted in anger, choking his father, and screaming, “I'm on
steroids, what do you think? Who do you think I am? I'm a baseball player, baseball players take
steroids. How do you think (Barry) Bonds hits all his home runs? How do you think all these guys do
this stuff? You think they do it from just working out normal?” (Fainaru-Wada, 2004).
“In his mind, he felt all the guys (in MLB) were getting away with this (taking steroids),”
Garibaldi's mother, Denise surmised. “Cheating and doing this is just a part of what's going on every
day, and that it was required (to play the game at the professional level). This was the stuff you had to
do to be a ballplayer. He said in order to make it to that caliber, you had to do steroids. And if Barry
Bonds is doing it, Mark McGwire was doing it, then skinny little old him for sure had to be doing it,”
stated his mother, Denise, when recalling her son's take on steroid use (Fainaru-Wada, 2004).
Already taking anti-depressants, Garibaldi told his psychiatrist that he was self-medicating, and
adjusting his own already prescribed anti-depressant medication so not to conflict with the steroids he
was taking, in order not to diminish their effects on him and his growing muscle mass. Dr. Brent Cox,
Garibaldi's psychiatrist, said his patient's emotional issues and rage incidents coincided with three,
separate 10-week cycles of steroid use that Garibaldi described to him during their monthly
appointments (Fainaru-Wada, 2004). After their son took his life with a handgun in the early morning
on October 1, 2002, sitting in his car just around the block from where his parents lived, Ray and
Denise Garibaldi also conducted their own extensive research, and concluded their son's emotional
frailty and demise was due to steroids (Fainaru-Wada, 2004).
The young children of this country, as well as many other countries, model their behaviors after
notable and prominent athletes. “Athletes are second only to parents in the extent to which they are
admired by children,” but yet a Kaiser Family Foundation study concluded that over half the youth in
this country surveyed believed it was acceptable for athletes to use these performance enhancing illegal
drugs as “it is common for famous athletes to use steroids or other banned substances in order to gain
M. Rodenas 9
an advantage on the competition” (National, 2000)
To illustrate this point, take Don Hooten, whose son, Taylor, committed suicide after having
taken anabolic steroids had this to say at a 2005 Congressional testimony, “I believe the poor example
being set by professional athletes is a major catalyst fueling the high usage of steroids among our kids.
Our kids look up to these guys (professional ballplayers). They want to do the things that the pros do
to be successful. Our youngsters hear the message loud and clear, and it's wrong. 'If you want to
achieve your goal, it's okay to use steroids to get you there, because the pros are doing it.' It's a real
challenge for parents to overpower the strong message that's being sent to our children by your (star
athletes) behavior” (Hooton, 2005).
Thirdly, the illegal and illicit use of steroids and HGH and other similar drugs poses a
substantial threat, not only to the integrity of the game, but to our nation, as baseball is woven into the
fabric of Americana, and is our national pastime. Although random drug testing was initially started in
2004, and appears to have reduced the use of detectable steroids, many, if not most players, have
switched to HGH since it is not detectable in urine tests (Mitchell, 2007). Such recent widespread use
of these substances raises innumerable questions about the validity of baseball's individual records and
their credibility, as the history of the game of baseball spans more than a century and a half, literally
almost back to our Founding Fathers. Because the use of steroids is in violation of federal laws,
professional baseball players who take these drugs place themselves in a position of vulnerability to
drug dealers and others of their ilk, who could potentially use knowledge of such violations to their
own advantage. They could very easily and unintentionally be subjected to coercive force or threats,
which may potentially affect the outcome of a baseball game, or even on a much larger and grander
stage, for instance, a playoff series, or even a World Series outcome.
One of the first ballplayers to come out and to speak publicly on the issue of steroids and
performance enhancing drugs in the sport of professional baseball was Detroit Tigers pitcher, Todd
M. Rodenas 10
Jones, who wrote his views on the subject in a first-person article in the Birmingham News in 1998.
Jones wrote: “This week's topic is a tough one to write. I enjoy the game so much it hurts me to defame
it, but as a somewhat member of the media, I believe it is my job to tell you about the stuff that is
uncomfortable for me as a player. I'm talking about the use and abuse of steroids and uppers. In my
time, in the big leagues, I've never seen anyone take steroids. But I have seen teammates come to
spring training forty pounds heavier (than the prior season), then tell me: 'Not me, man. I used
creatine.' I don't know the exact number, but probably two to three players on every team takes
steroids. More position players take them than pitchers. Steroids I don't think help arm speed” (Jones,
1998).
Many of the players that use illegal substances have a “win at all cost” mentality, and are all too
willing to sacrifice their health, integrity and will risk jeopardizing their career for short-term, ill-gotten
gains. Take, for example, former Milwaukee Brewers manager Phil Garner's conversation with a
newspaper reporter regarding his first-hand knowledge of a player's illegal use of steroids: “There was
one kid, who was 27 years old at the time, who was cycling steroids, and I asked him, 'Do you realize
you could need an artificial heart when you are 40 years old?'.... He said, 'I don't care what happens
when I am 40 years old. All I want to be is the biggest, baddest guy I can be right now'” (Truex,
1998).
However, getting a player or a manager to name names on who is violating the rules in baseball
is not a productive exercise, and is nearly futile. As it has been said about baseball and its' players who
play the game, at both the minor and major league levels, “there are no rats, and players are not going
to confess” (Mitchell, 2007). Baseball is much different than other industries, and even most other
professional sports because of the team mentality. The guys, or players, live together some 220 days a
year. In most people's view point, this causes baseball's “code of silence.” In fact so much so, that
during the course of the BALCO and Mitchell Report Investigations, a number of key witnesses on
M. Rodenas 11
baseball's major league rosters claimed they knew “absolutely nothing” about steroids, never saw
anything ever involving steroids, nor had never even heard the word “steroids” ever used in a major
league clubhouse. Most, if not all, claimed they never even heard the word “steroid(s),” even in
connection with high-profile steroid cases such as the BALCO grand jury testimony, the publicity
surrounding Barry Bonds' alleged steroid use, the United States Congressional hearings regarding the
use of steroids in major league baseball or even Rafael Palmeiro's failed drug test due to steroids.
Virtually all major league ballplayers claimed they had “no idea” steroids were involved in any of the
aforementioned matters (Mitchell, 2007).
In fact, one former player, and now a coach at the major league level, mentioned of an annual
players-only meeting during which teammates reminded each other that any personal information
gleaned throughout the course of the season through traveling, playing and rooming with one another
had to absolutely be “kept in the family.” He said it was understood that a failure to adhere and abide
by this unwritten baseball rule would be the death knell to their careers. One former player noted,
through his attorney, during the investigations over steroids in baseball, claimed that his career would
be “fatally harmed” if he had to identify any players that have used steroids or other illegal substances,
and therefore, was unable to recall any exact names of any steroid users and HGH perpetrators
(Mitchell, 2007).
Glenallen Hill, a retired ballplayer and now Triple A Manager, and former Herculean home run
hitter, once hit a baseball out of Wrigley Field and onto a roof of a building across Waveland Avenue on
a fly. Which, ironically enough, I was in attendance at that Cubs game, and had a prime seat in the first
row of the bleachers for that Hill home run on May 11 th, 2000. Hill, who was the first and only player
to ever accomplish such a feat at Wrigley Field, was questioned during the steroid investigation in
baseball in 2007.
While Hill admitted he had between five and fifteen conversations regarding steroids
M. Rodenas 12
throughout his 13-year major league playing career, he could not remember a single player with whom
he discussed steroids with during his playing days. He did seem to recall that he may have spoken with
a “David” at one time or another, but could not remember his last name. Hill said that “David” was the
only player he ever knew who had used steroids during his career. Hill also warned his interviewers
during the steroid investigation into baseball, that if he mentioned any names, that his career with
Major League Baseball could be permanently harmed (Mitchell, 2007). Apparently, MLB rewards
those that adhere to their strict “code of silence”, as Hill was recently named manager of the Colorado
Rockies AAA affiliate in Colorado Springs, and then later manager with the AAA-ball, Albuquerque
Isotopes (Renck, 2012).
Another big leaguer who also suffered from this “selective memory” or “early-onset
Alzheimer's,” was an 8-year veteran of the major leagues named Chris Donnels, who played parts of
eight seasons in the big leagues with five teams. During the investigation into steroids in baseball,
Donnels admitted that he could not remember a single name of any of the players who used steroids,
even though he admitted using steroids himself, and that he probably would not be willing to identify
any players anyway, even if he could recall the names of the players using illegal substances (Mitchell,
2007).
Not to be understated, is the fact the illegal use of these substances is unfair to the majority of
the players who do not use them. These players have the right to expect a level playing field, where the
meritocracy of the game, and where its' success and rewards should come as the result of hard work
and God-given, natural ability. As Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig recognized
that baseball “is America's pastime because of the trust placed in the sport by its fans.” The “alleged”
illegal use of steroids is a matter of integrity and calls for a thorough review to confront this problem
head on” (Mitchell, 2007).
In 1987, Bart Giamatti, former President of Yale University, and who later served as
M. Rodenas 13
Commissioner of Major League Baseball, observed that “acts of cheating are intended to alter the very
conditions of play to favor one person. They are secretive, covert acts that strike at and seek to
undermine the basic foundation of any contest declaring the winner – that all participants play under
identical rules and conditions. Acts of cheating destroy that necessary foundation and thus strike at the
essence of a contest. They destroy faith in the games' integrity and fairness; if participants and
spectators alike cannot assume integrity and fairness, and proceed from there, the contest cannot in its
essence exist” (Giamatti, 1998). The illegal use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs fits into
Giamatti's definition of cheating precisely. Ballplayers who take these substances do so in secret, in
violation of federal law and baseball policy. It is their strict intention to gain an unseen advantage over
another player by doing so, and this strikes at the very heart and foundation of the game of baseball,
our national pastime (Mitchell, 2007).
Former Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent said the illegal use of anabolic steroids and other
similar substances is “cheating of the worst sort.” Vincent believed that baseball “capture the high
moral ground” on the issue, and make it clear that MLB will not tolerate the use of steroids and other
performance enhancing drugs of its kind (Mitchell, 2007).
In a 1985 memorandum to the major league clubs about the implementation of a revised drug
policy in baseball, Former Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth wrote, “Our other principal concern
is the maintenance of the integrity of the game. It is most important that all of us in Baseball and our
fans have the fullest confidence in our game. Drug involvement or the suspicion of drug involvement
is inconsistent with maintaining that essential goal. At whatever level, illegal drug use inevitably
involves contact with criminals. In the sports world, this connection will just as inevitably involve
gambling. The knowledge that a player uses drugs is a fact which illegal gamblers clearly want to
know. Drug dealers who supply baseball personnel can dilute a drug or combine it with other
substances so as to affect performance and could ultimately place the user in a position of dependence
M. Rodenas 14
upon both the drug and its source of supply. The results could be devastating” (Mitchell, 2007).
Finally, the illegal use of steroids and other synthetic drugs in baseball victimizes the majority
of “clean” players who do not use these banned drugs. One of the biggest complaints among players is
“that a guy using steroids is taking my spot on the roster” (Mitchell, 2007). Former baseball player,
Todd Zeile, told an interviewer discussing the prevalence of steroids in the game, “I never hear anyone
ever talking about the morality or ethics, or the integrity of the game. But, it's (taking steroids)
cheating in every sense” (Antonen, 2002).
Former Los Angeles Dodger catcher, Paul Lo Duca had this to say when asked about steroids by
Sports Illustrated in 2002. Lo Doca said, “If you're battling for a job, and the guy you're battling with
is using steroids, then maybe you say, 'Hey, to compete, I need to use steroids, because he's using
them...' Don't get me wrong. I don't condone it. But it's a very tough situation. It's really all about
survival for some guys” (SI.com, 2002).
Yet, the threat of illegal distribution of steroids, HGH and performance enhancing substances is
constantly growing. There are three primary ways that athletes go about getting these substances.
First, they often use other athletes, friends, athletic trainers or “hangers on” that may frequent the
locker rooms, dressing rooms and gyms, and who may frequently be around the athletes due to their
relationship with ballplayers. That is a source which is very hard to stop due to their close proximity to
the players.
Secondly, athletes have increasingly been obtaining these substances from an internet
distribution network, which differs only slightly from the first method. Instead of using locker rooms,
street corners and gyms to obtain these drugs, athletes are using this semi-anonymous internet
marketplace to acquire their substances.
The third way is a much more elaborate scheme involving “health/wellness centers” or
M. Rodenas 15
“rejuvenation centers” that troll the internet for customers and corrupt physicians who write
prescriptions for these athletes or “patients,” whom they have never even seen. Pharmacies in cahoots
with these “money for hire” doctors, fill these dubious orders and then send these orders to the athletes,
middle men or end users via FedEx, UPS or U.S Mail (Mitchell, 2007).
As much of the threat that drug dealers pose to baseball, our children and youth, and for sports
in general, the threat to baseball by selling these illegal substances over the internet is even greater.
Many current and former major league ballplayers have been fingered in purchasing drugs, HGH and
steroids over the internet in recent years, as well as countless others that have used the internet to
obtain these illicit substances.
On September 24, 2007, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced the largest steroid
bust ever in the United States history, which was called “Operation Raw Deal” or, from now forward,
“ORD.” In ORD, law enforcement executed 143 search warrants, made 124 arrests, while seizing 56
illegal steroid laboratories around the country. Massive amounts of steroids were confiscated,
including more than 11.4 million steroid doses, along with 27 pill presses and 242 kilograms of steroid
powder of Chinese origin (Mitchell, 2007). The DEA agents who were involved with the drug raids
stated that the illegal steroid labs that were in operation were extremely unsanitary, and, in most cases,
had huge amounts of substances being mixed in bathtubs and in kitchen and bathroom sinks. As one
might conclude, products were often mislabeled or misrepresented, which, often times, was both
intentional and unintentional, but most startling of all, was that absolutely no end user's safety was
guaranteed in conditions like these, which were found in such illegal, and now shuttered labs
(Mitchell, 2007).
To illustrate these points, take for instance, the saga of Matt Williams, a former third basemen
and now big league manager with the Washington Nationals. In 2002, Williams purchased HGH,
steroids, syringes and other drugs from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center, when he was playing with
M. Rodenas 16
the Arizona Diamondbacks. The records of Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center showed that Williams
ordered nearly $12,000.00 worth of testosterone, HGH, clomiphene, Novarel and other drugs between
March 9th, 2002 and May 8th, 2002. The orders were sent to Williams at a business address of his in
Scottsdale, Arizona. It was reported that Williams admitted a doctor told him that human growth
hormone might help him heal from an ankle injury that he had suffered earlier in the year. However,
Williams was completely shocked, and had no idea that a dentist had written him all of his
prescriptions and had no comment whether he knew he was taking female steroids intended for use
only by women, as reportedly on the records of the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center (Fainaru-Wada,
2007).
Granted, no drug testing program is perfect and without flaws. However, the current drug
testing program is the product of the give-and-take of Major League Baseball's Collective Bargaining
Agreement (MLB-CBA), and although some improvements have been made to the program since it
was first initiated in 2004, additional improvements are necessary, to enable it to keep pace with the
constantly evolving and morphing issues of illegal substance use and the ever-evolving, criminal
distribution networks. Although it appears that drug testing may have reduced the amount of detectable
steroids ballplayers are taking, it has not completely removed the cloud of suspicion over the game or
removed the stain from years past.
To strengthen both the image of the game, and also to help polish the image, several adaptations
need to be implemented. First, MLB must increase its' ability to investigate allegations of drug, steroid
and HGH use outside of the testing program. If players know they are only going to be tested once a
year, it gives them too much advance notice and leeway to take steroids the bulk of the year and quit at
a certain time in order to cleanse their system just before testing. Or, they may wait until they are
tested in the calendar year, and then begin taking illegal and banned substances knowing full well they
will not be tested for another year or so. So, without the ability to randomly test ballplayers outside of
M. Rodenas 17
the league's mandated drug testing policy, there are still too many loopholes for players to willingly use
these banned substances, while greatly reducing the chance of being caught.
The MLB drug testing program still needs to make adaptations to the rules, and although it did
create a position of independent program administrator in 2006, the program still falls short of
complete autonomy and independence. Another such issue that needs to be addressed to assure the
integrity of any drug testing program is the issue of transparency. With this statement, I mean that is
should be operated fairly to all parties, and within the guidelines and expectations of all parties,
players, teams and even fans. Although many players suggest their right to privacy is paramount in the
area of drug testing, the players' right to privacy must be balanced against transparency, which
solidifies the integrity of the sport, especially one ailing in the aftermath of the “known steroid era” of
the 1990's and 2000's (Mitchell, 2007).
One other trait of a successful testing program is state-of-the-art, year-round, random and
unannounced drug testing. In 2005, only one test was given to each ballplayer per year. Beginning in
2006, there were two drug tests given to each player per season. The first test in 2006 was was given
within five days of the player reporting to spring training, and the second exam was randomly-selected
during the 2006 season. In 2007, player testing was extended beyond the regular season, and included
the first player drug testing post-season. Drug testing in the post-season greatly helps create a culture
of accountability (Mitchell, 2007).
Another concept that needs to be employed in the area of drug testing is the “best of breed” or
“best of practices” approach. MLB must adhere to a best practices approach to ensure that drug testing
procedures are effectively employed. Keep in mind, “negative” test results do not necessarily mean
and assure that athletes have stopped using drugs or prohibited substances. Negative test results may
simply mean that the use of the banned substance could not be detected, because all, or virtually all
traces of the substances were eliminated from the athletes' body before the testing took place.
M. Rodenas 18
Or, a negative drug test response could mean it may because of a collection and host of other
failures, including, but not limited to procedural errors, testing below guidelines or baseline levels, or
even simply by the athlete's efforts in utilizing evasive techniques, which only they may have
knowledge of, in an effort to avoid being detected.
One such area that remains exploitable in my estimation is the Therapeutic Use Exemptions
(TUE), or simply called TUE. Beginning in 2006, a therapeutic use exemption was instituted for
players through MLB's program administrator, who has the authority to issue exemptions to players in
circumstances where the player is able to produce a prescription for an otherwise banned substance. If
the prescription is considered medically appropriate for treatment in either in the United States or
Canada, the program administrator may allow such banned drugs to be used by the in need player
(Mitchell, 2007). The issue is that these TUE's are used to exploit a significant loophole in baseball
drug testing program because it is known that exemptions similar to these have been used to create
latitude for athletes and players in other professional sports leagues in other similar drug testing
programs (Weiner, 2006).
Major League Baseball issued 113 such TUE's to its' ballplayers in 2014, according to Major
League Baseball's annual drug report, which was even below the 2013 TUE's number, which was
reported by MLB at 122. Of the dozen failed drug tests in 2014, two were determined to be using
steroids or other performance enhancing drugs, and of the 20 failed tests the pasts two seasons, fifteen
of the twenty failures were blamed on the drug Adderall, which is a prescription drug commonly used
to treat people for Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD. Ironically enough, of those drug test failures, 75
percent of them were linked to the Adderall, which, in most cases, if the offending players had applied
to MLB for a Therapeutic Use Exemption, they would have likely received one (Oz, 2014).
Which begs the question, “Why the prominence of the prescription drug of Adderall in both
allowed Therapeutic Use Exemptions and in failed drug urinalysis tests?” Although some may say the
M. Rodenas 19
era of the “juiced major leaguer” has been halted or stymied for now, it's clear to me, as has been
suggested by many others, that Adderall is being used as a masking agent for some of these ballplayers.
Not all of these 235 Therapeutic Use Exemptions granted in Major league Baseball the past two years
are to hyper-focus these batters and pitchers (Oz, 2014). Something else is still going on here. This
area needs to be immediately looked into by authorities in Major League Baseball. There is no reason
that nearly ten whole rosters of Major League baseball teams in the past two seasons have the need for
virtually every single player on the roster to be prescribed a Therapeutic Use Exemption for the drug,
Adderall. To have the overwhelming majority of baseball's current offenders being punished and
suspended without pay for the use of Adderall, while 235 players have a valid permissible prescription
to allow this drug just does not add up, or make any sense. The authorities of Major League Baseball
need to explore this widespread need and use of Adderall amongst its' ballplayers, which seems an
obvious loophole and apparent gray area in the MLB rules.
The severity of penalties, is also a very important deterrent to using illegal or banned
substances. Currently, players who test positive for a banned substance are given a 50-game
suspension, which is also without pay. A second positive drug test will result in a 100-game
suspension, with loss of pay, and the third violation will result in a lifetime ban (Mitchell, 2007).
Another way to curtail illicit drug use by ballplayers is through a more comprehensive
education program so they can be educated about the serious health risks incurred by users of steroids,
HGH and other illegal performance enhancing substances. MLB needs a very proactive and
compelling educational program that focuses on real-life occurrences, as well as advising current
players, both on the Major League and Minor League levels of the risks of using such illegal drugs.
First of all, they need to know that taking these illegal substances may cost an athlete their
livelihood, and get them banned from baseball for life. Number two, using steroids, HGH and other
substances like this, comes with tremendous health risks, cancer risks, and many other dangers, both
M. Rodenas 20
known and unknown, from associating with drug dealers and people of that repute. An educational
program also needs to stress the importance and attention that athletes receive by our nation's youth,
who look up to baseball players as role models, and how their use of these illegal drugs will
undoubtedly be emulated by, and affect the decisions of our country's youth and young baseball players
throughout the Americas (Mitchell, 2007).
There are many that will still say that ballplayers will use illegal drugs no matter what you tell
them, how much you warn them or no matter how severe the penalty. Although this maybe true to
some degree, an educational program that preaches safety and warns of the dangers of these illegal
drugs will surely deter many players from using, if not all. There will always be some players who will
underestimate the health and career risks for the perceived potential benefits, which are assumed to be
mostly financial.
All baseball clubs should have clear, well-written policies for reporting information relating to
possible substance abuse violations. Although rarely, if ever enforced, a policy has existed in Major
League Baseball since 1991, which states that “if any club covers up or fails to disclose to the
Commissioner's office any information concerning drug use by a player, the Club will be fined, an
amount of up to $2 million, the highest amount under the Major League Constitution (Selig, 2005).
Most baseball personnel were not even aware of this policy that Major League Baseball has had in
place for more than twenty years.
Therefore, to ensure these policies are known and enforced throughout the clubs and at all levels
within the organizations, and also to meet the obligations to report these violations concerning possible
illegal use and distribution, the Commissioner's office should require all MLB club personnel to sign
annual certifications and integrity policies acknowledging they have neither seen violations, been a
party to any drug violations, nor will they tolerate any violations should they be aware of any such
illicit drug use or activities within their ball club or players within the organization (Mitchell, 2007).
M. Rodenas 21
The clubhouse prevention should also entail a variety of deterrents, such as prominent display
of drug awareness posters, which should be displayed in the clubhouses, weight rooms, and even
training and/or medical rooms in the clubhouses. These posters should articulate Major League
Baseball's present rules against performance enhancements and illegal substance use, educate and
inform ballplayers regarding the dangers of these drugs. They should also explain the penalties for
breaking any rules of conduct or use of these illicit substances (Mitchell, 2007).
Another concern remains the integrity of the clubhouse personnel in Major League Baseball.
These men have routine access to players, trainers, team doctors and even club management. They
should be thoroughly vetted and be subjected to criminal background checks, and should be able to
demonstrate their integrity first, before being allowed within the central nerve centers and inner
sanctums of professional baseball teams. Furthermore, although it has been proposed before, but never
adopted or ratified by Major League Baseball, it should be mandatory for all clubhouse personnel that
has access to its' players be subjected to similar rules of mandatory, unannounced drug testing to ensure
there are no further negative influences allowed “into the family” (Mitchell, 2007). The point is to
keep the athletes clean, and away from the street influences of questionable characters and drug use,
and there is no better way than to hold all clubhouse personnel to the same lofty and pristine standards
as the ballplayers.
Whether they like it or not, professional baseball players have a moral obligation to be clean
and free of any illegal substances, and should be held to much higher and elevated standards, because,
quite simply, they are role models for our nation's youth. Whatever they do – whether it's right or
wrong, affects millions and millions of young people throughout our country and even the world. Life
for fathers and mothers becomes that much more difficult, and they must then work extra hard to
underscore the societal and health dangers for their children when these superstar athletes get caught
using steroids, HGH or banned, performance enhancing substances.
M. Rodenas 22
Because steroids and other scientifically synthesized substances undermine both the integrity of
the game and its' players, as well as posing an incredulous risk to our youth, who often emulate their
baseball heroes and follow suit by using such illegal substances, a zero tolerance policy and lifetime
ban for offenders must be instituted by Major League Baseball to ensure our national pastime is played
on a level playing field, and its' pristine condition can be restored worthy of its' lofty status as our
national pastime.
ASU's Academic Integrity Policy
“I have neither given or received, nor will I tolerate others' use of unauthorized aid.”
Signed,
Michael R. Rodenas (12-04-14)
M. Rodenas 23
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