Steroid use in baseball........

[Yankee Fan Sedere in equo]

Although it's not going to happen anytime soon, baseball absolutely should test for steroids, if for no other reason than to protect players from themselves. The DEA lists steroids in both its "drugs of concern" and "drugs of abuse" classifications. They can cause kidney failure, heart disease, brain tumors, and more.

Instead of pretending that the problem doesn't exist, Major League Baseball needs to take a stand. As for the testing being an invasion of the individual's rights, perhaps. But if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to be afraid of. Let's face it, steroid abuse in baseball is a big problem, a problem no one is willing to confront. And that won't change until a slugger or two shrivels up and dies like Lyle Alzado.

***
That was Jim Rome's take on the subject. I agree with him. Baseball seems to want to cover up the problem because they're afraid it'll tarnish the game (they didn't like the press McGwire got from using an over the counter steroid), but I believe it will tarnish the game more if there is not an attempt to correct it.

[Edited by Yankee Fan Sedere in equo on August 14th, 2000 at 07:22 PM]

[yanks24]

I totally agree. It is a shame that some records will mean nothing because the players who set them had a little help. I heard an interesting fact: steriod use causes injuries and heart problems. That is very ironic considering that there have been a ton of injuries this year... Just look at how many players had to sit out the All-Star game. It seems like there were more injuries this year than any other. And MLB won't look into it because they figure people will feel let down and will turn away from the game if they find out that their favorite players are on steroids. Look at how quickly they turned the other cheek to McGuire when his drug use came out.

[penguin4]

Steroid testing would definitely do some good, however, I don't think it would solve much. (I just did a huge paper on steroid use for school last year...)There are a few things wrong with testing; the biggest problem being that few people get caught. Drug testing is usually done by taking a urine sample, and many times if a player avoids taking them for a few days prior to the test he can get away with not seeing it. Also they test your testosterone levels, and the limits are VERY high for what's considered "doped up", to allow for irregularities; thus people get away with that. Also, because there are so many "designer" steroids today, lots of them don't appear in the tests at all. The drug taker is always one step ahead of the tester; new drugs come out by the time you get to detect the old ones. People say "do more blood tests" but there's lots of legal problems with that also-- even though that would make a lot more sense. So pretty much the only way for the tests to actually work on someone is if the player is either very reckless or very sloppy.

[Edited by penguin4 on August 14th, 2000 at 09:45 PM]

[kilrain7]

The Player's Union will NEVER allow this testing and as we all know the Player's Union is undefeated.I refuse to believe that guys like Lenny Dykstra added all their bulk just from lifting weights. Check any pictures of Sosa and McGuire early in their careers and the difference is ridiculous.I usually don't watch Jim Rome's show but I did tonight.I wish they had more time to discuss the topic but in the little time they did it was interesting.Good job by Rome.

[chelle]

I think that they SHOULD do some testing, baseball is one of the only sports in which there isn't testing.... But what would you do when a Future Hall of Famer is taking steroids? Say he can't play anymore and ban him from baseball? There should be some sort of punishment...