| Busted |
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| Written by Troy Chuinard | |
| Friday, 26 October 2007 | |
It seems that as every major league season passes, more and more players are added to the list of possible performance-enhancing drug users. Sadly, the effect of this misuse has impacted the credibility of the game in such a way that numerous records are now being questioned. Will major league officials take the appropriate measures and impose penalties on players who have been linked with steroid abuse?
First off, one must understand that aside from the impact that performance-enhancing substances have on the game of baseball, steroid use is illegal without a prescription. Therefore, players who are known to be using any of these drugs are not only disregarding the rules of Major League Baseball, but they are also breaking the law as well. In January of 2005 Major League Baseball Officials banned the use of human growth hormone. Random blood tests are now performed regularly on players all across professional baseball to see who is a potential abuser. The MLB currently enforces a three-strike policy that suspends players for 10 games for a first offense, 30 games for a second, and 60 games for a third. Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Byrd, and Rick Ankiel are all possible candidates for suspension, even though none of these players have been confirmed steroid users. What’s interesting about Byrd is the fact that he was deemed a possible user on the same day as the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox. Reports have indicated that Byrd spent roughly $25,000 worth of HGH syringes between 2002 and 2005. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is not afraid to invoke penalties on players like Byrd who have been linked to the possible use of performance-enhancing substances. It is expected that Selig will meet with Gary Matthews Jr. this November to discuss the reports that claimed Matthews was abusing illegal substances prior to the 2007 season. Later this winter, George Mitchell, a lead steroid investigator, is going to make public the results of his investigation of the use of steroids in baseball. Many names will be revealed, and it is certain that the pointing of fingers is going to cause many problems this off-season. Sources close to Mitchell have also gone on the record to say that several notable players will be mentioned in the reports that have not yet been linked to possible substance abuse. Issues will definitely arise once the Mitchell report is released. It will be very interesting to see how major league officials handle the players who were known steroid users before the MLB steroid prohibition that took place in 2005. After superstars such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Jose Canseco were bashed by the media for their possible substance abuse, accusing more players will only lead to chaos. In addition, it seems that every player who approaches a record nowadays is questioned as a possible user. Will Commissioner Selig’s efforts and leading researcher George Mitchell’s report put an end to the controversy surrounding drug use in Major League Baseball? Most likely, it will only cause more.
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