Performance Enhancing Drugs in Baseball
In the world of sports today there is a great cloud of speculation every time a player does well. The question that is asked on every sports talk radio show is "Is he using drugs?" There are many different opinions regarding the usage of Performance Enhancing Drugs in sports today. Some people will have an opinion such as Richard Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), when he said ""This is not a diplomatic problem; this is cheating." (Richard W Pound, QC--chairman of WADA.(Profile)(World Anti-Doping Agency). Michael McCarthy. The Lancet 366.9503 (Dec 17, 2005): pS20(1). From Academic OneFile.) Others may have a more open opinion such as Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, who was quoted in the press as saying he thought performance-enhancing drugs should be allowed as long as they were not harmful. (Richard W Pound, QC--chairman of WADA.(Profile)(World Anti-Doping Agency). Michael McCarthy. The Lancet 366.9503 (Dec 17, 2005): pS20(1). From Academic OneFile.) However the view of the writer is that it is no wonder that the players have chosen to use Performance-Enhancing Drugs, the team owners and coaches keep pushing the players far beyond their physical limits for a small chance of a big performance.
To best understand why the players are turning the Performance Enhancing Drugs we need to know more about what Performance Enhancing Drugs are and what they are used for. In sports the primary reason to take Performance Enhancing Drugs is for building mass and strength and there are several different types of Performance Enhancing Drugs that you can take to foster that type of growth. Those types are listed below:
Anabolic steroids
Beta-2 agonists
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)
Luteinizing hormone (LH)
Human growth hormone (hGH)
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)
(Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D., http://www.howstuffworks.com/athletic-drug-test2.htm)
Of the Performance Enhancing Drugs the most common in the world of baseball is the Human Growth Hormone. "Human Growth Hormone is a naturally occurring protein hormone produced by the pituitary gland and is important for normal human growth and development, especially in children and teenagers. Low Human Growth Hormone levels in children and teenagers result in dwarfism. Excessive Human Growth Hormone levels increase muscle mass by stimulating protein synthesis, strengthen bones by stimulating bone growth and reduce body fat by stimulating the breakdown of fat cells. Use of Human Growth Hormone has become increasingly popular because it is difficult to detect. Side effects include:
Overgrowth of hands, feet, and face (acromegaly) because of the increased muscle and bone development in these parts
Enlarged internal organs, especially heart, kidneys, tongue and liver
Heart problems
(Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D., http://www.howstuffworks.com/athletic-drug-test2.htm)
To further understand the usage of Performance Enhancing Drugs in baseball we must take a look back at the history of Performance Enhancing Drugs in all sports and the actions of the sporting bodies to prevent the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs.
1904: To keep him going, St. Louis Olympic marathon winner Thomas Hicks (USA) is given strychnine and brandy during the race.
1960: Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen crashes during the road race at the Rome Olympics after taking a stimulant. He dies from a fractured skull.
1967: British cyclist Tom Simpson collapses and dies while ascending Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France. His autopsy shows he had consumed amphetamines, which resulted in heart failure. His death spurs the Tour de France to institute doping controls.
1972: The International Olympic Committee begins full-scale drug testing in the Olympics.
1976: Athletes are first tested for anabolic steroids in the Montreal Olympics.
1988: Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tests positive for an anabolic steroid.
1990: The National Football League institutes a year-round, random steroid testing program.
1993: The Association of Tennis Professionals, the Women's Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation create an anti-doping program.
1998: Irish swimmer Michelle Smithis banned for four years for manipulating a urine sample.
1998: St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire admits using androstenedione.
1999: The NBA adds steroids to its list of banned substances.
2000: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) begins operations.
2000: The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) begins operations.
2002: Before 2002, Major League Baseball has no official testing policy for steroids. As part of a collective bargaining agreement, players and owners agree to hold survey testing in 2003. If more than 5% of results from the anonymous tests are positive, formal testing and penalties will be put into place the next year.
2003: Government agents raid the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO).
2004: Attorney General John Ashcroft announces a 42-count indictment against BALCO founder Victor Conte, BALCO executive James Valente, track coach Remi Korchemny and trainer Greg Anderson. Among the charges: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, conspiracy to defraud through misbranded drugs, and money laundering. The four men plead not guilty.
2004: MLB begins mandatory steroid testing for players.
2004: A record 24 athletes are ousted for drug-related violations in the Athens Olympics.
2004: The San Francisco Chronicle reveals BALCO grand jury testimony from New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi and San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds.
2005: Baseball agrees to a new policy banning steroids, masking agents and diuretics. There will be one unannounced mandatory test of each player during the season. In addition, there will be testing of randomly selected players, with no maximum number, and there will be random testing during the offseason. The penalties for a positive result are, first positive, 10 days; second, 30 days; third, 60 days; fourth, one year, and all without pay.
2005: Slugger Jose Canseco admits to taking steroids and accuses many MLB stars of using performance-enhancing drugs in his book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big.
2005: Major league baseball players -- including Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, McGwire and Sammy Sosa -- testify before a congressional committee investigating steroid use.
2005: The NHL institutes a drug-testing policy for performance-enhancing substances.
2005: Palmeiro, of the Baltimore Orioles, is given a 10-day suspension for violating MLB's steroid policy. The next day, Seattle Mariners pitcher Ryan Franklin is suspended for the same infraction.
2005: MLB approves a new steroid policy. The penalties for a positive result are now 50 games for a first offense and 100 for a second offense. A third positive test would result in a lifetime ban.
(Joan Murphy, USA Today, Section: Sports, Pg. 03c, 03/01/07)
Yes that is correct, 37 years after the Tour de France instituted doping controls Major League Baseball decided to do something about Performance Enhancing Drugs. Now what happened in the 90's to prevent Major League Baseball from adopting doping controls? A little thing called a players strike. That's right in 1994 the Players decided to hold a strike that lasted 232 days and led to the cancellation of 938 games, including the World Series. It was the first time since 1904 that there was no national professional baseball champion.
"Many baseball fans lament that, while the Spanish Flu, two World Wars, the Great Depression, earthquakes, and other disasters could not cancel a World Series, financial issues could and did. Many analysts blame the strike and the cancellation of the World Series for baseball's sharp drop in popularity in the ensuing years." That was until the McGwire/Sosa home run race. "He, and Chicago Cub Sammy Sosa, brought back memories of the 1961 Mickey Mantle / Roger Maris home run race. McGwire eventually "won" by hitting the record breaking sixty-second homer seven days before Sosa. McGwire went around the bases eight more times before season's end, leaving the new record at seventy." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Major_League_Baseball_strike, 04-15-07)
So, as we can see how Major League Baseball not only needed top performance from it's players but also demanded top performance. The primary way for the players to obtain the performance goals that were placed upon them is to take Performance Enhancing Drugs. On top of the players now having a reason and motivation to use Performance Enhancing Drugs was the permission of Major League Baseball to use them. As we have also seen that Major League Baseball itself would not institute a drug policy until they were pressured to do so by not only U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft but also by the U.S. Congress. So as stated above, the players are just doing what they are required to do and they are using every means that is legal in Major League Baseball to be able to do it.
To best understand why the players are turning the Performance Enhancing Drugs we need to know more about what Performance Enhancing Drugs are and what they are used for. In sports the primary reason to take Performance Enhancing Drugs is for building mass and strength and there are several different types of Performance Enhancing Drugs that you can take to foster that type of growth. Those types are listed below:
Anabolic steroids
Beta-2 agonists
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)
Luteinizing hormone (LH)
Human growth hormone (hGH)
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)
(Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D., http://www.howstuffworks.com/athletic-drug-test2.htm)
Of the Performance Enhancing Drugs the most common in the world of baseball is the Human Growth Hormone. "Human Growth Hormone is a naturally occurring protein hormone produced by the pituitary gland and is important for normal human growth and development, especially in children and teenagers. Low Human Growth Hormone levels in children and teenagers result in dwarfism. Excessive Human Growth Hormone levels increase muscle mass by stimulating protein synthesis, strengthen bones by stimulating bone growth and reduce body fat by stimulating the breakdown of fat cells. Use of Human Growth Hormone has become increasingly popular because it is difficult to detect. Side effects include:
Overgrowth of hands, feet, and face (acromegaly) because of the increased muscle and bone development in these parts
Enlarged internal organs, especially heart, kidneys, tongue and liver
Heart problems
(Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D., http://www.howstuffworks.com/athletic-drug-test2.htm)
To further understand the usage of Performance Enhancing Drugs in baseball we must take a look back at the history of Performance Enhancing Drugs in all sports and the actions of the sporting bodies to prevent the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs.
1904: To keep him going, St. Louis Olympic marathon winner Thomas Hicks (USA) is given strychnine and brandy during the race.
1960: Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen crashes during the road race at the Rome Olympics after taking a stimulant. He dies from a fractured skull.
1967: British cyclist Tom Simpson collapses and dies while ascending Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France. His autopsy shows he had consumed amphetamines, which resulted in heart failure. His death spurs the Tour de France to institute doping controls.
1972: The International Olympic Committee begins full-scale drug testing in the Olympics.
1976: Athletes are first tested for anabolic steroids in the Montreal Olympics.
1988: Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tests positive for an anabolic steroid.
1990: The National Football League institutes a year-round, random steroid testing program.
1993: The Association of Tennis Professionals, the Women's Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation create an anti-doping program.
1998: Irish swimmer Michelle Smithis banned for four years for manipulating a urine sample.
1998: St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire admits using androstenedione.
1999: The NBA adds steroids to its list of banned substances.
2000: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) begins operations.
2000: The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) begins operations.
2002: Before 2002, Major League Baseball has no official testing policy for steroids. As part of a collective bargaining agreement, players and owners agree to hold survey testing in 2003. If more than 5% of results from the anonymous tests are positive, formal testing and penalties will be put into place the next year.
2003: Government agents raid the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO).
2004: Attorney General John Ashcroft announces a 42-count indictment against BALCO founder Victor Conte, BALCO executive James Valente, track coach Remi Korchemny and trainer Greg Anderson. Among the charges: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, conspiracy to defraud through misbranded drugs, and money laundering. The four men plead not guilty.
2004: MLB begins mandatory steroid testing for players.
2004: A record 24 athletes are ousted for drug-related violations in the Athens Olympics.
2004: The San Francisco Chronicle reveals BALCO grand jury testimony from New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi and San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds.
2005: Baseball agrees to a new policy banning steroids, masking agents and diuretics. There will be one unannounced mandatory test of each player during the season. In addition, there will be testing of randomly selected players, with no maximum number, and there will be random testing during the offseason. The penalties for a positive result are, first positive, 10 days; second, 30 days; third, 60 days; fourth, one year, and all without pay.
2005: Slugger Jose Canseco admits to taking steroids and accuses many MLB stars of using performance-enhancing drugs in his book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big.
2005: Major league baseball players -- including Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, McGwire and Sammy Sosa -- testify before a congressional committee investigating steroid use.
2005: The NHL institutes a drug-testing policy for performance-enhancing substances.
2005: Palmeiro, of the Baltimore Orioles, is given a 10-day suspension for violating MLB's steroid policy. The next day, Seattle Mariners pitcher Ryan Franklin is suspended for the same infraction.
2005: MLB approves a new steroid policy. The penalties for a positive result are now 50 games for a first offense and 100 for a second offense. A third positive test would result in a lifetime ban.
(Joan Murphy, USA Today, Section: Sports, Pg. 03c, 03/01/07)
Yes that is correct, 37 years after the Tour de France instituted doping controls Major League Baseball decided to do something about Performance Enhancing Drugs. Now what happened in the 90's to prevent Major League Baseball from adopting doping controls? A little thing called a players strike. That's right in 1994 the Players decided to hold a strike that lasted 232 days and led to the cancellation of 938 games, including the World Series. It was the first time since 1904 that there was no national professional baseball champion.
"Many baseball fans lament that, while the Spanish Flu, two World Wars, the Great Depression, earthquakes, and other disasters could not cancel a World Series, financial issues could and did. Many analysts blame the strike and the cancellation of the World Series for baseball's sharp drop in popularity in the ensuing years." That was until the McGwire/Sosa home run race. "He, and Chicago Cub Sammy Sosa, brought back memories of the 1961 Mickey Mantle / Roger Maris home run race. McGwire eventually "won" by hitting the record breaking sixty-second homer seven days before Sosa. McGwire went around the bases eight more times before season's end, leaving the new record at seventy." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Major_League_Baseball_strike, 04-15-07)
So, as we can see how Major League Baseball not only needed top performance from it's players but also demanded top performance. The primary way for the players to obtain the performance goals that were placed upon them is to take Performance Enhancing Drugs. On top of the players now having a reason and motivation to use Performance Enhancing Drugs was the permission of Major League Baseball to use them. As we have also seen that Major League Baseball itself would not institute a drug policy until they were pressured to do so by not only U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft but also by the U.S. Congress. So as stated above, the players are just doing what they are required to do and they are using every means that is legal in Major League Baseball to be able to do it.
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