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End
of the Steroid Era
by Daniel
Paulling
January 24, 2005
For more other/recent articles on steroids or drugs
in baseball please follow this link
At the end of the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, Major
League Baseball desperately wanted to impose tougher standards upon
steroids users. The Player’s Union, illogically, would not
allow a very tough program to be put in place – it seems as
though they would much rather have a black cloud upon the sport
than a game with integrity. In 2003, 5 to 7 percent of players tested
positive, which triggered steroid testing in 2004. Critics lambasted
the old program because the first offense would only require counseling,
but no names would be released. A player would have to test positive
five times before being suspended for life - no player would test
positive five times.
But now MLB and MLBPA (the Player’s Union) have agreed to a
new program. I will try to explain the new program, as well as try
to add some commentary.
What Makes This One Better
The biggest thing about the previous steroid agreement was that
it had absolutely no teeth in it. Critics quickly dismissed it as
a fraud and claimed that it was ludicrous. I agree with these statements
completely. The old testing program had a short list of banned substances,
absurd punishments, and definitely nothing the fans wanted right
then: names. This program is better in one major way. The first
time a player tests positive, he will be suspended for ten days
without pay. For the first time fans will know the players’
names when they test positive. The second positive test will result
in a 30-day suspension, third occurrence is a 60-day suspension
and the fourth is a year. The fifth suspension will be left up to
the commissioner but my bet is that it will be a lifetime ban from
baseball.
Another thing about this new testing program that makes it infinitely
better than the last is the number of times a player can be tested.
Previously players were only tested once a year, but now they can
be tested any number of times a year. But the major factor is off-season
testing. Previously MLB could not test in the off-season but now
they can. This is a major thing because players are most likely
to use steroids when they are bulking up in the off-season.
The expanded list of drugs that cause suspension grew to include
Human Growth Hormone, as well as anything considered an illegal
steroid by the US government. New substances can be added by the
US government as well as Health Policy Advisory Committee.
What Could be Better
The biggest criticism is the lack of the severity of punishments.
And I have to agree with the detractors in a way. The National Football
League has a four game minimum suspension, which is equal to about
forty MLB games. The second infraction of the drug agreement is
a six-game minimum, sixty MLB games. The third offense leads to
a one year suspension, and every violation thereafter is a one year
suspension. A player would have to test positive FOUR times to have
to sit out for a season. The policy should be much more stringent
I think something along the lines of thirty games, one hundred games,
one year, and then a lifetime ban.
I think this program, other than its minor faults, is very good.
This is definitely a huge step forward for sure.
Here’s a consensus from around the league.
“I think this is a big step forward,” said Johnny Estrada,
the Braves' player representative. “I think it's a good deal.
I'm glad that the players and baseball could get together on this
because they didn't really have to. The collective bargaining agreement
(of 2002) was already done and we already had a contract for next
year.”
“It's going to be a clean game,” said Cardinals reliever
Ray King. “You're going to get tested, and if you test positive
we don't care if you're the best player in the league or you just
walked in the league a day ago. Everybody is on the same playing
field.”
“This is one of the best things for me,” said Orioles
slugger Jay Gibbons. “It'll just go to show you don't have
to do something illegal to be in good shape. I work out a lot. I
like to work out, a lot of guys do. And this clears the air and
shows that not everybody is dirty in the game. Now we can get this
behind us and play baseball.”
So now we have a program that will name names as soon as it goes
into affect. In my opinion, this is the biggest thing the fans are
looking for.
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