MLS 580 - FINAL - Science and Baseball Just Dont Mix FINAL

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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

Transcript of MLS 580 - FINAL - Science and Baseball Just Dont Mix FINAL

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

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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.

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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,

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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).

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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“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

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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

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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.

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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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