One test they can’t afford to fail

I never hit more than two home runs in any season while playing high school baseball. I was five-foot nothin’, one hundred and nothin’. I slapped the ball and got on base any way I could. Other kids I was playing with and against wanted scouts to take note of their powerful swings. That’s when I noticed that their swings weren’t the only things that were lightning-quick. Their mood changes were, too. Peculiar looking bruises on thighs and calves and acne-filled backs soon became the norm in the locker room. The more monster home runs were hit, the more the scouts scribbled in those little notebooks. Why weren’t they paying any attention to me when I was spraying base hits all over the field? If only they knew that these guys weren’t deriving their power from aluminum.

The sluggers in the big leagues that high school kids look up to often have cartoon character physiques. They see Mark McGwire, a man with cinder blocks for forearms, and do anything to emulate him. That includes taking the same drugs. McGwire clobbered a record 70 home runs and then admitted to taking androstenedione, a chemical that boosts testosterone and decreases the time needed by the body to recover from a rigorous workout, in turn making it easier to increase muscle mass.

This is why Major League Baseball must see to it that its players are steroid-free. High school kids around the country envision the day when they will be the owner of baseball’s sexiest record. They will consume andro like there’s no tomorrow, and because the MLB doesn’t consider it a problem, the kids won’t either.

Anyone who believes that baseball players abstain from steroid use because they are somehow on a higher moral plane than Olympians better think again. HBO’s “Real Sports” reported last year that of 550 triple-A baseball players tested for steroids during spring training, 12 percent tested positive. One day later, The New York Times reported that one out of every five minor league players tested randomly for steroids each year by the San Diego Padres tested positive.

Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays never used andro. The only dietary supplement Babe Ruth ever used was relish on his hot dog. Why then, are young ballplayers using illicit drugs to improve their games? In today’s game there is immense pressure to hit home runs and collect extra base hits.

These aren’t your grandfather’s or even your father’s shortstops anymore. The days of hitting .240 and playing solid defense are long gone. No way does Pee Wee Reese crack a major league lineup today. Minor leaguers trying to make the show and major leaguers who don’t have natural power strokes face great temptation to turn to steroids. With salaries in the stratosphere, an unfathomable amount of money is riding on a player’s offensive numbers. Agents might use intangibles like leadership to get his client a more lucrative deal, but the glamour stats of homers and RBIs provide the most powerful artillery in contract negotiations.

Players with a chemical edge have an unfair advantage over those who build their bodies the natural way. It hardly seems fair that a player who works hard in the offseason can be overshadowed by another player who popped pills.

“I work out five days a week with a personal trainer, and I come back maybe 10 pounds heavier,” former White Sox outfielder Darrin Jackson told the Times. “You say, ‘How did this guy put on 30 pounds over the winter?’”

I’ve heard plenty of people say steroids don’t enhance abilities in baseball the way they do in football or weightlifting. But the fact of the matter is that linebacker-sized outfielders smash home runs off the handle of the bat and even hit broken bat longballs. It isn’t the ball that’s juiced, it’s the players.

If not to maintain the integrity of the game, then players should be randomly tested for steroids simply because of the long-term health risks involved. No one wants to become the next Lyle Alzado. Anabolic steroids have been linked to heart disease, stroke and liver disease. High doses can also affect cholesterol levels. If steroid users take a myopic view of their own health, they should consider that using steroids could land them on the disabled list right away. New York Mets Head Trainer, Fred Hina, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that some steroid users have higher risk of torn tendons and muscle strains because the skeleton is supporting too much muscle. There are several alternatives, such as creatine, that are safer than steroids and will build muscle. Have these guys been to GNC lately?

The shelves are filled with all sorts of legal supplements, amino acids and proteins that help build strength.

Baseball has created a double standard that is unfair to other athletes. The NFL, NBA, NCAA, IOC and USTA all conduct random testing on athletes. Major League Baseball took a pass when it could have blown the whistle on the game’s biggest star and cut the steroid problem off at its preliminary stages. Baseball box scores are hardly distinguishable from football. The issue is very real. It is imperative that Sandy Alderson, vice president for baseball operations, broach the issue in the next round of collective bargaining. He can introduce himself to the players’ union by saying: “My name is Sandy, and I have a drug problem.”