Score one for the steroids zealots. They sure showed that Bud Selig.
The commissioner, long a target of the steroids zealots, took advantage in January of Mark McGwire’s admission that he used steroids to declare baseball’s bad times behind it.
“The so-called steroid era,” the commissioner declared, “is clearly a thing of the past.”
Selig’s self-congratulatory words were still sitting out there in cyberspace when a starting major league pitcher tested positive during spring training for using an illegal performance-enhancing substance.
Not that one positive test means the end of society as we know it, but the timing was not ideal for Selig’s standing in the world of credibility.
Selig, however, scoffed at that notion. “It is behind us,” he said in a telephone interview. “We’ve had one positive test by a guy on the disabled list. What does that mean? I’ve got to give the players credit here. We’ve had one positive test, and the guy is on the disabled list. So what does that mean?”
The zealots can always make it mean what they want it to mean, though in this instance they have been quiet. Perhaps that’s because reporters didn’t call them and give them a chance to speak out.
Maybe it was the baseball connection, but Selig’s declaration reminded me of a pronouncement made by another former owner in the infamous “mission-accomplished” incident in 2003.
On May 1 of that year, President George W. Bush stood on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and said that the major combat in the Iraq war was over and declared the United States the winner. Directly overhead was a large banner that declared further “Mission Accomplished.”
The president and the banner were premature with their declarations. The steroids zealots believe Selig was premature with his. This week’s 50-game suspension of Edinson Volquez, the Cincinnati Reds’ 26-year-old pitcher, is their Exhibit A.
Fortunately, even if Selig was wrong, his mistake won’t be as deadly as Bush’s. But was Selig wrong? I would say that developments support his position.
The zealots claim that one positive test is one too many, but they also have cited the absence of positive tests as evidence that baseball’s testing regimen isn’t tough enough. They want it both ways, but common sense says you can’t have it both ways.
The players could have avoided the whole steroids nonsense if they were as intelligent as they were good at playing baseball. In 2003, the first year of testing, if fewer than 5 percent had tested positive, players would have been free and clear of testing. But about 100 players, nearly 7 percent, tested positive, and regular testing was established.
The agreement in place at the time between the players and the owners didn’t provide for identifying players who tested positive in 2004, but they were identified in subsequent seasons: 12 in 2005, then 3, 8, 3 and 4 last year.
The last player to be suspended was Manny Ramirez, who, like Volquez, tested positive for using a fertility drug.
In a statement Volquez explained that a doctor in the Dominican Republic prescribed the drug for him to take to enhance the chances of his wife’s conceiving a child.
“Unfortunately,” Volquez said in a statement, “I now know that the medication the physician in the Dominican gave me is one that is often used to treat my condition, but is also a banned substance under Major League Baseball’s drug policy. As a result, I tested positive when I reported to Spring Training.”
Volquez also said he accepted responsibility for the mistake and that he did not challenge the suspension.
“I want to assure everyone that this was an isolated incident involving my genuine effort to treat a common medical issue and start a family,” the pitcher added. “I was not trying in any way to gain an advantage in my baseball career. I am embarrassed by this whole situation and apologize to my family, friends, fans, teammates, and the entire Reds organization for being a distraction and for causing them any difficulty. I simply want to accept the consequences, learn from the mistake, and continue to strive to be the best person and baseball player I can be.”
This is not your run-of-the-mill 50-game suspension. Volquez had Tommy John surgery last Aug. 3, is on the 60-day disabled list and will not be ready to pitch until after his suspension is scheduled to end June 13. He will, however, forfeit his pay during his suspension, meaning he will lose $131,000 of his $445,000 salary.
Penalties for positive tests obviously have served as a deterrent. Players face enough testing that they risk a lot if they use steroids. In other words, the program is working and has intimidated would-be users.
The critics nevertheless are not satisfied. They want more. They want baseball to test for HGH, but the union has resisted, saying the blood test that is used – no urine test has been developed – is not totally trustworthy.
But even if the union and the commissioner’s office were to agree to HGH testing, the zealots would find fault with something else. Label them never satisfied.
I find fault with the conflict of interest practiced by Dr. Gary Wadler, who is the go-to guy for reporters to seek out as one of the so-called experts on performance-enhancing drugs. Wadler is quoted more widely than probably any other individual on the subject.
There’s nothing wrong with being an expert, but I think there is a problem when the expert is connected to the agency that pushes for world-wide adherence to its strict policies and is in business to make money.
Wadler is involved with WADA but seldom is identified as being connected to the anti-doping agency. Why newspapers ignore that connection is puzzling. I used to raise that issue at The New York Tines, but the Times is probably the leading newspaper in Wadler quotes.