Baseball Musings: Shelling Schilling

May 09, 2007

Shelling Schilling

John Perricone empties both barrels into Curt Schilling's criticism of Barry Bonds. What I found most interesting, however, was something that I wondered about since the March Congressional hearings two years ago:

.... some perspective is needed here. While Rep. Tom Davis (R., Va.) claims that currently "over a half a million youth are using steroids," the NY Times notes that, in addition to (the late) Efrain Marrero, only "two previous suicides had been attributed by parents to steroid use by young athletes."With steroid use in high schools dating back to the 1950s, the suicide rate -- even if Marrero's death were actually linked to steroids and not other factors -- seems negligible compared to a male suicide rate for 15-to-24 year-olds averaging more than 20 per 100,000 over the last 30 years.
Even more startling is how the young male suicide rate has fallen over the last decade while steroid use has grown. On Meet the Press, Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) claimed that, over the last decade, steroid use had risen from one out of every 45 kids to one out of 16, while the young male suicide rate has gone down from 26 to 20 per 100,000.

I had the feeling we were being manipulated with the suicide story, and now I'm glad that's been confirmed.

Posted by David Pinto at 09:48 PM | Cheating | TrackBack (0)

Comments

You rock!

Posted by: John at May 9, 2007 10:20 PM

Maybe I'm just a natural sceptic, but I think we're being manipulated by these youth steroid numbers too. Has anyone actually seen the data to back up these headline grabbing numbers? Does it include use prescribed by doctors? I'm around a lot of high school athletes and I just don't believe these wild claims.

Posted by: Zippercat at May 9, 2007 10:59 PM

I graduated high school two years ago. Where I'm from, high school sports really don't mean a whole heck of a lot and there's just not the rabid emphasis on athletics and competition for playing time you might typically associate with increased steroid use. I'm talking a really relaxed atmosphere with little local interest in high school sports.

I know (knew) four guys who used steroids. Not sure what kind, but at least three of them used needles. I'd heard rumors about two or three more, but nothing confirmed. And I worked with a girl last summer--early 20's, so this is a little irrelevant--whose ex-boyfriend started using at 20. My mother works with a woman--a nurse!!!--in her mid-twenties whose boyfriend uses. I would say it's something of a problem, and can't imagine what it might be like in a more sports-centric part of the country.

Posted by: the other josh at May 9, 2007 11:08 PM

Josh:

The plural of "anecdote" is not "data." Additionally, none of your anecdotes mention any adverse effects from steroid use. That's not to say that they don't exist, but it's worth mentioning that none of your samples were even allegedly suicidal.
There are more problems in baseball, and in America, associated with the abuse of alcohol than there are with the abuse of steroids. Pujols' recent comments in the wake of Josh Hancock's unfortunate exit made perfect sense, but nobody in congress and few in the media are prepared to do anything about it. Possibly, it's too big a problem - and far too deeply seeded in our psychology and our economy - to fix.

Posted by: Billy Larossa at May 10, 2007 01:51 AM

...OK, I said I thought it was something of a problem. Sorry I didn't qualify that with, "Based on my own very limited experience along with the fact that most of the credible studies I've read on the subject seem to indicate that the problem isn't getting better, and in fact, might be getting worse. Of course, I don't claim to be an expert, and I'd love to be shown some evidence that steroid usage is dropping."

Would that have been more palatable?

I was responding to Zippercat, who basically said, "I spend a lot of time with high school athletes and haven't seen anything." Well, I was a high school athlete fairly recently, and I definitely did. Doesn't prove jack, but it wasn't really supposed to...and I had nothing to say on whether there was a relationship between suicide and steroid use because...that wasn't really what I was responding to. Maybe I should have addressed it towards the guy who posted right before me.

Posted by: the other josh at May 10, 2007 02:26 AM

While the plural of anecdote is not data, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

And I'm prepared to sit here and exchange cliches on the subject until the cows come home.

Posted by: cwp at May 10, 2007 11:14 AM

The sucide angle looks like a red herring. But steroid use in teens is real, and 500,000 looks low to anyone coaching HS sports. Is it worse than rec drugs or booze? Probably take another 20 yrs to have reliable studies. And it's not gonna stop. So what's the appropriate action to take?

Posted by: abe at May 11, 2007 09:06 AM

And Dave, I believe the sucide story is false, but Perricone's data proves nothing of the sort; there's no cause and effect conclusion possible.
Much more important, the sucide rate for young men in America is shocking. If women had the same propensity we'd have crisis centers on every corner. I've no idea why a 14 year old boy matters less, but he does. It's a disgrace; and I pray for the fmailies living with that pain.

Posted by: abe at May 11, 2007 09:10 AM

Last comment, I promise. How come Shilling is never asked about he's Phillies team? Was any position player besides Fatty McKruk not juicing? Seriously, Lenny went form 163 to 190 in one offseason and had veins popping everywhere. I'd love to hear Bob Sikes take, as it happened at Shea. No accusation, as I expect no direct knowledge; but if Bob declares Lenny drug free that would be the last time I take him seriously. Darren Dalton... etc. That team was juice ala the A's. Why isn't the question posed to Shiller?

Posted by: abe at May 11, 2007 09:17 AM

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