Baseball Musings: Cover-up and Misinformation

March 06, 2008

Cover-up and Misinformation

Via BBTF, Sports on my Mind offers one of the best posts on steroids I've seen. He starts by laying into the players and club officials who kept this quiet during the 1980s and 1990s:

Baseball players in the segment like Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine made excuses for steroid abuse:
"What goes on in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse. That's the culture of the game. And it doesn't matter if the guy has a drinking problem or guys are doin' drugs, or whether guys are doin' things in their marriages they shouldn't be doin. You just don't discuss that.

If they're going out there and performing, then there's reason for everybody in the whole chain-of-command to not worry about what's goin' on or at least not explore so much what's goin' on."

In other words, Glavine, as do almost every other MLB player, engages in "the code of silence." It is a code that can only bring with it negative outcomes. It is the code that must be broken by policemen when they expose graft in their department. It is the code that must be broken by politicos to expose lies in the government. It is the code that must be broken by corporate employees when those they work for willfully entwine themselves in illegal acts that negatively impact the public.

However, he also has it in for reporters who don't report all the medical findings on steroids:

Here Quinn laughs sardonically before continuing:
"But that same winter you had the medical directors from both Major League Baseball and the Player's Association speak to clubs at the Winter Meetings and gave what people there said was a pro-testosterone speech. Said that there were definite benefits to it; that they should consider informing the player's about the benefits and dangers. There were people who left that meeting shocked that that was the opinion of the two top medical people in the game."

This is where there the unfathomable disconnect between writers like Quinn and other of his ilk with reality occurs. It is here where Quinn and the many like him stop - for whatever reason(s) - short in their investigative work and cease in aiding the conversation about performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and sound more like propagandists. The result is that they fail to educate their peers, fail the public, and even fail lawmakers who, in part, rely on their countless hours spent close to the subject of PEDs for direction.

The author then cites studies that show for men over 25 years of age, steroids can help enhance well being. It's well worth the read to get the contrarian view on the subject, one for which I hold sympathy. While I don't think players should have used drugs illegally, I do think they they should be allowed to use them under a doctors care, and that use should be public knowledge. Then the fans can decide if they like those players or not.

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Posted by David Pinto at 08:04 AM | Cheating | TrackBack (0)

Comments

No David, you and everyone like Dwil are wrong. The players of my choosing are cheaters...which is just about every one of them since 1998. Even though I'm a grown man, I expect my ballplayers to be robots and to adhere to a strict understanding of "cheating" and "fair play." And, while my definition is my own and I don't live by any standards of "cheating" or "fair play," I'll be damned if those spoiled brat baseball players don't do what I want them to do. My anecdotal evidence is evidence of a mass conspiracy of baseball "cheating." I can't really explain the effects of steroids or other PEDs, but I'm sure they're there. Now, I off to a real baseball site (ESPN) to see what they think about all of this.

:) ...okay, just kidding. Spring Training's here and it's 60 degrees and sunny in Portland. What's that Rogers Hornsby quote about the winter and no baseball? How he stares out the window and waits for Spring. Oh, I feel you there Rogers.

Posted by: Kent at March 6, 2008 10:09 AM

Glavine is pathetic.

Posted by: abe at March 6, 2008 10:10 AM

Let's do a maximum crackdown and expand all our resources on drug prevention.

We start with baseball? Hardly!

Start with adderall and the millions of kids who take it and distort test results (which affect the lives of millions of others forever). In this case, white kids are the predominant users.

Let's examine Wall Street, where executives and lawyers take adderall etc. in order to focus on no sleep. In this case, white adults are the predominant users.

Let's examine the rejuventation clinincs which dispense HgH not just to players, but millions of "Cocoon" wannabees. Once again, white users

Let's add breath tests to patrons leaving sporting events to avoid drunk driving and save lives. White

Under the rules existing in MLB right now, our Presidents for the last 16 years would not have been allowed to play baseball.

If we start with sports, we are using maximum force on an area which overrepresents non-Caucasians and allowing white rich kids and their parents to cheat.

Where do you start? You start with the results of scientific studies (JISSN), which state that the average steroid user is a 30+ year old white guy who works out and wants to look buff for the ladies, not some MLB a/a or latin guy.

Crash the gyms and license the owners and any and all trainers through the governmenet and the league and player association offices.

Posted by: rmt at March 6, 2008 11:34 AM

I've never gotten the whole "scandal" with baseball and steroids. It's obviously not about cheating since no one cares about NFL players taking steroids -- I'd assume the percentage in the NFL is way over 50%, probably closer to 90%. It's not even like the use of EPO in cycling or running where it's use gives you at least a 10% direct increase in your ability and definitely gives the users an advantage over the non-users. No one knows what kind of effect they have on players -- it's obviously some since they wouldn't do it otherwise.

Posted by: Tom at March 6, 2008 01:25 PM

David, does your definition of "doctor's care" include Paul Byrd's dentist?

Posted by: Zippercat at March 6, 2008 01:32 PM