Does MLB Have a Comprehensive Set of Rules (Laws) That Includes Banned Steroids?
Question by Georgie: Does MLB have a comprehensive set of rules (laws) that includes banned steroids?
and other banned offenses?
Steroids, and other performance enhancing drugs have been around for a long time.
No one can say for sure even if great players in the 60’s and 70’s used steroids.
Amphetamines were popular in the 60’s, and of course alcohol is still used.
Alcohol being a stimulant in the early stages also relieves tensions and some pain.
Government laws should have no impact on the actions of MLB unless it is
specifically stated in MLB law. MLB law can cover a wide range of offenses by
stating that a player shall be penalized if they commit a felony. Obviously the
NFL has no such rule since Plaxico Burress can play after getting out of jail.
If MLB rules state that you can’t bet on baseball then don’t expect to go to the Hall
of Fame, even though no government laws were broken. If MLB law says a player
can’t use any type of amphetamine, then a player should be penalized by MLB if
amphetamines are detected in a blood test – – – – even if the player’s doctor
prescribed them to him.
The bottom line is that MLB needs to law down the law and continually update that
law as new drugs come into usage. They also need to test regularly players and
enforce their laws.
If someone admits to using a substance in the past, and there was no MLB rule
banning it at that time it was used, – – – then nothing should happen to the player.
It is the responsibility of MLB to establish and enforce its rules. If they do this the
fans support of management on this issue will be almost 100%.
Best answer:
Answer by Shea
Cheating in any form is against the rules. Since steroids are a performance enhancer and give you an unfair advantage, they are against the rules.
Add your own answer in the comments!
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Placing bets with a “bookie” is illegal and possessing steroids is also a crime. Any major sport should not have to reiterate state and federal laws within their own set of rules.
I think if a player admits PED use in the past or present MLB should be able to take action against that player.
There are such rules, as part of the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the Players Association. They were the result of hard fought negotiations that culminated in 2003 when they agreed to a pilot program that would apply to all of MLB if above a certain percentage of players tested anonymously tested positive. More than enough players tested positive to set into place tough regulations starting in 2004. The list of players tested in 2003 has been leaked slowly over time, with players like Alex Rodriguez having been outed. The players we know used steroids were basically some of the ones on the list, players who got their steroids from BALCO in San Francisco, which has been the subject of federal investigation, and players who got their steroids from New York based trainers/dealers Brian MacNamee and Kirk Radomski who testified about their clients. We don’t know the dealers for other teams, so we don’t really know who else took steroids except for a handful of notable cases.
With the new rules, a first positive test now results in a 50 game suspension. A second positive test results in a 100 game suspension. A third positive test results in expulsion from baseball.
2004 basically marks the end of the Steroid Era. The Steroid Era was from 1994 to 2003. Certainly steroids were used before then, but it exploded in 1994, and certainly they are used now, but it’s harder to get away with. Home run totals ballooned in that span and are now back to where they were before the steroid era. Among the most notable steroid cases since 2004 was Manny Ramirez, who tested positive for progesterone, a female hormone banned because it is used to mask steroid use. Manny was suspended for 50 games and then, early this season, tested positive again. Rather than taking the 100 game suspension, Manny retired, essentially being forced from the game due to steroid use.
Before the steroid era, amphetamines are widely thought to have been the drug of choice for baseball players. Players like Jose Canseco note that it steroids were also very common long before the era began, but until then, amphetamines were more common. I even heard one story of a ball player who used to only slide head first because he didn’t want to break the viles of cocaine he kept in his back pocket. It’s still hard to test for HGH and certainly there are still cheaters, but the problem is largely cleaned up now.
Is this a sincere question, or just a rhetorical one as an essay opener? And one that appears to date from around, oh, 2002 at that — because those of us paying attention know that MLB, with the agreement of the MLBPA, has laid down the law, and does update the information as new steroids become available and identified. Let’s all try to keep up.
Yes, MLB maintains a list of prohibited substances — some listed explicitly, others captured by blanket citation of “Federal Regulations Schedules of Controlled Substances, Schedule III”.
What you want is in the document “MLB Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program”, section 2.B.
You can find that here: http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/info/cba.jsp
And you can find Schedule III here: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr/1308/1308_13.htm
…though for an actual list of anabolic androgenic steroids, you have to go to this other part (look, lawyers do this sort of thing; the info is there, but finding it is a pain): http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr/1300/1300_01.htm
It’s pretty dull stuff unless you’ve got a chemistry background.
Short answer for a long question: Yes, there are now specific rules regarding substances that are banned by MLB, and the penalties due to those found in violation of these policies (which is why players like Rafael Palmiero and Manny Ramirez were suspended when they tested positive.
Those who have been named in the Mitchel Report, or leaked from the “anonymous” pilot test in 2002 (like Alex Rodriguez or David Ortiz) have not incurred any penalty.