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Baseball's Ongoing Steroid ProblemThe Performance-Enhancing Drug Issue is a Matter That Won't Go AwayFrom the Congressional Hearings to the recent arrest of a Mets' employee who claims to have dealt steroids to players, the MLB's biggest headache just won't go away.
Page 2 of 2 The Congressional Hearings A few months after Jose Canseco released his book, Congressmen Tom Davis convened a Capitol Hill hearing to investigate the use of performance-enhancing drugs within the sport. Canseco, McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro all testified. Palmeiro not only denied taking steroids, but in a memorable performance, pointed his finger at his Congressional interrogators and unequivocally stated: “I have never used steroids. Period.” Less than five months later, Palmeiro tested positive for an anabolic steroid known as Winstrol. It was a blow that resulted in his suspension and a premature end to his career. During the same hearings, McGwire refused to answer any questions about steroid use, claiming that he was not there to “talk about the past.” Most Americans took McGwire’s evasive responses to be an admission of improper behavior. The Jason Grimsley Arrest Grimsley was a journeyman middle reliever who was arrested in Arizona in June of 2006 when he tried to accept delivery of over $3,000 of Human Growth Hormone from an undercover postal inspector. After his arrest, Grimsley cooperated with authorities and gave them the names of many players whom he claimed had also used HGH or steroids. To date, only the name of former player David Segui has been released to the public, but there has been rampant speculation that Grimsley may have helped many of his more famous teammates on the Yankees, Royals, Orioles and Diamondbacks obtain and administer performance enhancing drugs. The Gary Matthews Affair After he had signed a five year, $55 million contract to play for the Los Angeles Angels, outfielder Gary Matthews’s name was discovered on a list of alleged clients of a large steroid distribution ring that was being run in Albany, New York. Although Matthews denied that he has ever taken any such substances, many doubters point to the fact that prior to the 2006 season, the lithe outfielder was a journeyman with a career .248 Batting Average who hit only 8 home runs and 34 RBI per year from1999-2005. Yet, in 2006, he hit .313 with 19 home runs and 79 RBI, number that allowed him to secure the monster contract with the LA Angels. One needn’t be a genius to link the steroid allegations and Matthews’s sudden and dramatic increase in performance. Kirk Radomski Could Blow this Whole Thing Wide Open Most recently, federal prosecutors in New York City revealed that a former New York Mets’ clubhouse employee had pled guilty to distributing steroids to players over the course of an entire decade. Investigators claim that Radomski took over the steroid supply business after BALCO was shut down. Although no names of ballplayers have been released just yet, it is clear that at some point in the future, Radomski will testify in court about his actions and give up the names of many alleged drug users. He is also now cooperating with baseball’s own steroid investigation, which is being headed up by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell.
The copyright of the article Baseball's Ongoing Steroid Problem in Baseball is owned by James Lincoln Ray. Permission to republish Baseball's Ongoing Steroid Problem in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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