Talk and speculation continues regarding steroids and their effects on baseball, at all levels of the game. Somewhat less talked about is the increased numbers of injuries that have accompanied the offensive explosion in MLB over the past 10-12 years. Some have simplistically assigned blame for these increased injuries to the growing numbers of ball players lifting weights.  Here are some interesting injury statistics from MLB:

In a 2001 meeting between MLB club physicians and baseball commissioner Bud Selig, “club physicians told Selig that the use of the disabled list was 16 percent higher than in 1998. They told him that the roughly 900 players in the big leagues had used the DL 467 times. They told the commissioner that not only were more players injured in the past, but they remained injured longer, averaging 58 days out of action in 2001, a 20 percent over 1998.

“The doctors told Selig that the cost of payments to these injured players more than doubled, from $129 million in 1998 to $317 million in 2001.”

This does not, of course, “scientifically” prove that steroids were the cause of this increased injury rate. But, the doctors intimately involved with these players felt strongly that steroids were a contributing factor.

Of further interest is the type of injuries that are showing up. “The doctors told Selig that the types of injuries that were becoming more common were often associated with an increase in muscle mass… it was now common for players to suffer patella tendonitis, an injury caused when the knee joint bears increased stress. It was patella tendonitis that ended Mark McGwire’s career.

“During the era, the doctors also noted an increase in oblique and intracostal muscle injuries, usually referred to as rib cage strains, often caused by a combination of increased strength and torque. Team trainers often described an oblique strain as the muscle literally tearing away from the bone… Rib cage strains had not been common in baseball in earlier years… Inside the clubhouse, safe from the press and the scrutiny, baseball people would refer to these injuries as ‘steroid injuries.’”*

It is of interest to me to note what happened, or is happening, to some of those accused of using steroids. Former MVPs Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti spent a lot of time on the DL, particularly after winning their MVP awards. Bret Boone had some All-Star years from 1998-2003, but once testing began, his performance declined precipitously, and he’s now out of baseball at the relatively young age of 37. After Rafael Palmiero served his 10 game suspension for testing positive for stanozolol, he was not the same player and is now out of baseball. Sammy Sosa, after a very poor 2005 season, is also out of the game. Interesting that all of these alleged user’s performance declined when MLB began testing for steroids.

Then we have the saga of Barry Bonds and his pathetic performance thus far in 2006. We’ve heard all kinds of excuses/reasons for his decline – age, injuries (to his right knee), declining skills, etc. What I haven’t heard from the talking heads is that now that Bonds is, presumably, off the juice, maybe he’s not quite the player he was while on the juice. If these guys are going to discuss and speculate on his alleged steroid use, it’s perfectly consistent to further speculate on what is happening now that he’s supposedly no longer using steroids.

All of this is supposition, of course. I just think we should be as honest as we can be about all of this. Steroids appear to have made Bonds into an all-time great, but without their use, he’s less than that.

So here’s the lesson for any player of any age and ability level who is considering using steroids and similar performance-enhancing drugs:

While steroids may, in the short-term, increase your muscle mass and improve your on-field performance, those same unnaturally developed muscles will eventually turn on you, ripping loose from their tendons and causing increased, debilitating stress on ligaments and other tissues.

Injuries will inevitably follow, ultimately cutting your career short. This is the pattern we are now seeing from professional baseball. Effects on younger, teenage ballplayers are even more severe.

To further make this point, consider this experiment: Go into your local gym. Pick out the 10 biggest muscleheads. Give them a bat and put them into a batting cage throwing 90 mph. How many of them do you think would even make contact with a pitch, let alone pound a few line drives?  BIG MUSCLES DO NOT TRANSLATE INTO TOP BASEBALL PERFORMANCE!

But intelligently employing a strength and conditioning program can work wonders. In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, an article titled “Fabulous at 40” details the resurgence of Greg Maddux this year, after his sub-par 2005 season.

“Everyone works out, that’s part of the game,” Maddux says – but acknowledges that better conditioning helps him be more precise about his craft… Maddux doubled his upper-body strength, tripled his lower-body strength, and lowered his body-fat percentage from 18.8 to 15.3.”

Cubs catcher Michael Barrett says, “He’s throwing harder. Where he was throwing 83-86 on his fastball before, he’s throwing 86-88… But the biggest thing is that he’s recovering better from start to start. After every start he’s gotten better, and stronger.”

No one would ever accuse Maddux of using steroids, yet he’s a 40 year old player doing appropriate strength and conditioning work to improve and prolong his career.  Interesting to me that the steroid users of his age and time are having so many physical problems, but Maddux, also a weight lifter, is not. 

So what kinds of things can you safely change to augment your workouts and your results?

To some degree, the answer depends on your personal philosophy. For me, anything that is 1) Illegal, or 2) Breaks the known and established rules of the game, is not acceptable, ever. It is cheating.

This leaves a number of alternatives that don’t neatly fit under my two rules above, of course, and may or may not be acceptable. Some questions for your consideration:

1)  Many injured players use cortisone shots administered by team physicians. This often allows them to perform while still injured. OK or not?

2)  A ball player has been out late the night before a day game. He drinks a large number of cups of coffee to help him be more focused and alert. Does he have an advantage over players in the same situation who may not drink coffee?  Fair or unfair?

3)  A pitcher has a sore arm and takes some aspirin to help him recover and make his next start. Is aspirin therefore a performance enhancer?

4)  A player with a mega-million dollar contract hires a team of specialists to help him with his conditioning and nutrition. Is this an unfair advantage over players who cannot afford this level of specialized assistance?

5)  Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry admitted to using various substances to help him increase movement on his pitches in order to more easily retire batters. Saliva and KY Jelly are not illegal substances. Gamesmanship or cheating?

6)  A team is able to pick up a quirk in a pitcher’s delivery that lets them know what pitch is coming, making that pitcher more hittable. Gamesmanship or cheating?

7)  A security guard on the late shift takes a legal substance to help him stay awake and alert in order to properly perform his job. This substance offers the same benefits to ballplayers, but happens to be banned by MLB.  Is it OK for a worker in one profession to take this substance to help their performance, while it is disallowed by another profession? What's the difference, if any?

Such a list of questions could be much longer, of course. The point is that each player, coach and owner has an obligation to follow the rules of the game, REGARDLESS of the consequences. And in these somewhat more gray areas, ethics should prevail.  

I submit there is a great deal of difference between an illegal substance that is widely regarded to enhance athletic performance and the things ordinarily available to most people on an everyday basis.

So here’s a great list of ideas, courtesy of Dr. Eric Seranno, of some things ball players can do to improve the results of their strength and conditioning regimens.  Question – do those who act upon this information have an unfair advantage over those who don’t?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/07/AR2006050700913.html

*Source: “Juicing The Game” by Howard Bryant, pp.261-63

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