By Diane M. Grassi
Major League Baseball’s (MLB) latest feat of extended “labor peace” with the Major League Players Association (MLBPA) was reached on November 22, 2011.
And in this latest Basic Agreement between the parties, which will run five years in duration and expire on December 1, 2016, MLB has apparently won out in its attempt to curb illicit use of human growth hormone (HGH), by its players. However, such a test could prove to be little more than a charade, as it stands now.
Questions remain regarding the current MLB bat manufacturing process and after-market tampering of bats which may be responsible for the present epidemic of broken and exploding bats, as players look for that extra edge, no longer satisfied by PED’s.
By David J. Cohen
Since the steroid cloud has polluted athletics fans everywhere have debated whether certain players are steroid users. Did Barry Bonds improve ten hat sizes in four years or did he hit his head really really hard one day? Did Slamming Sammy get his power from giving grace to the lord or by slamming some needles into his body? Is Shawn Merriman now just lights out or is he still juiced up? With many players the glaring signs are there but there is no tangible proof. And unless a player couldn’t cover up, wrote a book, or hired the worst lawyer in America it would always remain a debate. Until now.
Scrutiny which has been paid, in only just the past two years, over drug use among MLB players, while having been a black eye for MLB, is also convenient as Commissioner Bud Selig need not address myriad other issues which also play their part in preserving the integrity of the game.