Performance Enhancing Drugs in the Minor Leagues

             For the start of the 2015 MLB and MiLB season the commissioner’s office of baseball handed out the list of just under 50 domestic minor league players that have tested positive for performance-enhancers, recreational drugs (a.k.a. drugs of abuse) and stimulants count as violations of the minor league drug prevention and treatment program. All suspensions are between 50-100 games of the 2015 minor league season.

            All baseball players know that baseball is one of the stickiest sports about performance-enhancers, recreational drugs (a.k.a. drugs of abuse) whether you are a youngster playing travel ball or a ten-year veteran in the major league. So why are all these players trying to get away with something illegal that will jeopardize their career forever? They will always have that on their back saying they have used these band drugs at some point in their lifetime and could possibly cause them to loose their eligibility for making the hall of fame in the future. Examples of that are Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa were the best baseball players in the 90’s and early 2000’s will most likely never be inducted to the hall of fame because of the substance abuse.

Texas (the RedHawks' parent club) usually tests everybody in the minor leagues two or three times a year, and then the commissioner's office comes in and tests maybe 10 guys on the team. "There's no comparison”, said RedHawks manager Bobby Jones.” Minor leaguers have no union. They're up to whatever the (baseball) commissioner wants to do, so they test these guys three or four times a year.”

 MiLB and MLB need to figure out what they want to do with this whole situation because it is truly getting out of hand. It is embarrassing to baseball fans and is killing America’s Past Time.