Baseball Drug Plan Excludes Amphetamines January 19, 2005
News Summary
Major league baseball's new drug-testing policy doesn't include amphetamines, and some observers expect players to take full advantage of the omission, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Jan. 15.Baseball players have been using "speed" for more than 40 years to get an edge, writes Bruce Jenkins, and players made sure that amphetamines would not be included in the new drug policy. "I think it's reasonable to assume that if you banned amphetamines, the level of major-league play would fall significantly," Jenkins quoted an industry source as saying. "Even if it didn't, you'd have players believing that it would, having lost a time-honored crutch and a source of great confidence."
Players value amphetamines because they help them stay alert and perform better. Plus, speed is seen as not having as many negative health effects as steroids. "Say it's around midnight near the end of an exhausting road trip," writes Jenkins. "If you're looking for a key hit against someone throwing 100-mph gas, there's no comparison between a tired, drowsy ballplayer and a guy so jacked-up, mentally, he steps to the plate with a wide-eyed vengeance."
Concludes Jenkins, "This may have been an encouraging week for baseball's war on steroids, but hundreds of edge-seeking players scored a victory, as well."
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