The latest feat of Major League Baseball of extended “labor peace” with the Major League Players Association was reached on November 22, 2011.

MLB has apparently won out in its attempt to curb illicit use of human growth hormone (HGH) by its players, as per terms of the latest basic agreement between the parties.

From Sports-central.org:

The lockouts by both the NFL and NBA this year perhaps did not go by unnoticed by MLB brass in its seemingly under-the-radar collective bargaining talks with the MLBPA this past fall. MLB attempted to show up the other leagues’ rather unkempt labor relations.

And MLB Commissioner Bud Selig made it quite clear by way of his public display of self-aggrandizement during the week following a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached, that his is the first North American professional sports league to agree to such a test for HGH. And perhaps it was indeed Selig’s latest and greatest coup yet, in such a pronouncement, however yet to be realized.

The agreement will run five years in duration and expire on December 1, 2016. Article 39, Sec. 7 (b) of the NFL’s CBA states: “The parties confirm that the Program on Anabolic Steroids and related Substances will include both annual blood testing and random blood testing for human growth hormone, with discipline for positive tests at the same level as for steroids.”

Tags: anabolic steroids, HGH, human growth hormone, Major League Baseball, MLB, NFL, steroids

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The Major League Baseball may have come to an agreement with its players to test their blood for human growth hormone but the game will be expected to come to grips with its present testing before it touts itself as the leader in new drug testing, said BALCO founder Victor Conte.

Conte further remarked that MLB should be using a more sophisticated form of detecting testosterone or its HGH testing would not really make a difference as players often make use of small amounts of testosterone in conjunction with HGH.

From Articles.nydailynews.com:

“HGH is not effective unless it is used in conjunction with testosterone or other anabolic steroids,” Conte says. “It’s important to understand that HGH is not an anabolic agent. It is an anti-catabolic agent. It basically helps to reduce muscle degradation and enables a player to maintain the gains they’ve made using steroids for a longer period of time. By itself, HGH has been shown to have no significant performance-enhancing effects.”

Conte, who is now an advocate for stronger testing, has been saying for years that the 4-to-1 testosterone to epitestosterone ratio used by baseball and other leagues to detect testosterone use is ineffective.

“Testosterone gels, creams and patches will clear an MLB player’s system within a matter of hours and be below the 4 to 1 T/E ratio allowable in urine,” he says. “A player could possibly use a fast-acting form of testosterone at night after a game to help with recovery and their T/E ratio would be within the normal range by the time they would get to the ballpark the next evening.

“If MLB were to implement CIR testing, I believe they would possibly catch a significant number of players using testosterone,” Conte says.

Tags: anabolic steroids, BALCO, baseball, HGH testing, human growth hormone, Major League Baseball, MLB, steroids, testosterone, Testosterone gels, testosterone to epitestosterone ratio, Victor Conte

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Two House Democrats are urging Major League Baseball and the players union for implementing testing for human growth hormone and ban chewing tobacco by players in uniform and in public view.

Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Frank Pallone of New Jersey made those requests in a letter to Commissioner Bud Selig and Michael Weiner, executive director of the players union.

From Espn.go.com:

“These issues affect the integrity of the game, the health of your players, and most important, the health of teenagers who aspire to be like pro players,” the congressmen wrote.

The players union declined to comment on the letter. MLB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Waxman and Pallone noted that Selig testified in 2008 that he would support an HGH test “when a valid, commercially available and practical test for HGH becomes reality,” and that Weiner’s predecessor, Donald Fehr, said at that hearing the union would “consider in good faith any valid and effective test which is developed.” Waxman chaired that hearing, held to discuss the Mitchell Report, which identified major league players it said had used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

“The time to begin testing for HGH in baseball has arrived,” Waxman wrote, citing the use of blood testing for HGH in the Olympics.

Tags: HGH in baseball, HGH test, human growth hormone, Major League Baseball, Mitchell Report, MLB, test for HGH

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A warning has been sent to MLB players from Major League Baseball for them to avoid the use of Deer Antler spray or face suspension for using a league banned substance.

The spray, which is an alternative to steroids, has been added to the MLB list of”potentially contaminated nutritional supplements.”

From Inquisitr.com:

At the center of the controversy is IGF-1 (an insulin-like growth factor) which is found on the velvet from antlers in immature deers. IGF-1 specifically affects a person’s level of human growth hormone.

The makers of the spray say it enhances performance and can’t be detected through urine samples. While blood tests can show the drug the MLB only relies on urine tests at this time. MLB officials however believe that the spray can cause players to test positive for methyltestosterone, a banned steroid.

The MLB can petition for the right to draw blood samples in players, however at this point the players association has refused to grant blood tests for all players despite understanding that certain drugs can not be tested using basic urine tests.

MLB players are currently being educated about the drug since long-term effects from the drug have not been explored at this time.

Tags: IGF-1, Major League Baseball, methyltestosterone, MLB, nutritional supplements, steroid, steroids

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One of Cincinnati’s top pitching prospects, Jonathan Correa, has been suspended for lying about his age.

Correa, who entered the year ranked 26th on the Reds Top 30 prospects list, received a one-year suspension from MLB for lying about his age.

From Baseballamerica.com:

Correa signed out of the Dominican Republic on Jan. 22, 2008, presenting himself with a Sept. 13, 1990 date of birth that would have made him 20 right now. Correa pitched four games for the Dominican Summer League Reds in 2008 until he received a 50-game suspension when he tested positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid prescribed for veterinary use. Correa then had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament once his season was done.

Correa, who is 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, made his U.S. debut last year in the Rookie-level Arizona League, where he had a 2.06 ERA, 49 strikeouts and nine walks in 39 1/3 innings. Correa ranked as the league’s No. 12 prospect, running his fastball up to 94 mph with a solid curveball with slurvy break. Toward the end of the season he received a promotion to the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he had a 5.00 ERA and a 34-10 K-BB mark in 27 innings. He was expected to either return to the Pioneer League or open in low Class A Dayton but he has not pitched this season.

Experts are of the view that the MLB has been going back to do background investigations on players who are presently playing in the U.S. minor leagues.

Tags: anabolic steroid, boldenone, Jonathan Correa, MLB

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A warning was issued by the Major League Baseball (MLB) to major and minor league players last week for stop ingesting deer antler spray.

Baseball players used to felt safe using a deer antler spray as an alternative to steroids with almost no risk of flunking a drug test.

From Sportsillustrated.cnn.com:

Deer antlers? Yes, chemists have figured out that the velvet from immature deer antlers includes insulin-like growth factor, or IGF-1, which mediates the level of human growth hormone in the body, and is also banned by MLB and the World Anti-Doping Agency, among others, for its muscle-building and fat-cutting effects.

The antlers are harvested from young deer, ground up and packaged into spray form. The substance is sprayed under the tongue. One manufacturer touts among its benefits “anabolic or growth stimulation,” “athletic performance” and “muscular strength and endurance.”

IGF-1, like HGH, cannot be detected in the urine tests used by baseball. Under the right circumstances, it could be detected in a blood test, but the players association has not agreed to blood testing.

MLB added the product to its list of “potentially contaminated nutritional supplements.”

Tags: HGH, IGF-1, Major League Baseball, MLB, nutritional supplements, steroids

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A New York Times report has suggested that MLB (Major League Baseball) and union officials may have misled the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding the amount of steroid use among players.

The Times revealed that officials appearing before the House Committee presented figures that demonstrated that baseball’s two-year-old testing program had substantially reduced the number of positive tests for performance enhancing drugs.

From Espnstar.com:

“It’s clear that some of the information Major League Baseball and the players’ union gave the committee in 2005 was inaccurate,” Waxman said in a written statement, according to the Times. “It isn’t clear whether this was intentional or just reflects confusion over the testing program for 2003 and 2004. In any case, the misinformation is unacceptable.”

The newspaper also reported that the committee’s staff plans to send letters to MLB commissioner Bud Selig and union executive director Donald Fehr about what Waxman deemed “misinformation.”

Those falsities came from the information about 2004 testing, which was shut down for part of the season, allowing for the significantly lower number of positive results, according to the report. The newspaper said the committee was not aware of that. The Times reported that Selig’s office later called that shutdown “an emergency response to an unforeseen situation,” which the report said was in reference to the federal investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative steroid ring.

Therefore, players who tested positive in 2003 were not tested again until the end of the 2004 season, skewing baseball‘s perceived reduction in positive tests, the report said. Those players also reportedly may have been notified prior to being tested.

Deputy Commissioner Rob Manfred said the testimony of Major League Baseball officials was completely accurate.

Tags: Major League Baseball, MLB, Performance enhancing drugs, steroid ring, steroid use

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Richard Thomas, 36, of Lakeland, recently confessed to selling anabolic steroids to professional athletes. He pleaded guilty to federal charges last Tuesday.

According to authorities, hundreds of dollars worth of anabolic steroids were found in his home in Stoney Creek Drive. Last May, deputies and federal agents set up an entrapment delivery of a package with contraband sent from overseas.

Records show that the packages came from various countries such as China, Russia, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.

Federal agents initially intercepted a suspicious package in May 21. The package came from Slovakia. It was addressed to “Mahlon” Thomas in Lakeland.

Polk County Sheriffs wired the package with an electronic beacon so they would know if the package was opened. Thomas told authorities that he was the biggest steroids provider in Central Florida. He claimed to have supplied steroids to some of the players from Washington Capitals Hockey team and Washington Capitals baseball team.

Books about steroids, blister packs of Valium, packaging labels, firearms, a digital scale, and bodybuilding photos and trophies were also found in Thomas’ home during the search.

According to NY Daily News, MLB is also conducting their own investigation regarding Thomas’ claims.

From TBO:

TAMPA – A Lakeland man who told authorities he sold steroids to professional athletes pleaded guilty today to a federal steroids charge.

Richard Thomas, 36, faces up to five years in prison on a charge of possession of steroids with intent to distribute.

Tags: MLB, Richard Thomas, steroids, Washington Capitals baseball team, Washington Capitals Hockey team

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A-Rod’s season did not start out well with a confession of past steroid use and this year, he debuted with a hip surgery, slowing down his performance for this season.

However, in the end, everything was all worth it after New York Yankees’ third baseman ended this season with a 27th World Series Title for his team.

According to A-Rod, he already hit rock bottom this year. Therefore, he has nothing to lose anymore this year. However, he believes that if more pressure were taken off and less worries were spent on individual stuff, then your talents can shine naturally.

This year will prove to be different for Alex Rodriguez. Three American League MVP awards, 12 All-Star Game selections, a pair of Gold Gloves and now a World Series ring, hopefully people will be running back in his way.

Rodriguez is just so grateful with 25 teammates, coaches, the MLB organization and the Steinbrenner family that supported him even through the steroids scandal. Added to that, he was also plagued with gossips about his romance with Madonna and now Kate Hudson. It may be a page header for the tabloids but when it comes to playing baseball, Rodriguez is more focused and determined as ever.

From The Sports Network:

After 16 major league seasons, three American League MVP awards in his trophy case, 12 All-Star Game selections and a pair of Gold Gloves, Alex Rodriguez finally earned the piece of hardware he’s yearned for – a World Series ring.

Tags: A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, MLB, steroids, World Series

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Since the late 1980s, many athletes have been linked to steroids and PEDs use. Perhaps, baseball is the sport with the greatest steroid controversies. Some of the biggest and greatest names in baseball have been linked to steroids use, especially in the BALCO scandal.

The most famous being Barry Bonds, who is well known for breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record. These days, he is also known for another thing, his association with steroids. Bonds, no matter how great his records are in baseball, could never get a contract with any MLB teams and spent all his 2008 with no activity.

In 2003, Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative was accused of supplying anabolic steroids, HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs to professional players in the MLB and in US Track and Field. Some of those athletes include Jason Giambi, Bill Romanowski and Marion Jones.

Added to the BALCO scandal was the list of 104 players who failed the drug test in 2003. The list was supposed to be kept confidential until federal authorities illegally seized the list during a BALCO related search.

Regardless of the advantages it could bring to an athlete’s professional career, the side effects could not be ignored. Its life-long effect in the reputation of professional sports can also be detrimental.

From Bleacher Report:

A new era of baseball is in progress. Pitchers with 210 strikeouts a season, hitters getting over 500 home runs a year with 40 stolen bases. All regular statistics nowadays, but are they legit?

Ever since the late 1980s many sports figures (mostly baseball) have been linked to PED’s (Performance Enhancing Drugs). Some of these athletes include the biggest names in baseball. Even though the testing and tolerance level has grown stricter and stricter over the years drug use has continued to increase

Tags: anabolic steroids, BALCO, HGH, MLB

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