Associated Press - May 29, 2003
 Tom Glavine doesn't think steroid use is as prevalent as Ken Caminiti says it is. |
 Frank Thomas wants baseball to find out. |
|
Tom Glavine doesn't think steroid use is as prevalent as Ken Caminiti says it is. |
Frank Thomas wants baseball to find out. |
Associated
Press
Former Houston Astro Ken Caminiti estimated that at least half the
major leaguers use steroids, and he told Sports Illustrated he was on them when
he was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1996. Tom Glavine, the Atlanta
Braves left-hander who has served as the team's representative to the players'
union since 1990, doubts the problem is that widespread.
"Fifty
percent is a lot, and if I'm going to sit here and look at 25 guys on my ballclub
and think 12 or 13 are on steroids, then no, I don't believe it,'' he said Wednesday.
"But if I look at 700 players overall, there might be some teams who have
more than 13. I don't know."
Frank Thomas
wants baseball to start testing for steroids, saying he feels "cheated''
if other players are using drugs.
"I
don't know who's on and who's not on,'' the two-time MVP with the Chicago White
Sox said. "There is definitely more activity in the weight room nowadays.
I was hoping that it was just old guys working hard in the weight room. I really
think it's time for testing.
Glavine said the
union may have to address the issue, but he's not sure how.
"It's easy for me to
sit here and say I don't care about drug testing because I don't take steroids
and don't take drugs,'' he said. "It's not a big deal to me, but obviously
there is much greater cause for concern that goes into why you would or would
not agree with doing that.''
Yankees pitcher Sterling Hitchcock told newsday that Caminiti's use of steroids
was common knowledge, even in the Padres' front office.
"I don't think (the
Sports Illustrated report) is a big surprise to anybody," Hitchcock told
Newsday in Thursday's editions. "You knew he used them ... And it would
be hard to say (Padres management) didn't know it was going on. But I guess
you never know."
Baseball officials said following an owners meeting in Chicago they would like
a program to deal with steroids and testing. The NFL and NBA prohibit steroids
and test for them. The NHL and Major League Baseball have no policy regarding
their use.
"We've made a comprehensive
proposal to the players' association to deal with the issue of steroids and
testing for steroids at the major league level, and we're hopeful that it's
an issue that will be resolved in the bargaining process,'' said Rob Manfred,
baseball's top labor lawyer.
A ban in baseball, or even testing players on 40-man rosters, would have to be bargained with the players. The union has resisted such a plan.
"The
association regards the issue as a serious and complicated one and will treat
those discussions accordingly,'' union spokesman Greg Bouris said.
Dick Pound, a Canadian who is head of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a member of the International Olympic Committee, said the issue puts the United States in a bad light to the rest of the world.
"I
think it's very unfortunate that the national sport of one of the few countries
in the world is quite unrepentant about steroid use,'' Pound said. "That's
a very bad message to send.''
Recently retired slugger Jose Canseco went even further than Caminiti, saying 85 percent of players use steroids. New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine thought those estimates were overblown.
"Only
if it's in the water or there's some way players are ingesting them without
knowing it,'' Valentine said before his team's home game against Philadelphia.
"I think it's a total exaggeration unless you're saying some of the stuff
like MetRx mix and the blender stuff is a steroid, then I stand corrected. As
far as something injected or prescribed, I think it's preposterous to say 85
percent.''
There may be rumors
about certain players, but Yankees manager Joe Torre said that's all he's ever
heard -- rumors.
"I'm
not sure how widespread this problem is,'' Torre said. "I've seen players
go from tall, skinny guys to tall, strong guys. Sure, you can say he's got to
be doing something, but I've never had anybody tell me for sure that, `This
person is doing this.' It's always, 'I heard this guy is doing it.''
Toronto manager Buck Martinez believes his clubhouse is clean.
"I
would fight for the character of my 25 players,'' he said. "There are so
many wonderful people that play baseball. You have to be careful not to paint
everybody with the same brush.''
But as a player, Martinez admitted he didn't always know what others were doing around him when baseball went through a drug scandal in the 1980s.
"I
came from the baseball generation of cocaine abuse,'' Martinez said. "I
was naive to that when my teammates were involved.''
Thomas said he'd have no problem being tested.
"I
know what I put into the game day in and day out,'' he said. "I feel cheated
if everyone's on steroids, because I know how I've worked to get to this level
and try to maintain it.''
Mets outfielder Jay Payton doesn't necessarily believe steroid use can be called an unfair advantage.
"Who's
to say steroids should be illegal?'' he said. "There's plenty of legal
stuff to take to serve that purpose. If they did test, it might even the playing
field. If you take steroids, it doesn't mean you can hit a 95 mph fastball.''
Indians designated hitter Ellis Burks questions the number of players said to be using steroids.
"When
you go out and use some kind of steroid to enhance your performance, that's
pretty much cheating,'' Burks said. "It's going on. A lot of people do
it and have been for a while. I don't think half the league. But there is a
certain number.''
Indians infielder John McDonald can understand why some players might choose
to risk taking steroids.
"It's a great debate,''
he said. "Do you do it? Do you not do it? If you had the opportunity to
play in the big leagues, and you only had a small window of opportunity to do
it in, what would you do?'
'