Continued from Post #2587

The 1998 home run record chase between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire brought worldwide attention to performance enhancing drugs. In 2002, the Major League Baseball Players Association adopted mandatory testing, and in 2003 the federal government got involved with an investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. A grand jury heard testimony from athletes like Marion Jones, Jason Giambi, and Barry Bonds, ultimately determining that 27-athletes received steroids from this lab. There was also the Mitchell Report in 2007, another investigation regarding steroid use in sports. 

As a result, mandatory testing expanded to include other stimulants in 2005, and in 2011 human growth hormones (HGH) were banned. The Biogenesis scandal broke in 2013, alleging that Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun acquired HGH from an anti-aging clinic. Thirteen players were suspended as a result. There is nothing wrong with a player’s motivation to improve body and mind. Proper diet, vitamins, and supplements are a first step, but sometimes what you put in your body can get you in trouble. In some cases, an athlete may not even know the impact of the contents, so drugs will always be subject to controversy and there will undoubtedly be new developments. 

There are other tricks of the trade that fall into the category of cheating. Altering the facility grounds typically involves conniving people in the organization outside of the players themselves. Some might consider this clever gamesmanship, but there are rules against it. Airflow manipulation to change the trajectory of the ball was the big concern at the Metrodome and other indoor facilities. Is this a home field advantage or blatant violation? In 1981, Seattle Mariners manager Maury Wills instructed the grounds crew to draw the batter’s box one foot longer than allowed to prevent his player, Tom Paciorek, from stepping out of the box after complaints from the Oakland Athletics. Naturally, their coach Billy Martin spotted the modification before the game, always seeming to find the smallest indiscretions and holes in the rules. Wills was suspended for two-days. Groundskeepers have been known to water down the basepaths to slow running speed or slope the infield to keep bunts in play. These changes were made depending on the opponent.

The strategy of the game has also changed. Consider the inaugural rule of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club back in 1845: “The ball must be pitched, not thrown, for the bat.” The pitcher’s role back then and for many years following was to put the ball in play for batters to hit. There then came a point where pitchers began intentionally throwing pitches that were difficult to hit, underhanded styles disappeared, and bending the elbow was allowed, soon evolving into today’s overhand delivery. Pitchers, as always, tried to get away with what they could and still do!

Lying and cheating about age has always been a factor in any sport. A player takes advantage of competing with younger kids, sometimes influenced by parents, or suddenly becomes younger to appeal to the scouts. Others have changed their names to cover previous involvement like Roberto Hernández from Puerto Rico and Juan Carlos Oviedo from the Dominican Republic. Denny Almonte competed in the 2001 Little League World Series, despite being two years older than the 12-year cutoff. Controlling such age fabrication is a major concern, particularly when it comes to international competition. Similarly, the 2014 Little League World Series runner-up was disqualified after it was discovered that many of the players lived outside the acceptable geographic range. Even at the amateur level in softball and baseball leagues, “ringers” are often brought in to pad a team’s lineup.

It’s not just great players that are enlisted to help the winning effort. The St. Louis Browns famously sent 
Eddie Gaedel to bat after signing a contract with team owner, Bill Veeck. His 3’7″ frame made the strike zone exceptionally small, so naturally he walked and was replaced by a pinch runner. Silly cheating tricks like this include a minor-league catcher who hid a potato in his glove, intentionally deceiving the baserunner as to the actual ball. Finally, New York Mets manager, Bobby Valentine, after being ejected from a game in 1999, disguised himself in a hat, sunglasses, and fake mustache to gain entrance back into the dugout. He was quickly recognized and later suspended for two-games. Are these questionable actions really considered cheating or just good entertainment?

To be continued…
 

 

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