First MLB player busted for HgH...

[Berzin]

Thirty year old first baseman Mike Jacobs, playing for the Triple A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, has been handed the first suspension for HgH in North American pro sports history.

He got 50 games and has been released by the club, a double-whammy that should send the message home.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6...do-rockies-tests-positive-hgh-banned-50-games

 

[hrotha]

How much is 50 games? About half a season?

I'm surprised they even test for HGH. They don't do it in football (soccer). Is the common perception that anything goes in regards to doping in American sports no longer accurate? Baseball has had more doping scandals than other leagues so I figure they might be the equivalent of cycling in American sports so they might have more strict tests than the rest. I honestly don't know.

 

[Andynonomous]

I believe most sports don't bother testing for HGH, since it clears the system so quickly. This player must have been tested very shortly after administration of the drug.

They play 162 game regular season in the major leagues. I don't know about the minor leagues (as is the player mentioned).

Baseball probably has better testing than the other "club-level" pro sports in North America (NBA, NFL, NHL), but not as good as cycling.

 

[veganrob]

They had to bust a minor leaguer first to send a message to the majors. This guy did do a few stints in the majors though.

 

[jobiwan]

They're trying out this new HGH testing system in the minors, and then when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires at the end of this year, the owners and players will discuss implementing it in the majors as part of a new deal.

There is doubt as to whether the players' union will agree to this, but there are major leaguers who are in favor of it, such as my team's best player, Brian McCann!

Here's an article about the system and its implementation from when this new system was first announced.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100722&content_id=12522320&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

[BYOP88]

I believe most sports don't bother testing for HGH, since it clears the system so quickly. This player must have been tested very shortly after administration of the drug.

They play 162 game regular season in the major leagues. I don't know about the minor leagues (as is the player mentioned).

Baseball probably has better testing than the other "club-level" pro sports in North America (NBA, NFL, NHL), but not as good as cycling.

The AAA season is 144 games. If he was at the lower end of the minor league system(Short A or Rookie league), 50 games would be almost a complete season ban.

@Veganrob- Yeah he was on the Mets 25 man roster at the start of last season(if I recall correctly)before he was DFA and replaced on the 25 man roster by Ike Davis.

 

[skippythepinhead]

They had to bust a minor leaguer first to send a message to the majors. This guy did do a few stints in the majors though.

Interesting guy to pick. Probably doomed to life in AAA with the occasional September call up or IR fill-in. Not a big loss for the team that loses him. Definitely selected to send a warning that they're serious.

 

[Willy_Voet]

The Thomas Frei of baseball...

 

[Mr.DNA]

Naturally he was only using it to recover from injuries (he should pay a royalty to Andy Pettitte for use of that excuse) and he stopped taking it after being tested. What a guy.

 

[zigmeister]

Well, the system worked in this case. But I have to imagine, that this wasn't just some random drug test.

The cost of HgH testing isn't cheap, and he just so happened to claim to take it a few weeks previously, was tested for HgH for some reason, then stopped taking it.

It would seem as if someone was tipped off...what are the chances of a random test catching a guy who is taking it in some minor league game that is obscure? Unless they are all taking it and it is a known rampant wide spread problem.

Seems a bit suspicious the whole "testing" and randomness of this.

Anyway, the guy fessed up, took responsibility and the system did its job to catch guys doing PEDs. Now if they can just get this implemented in the NFL, MLB Majors, NBA and all the pro-level sports, you might have something to actual combat the issue.

 

[sagard]

I'll be shocked if the MLB Players union ever signs off on blood testing, and the owners don't really give a @#$% about drug use at the MLB level.