Major League Baseball started testing their players for amphetamines in 2006, three years after they began testing for steroids, and until today there is no clear evidence that this policy has been successful in preventing the use of amphetamines and steroids in the league. The reason is that only those who tested positive for amphetamines more than once were suspended or punished and those who tested positive only once were not revealed or punished and were only given a warning. This means that there is no record or way of knowing how many players had been caught using amphetamines for a particular year. It could be a handful or it could be 20, or even a hundred players, who knows.

In the last three years, only two players have been identified in using amphetamines more than once. This suggests that those caught the first time could have stopped using amphetamines for the time being, but used them or could still be using them nonetheless.

The number of players who are tested as first-time positives within a span of a year is substantial information that can pinpoint if there is a real problem with amphetamine use within the league. It is possible that players are using amphetamines until they are caught.

Before amphetamine and steroid testing was implemented, starting pitcher David Wells claimed that up to 40 percent of major baseball leaguers used steroids and that amphetamines were readily available in most baseball clubhouses. He said this in his autobiography tell-all, Perfect I’m Not! Boomer on Beer, Brawls, Backaches and Baseball. He also admitted to being half-drunk and having a “skull-rattling hangover” from sleeping only three hours when he pitched a perfect game in May 1998 against Minnesota. He also wrote that “the use of anabolic homer-helpers is flat-out booming” especially in the minors where everyone was chasing after the multimillion-dollar paycheck. At 12 bucks per shot, the steroid vials were seen as a solid investment. He also says that some major leaguers used Ritalin to keep alert, as well as painkillers to keep on going. The vice president for the league’s labor relations, Rob Manfred, declined to comment on Well’s claims.

A clearer picture of the situation will emerge early next year. In January 2009, the Major League Baseball’s testing administrator will release the number of first-time positives for amphetamine tests for the year 2008, as well as some details about the testing program. Previously, the league only made public the number of players who tested positive for steroids but not amphetamines. The decision to release data on the use of amphetamines was partly influenced by George J. Mitchell’s report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, released last December. Included in the report’s 20 recommendations was releasing the data of first-time positives.

Amphetamines are known to be a staple in baseball clubhouses and at times, accepted as a way for players to go through touch 162-game season. Only two players—Mike Cameron and Neifi Perez—have been suspended for testing positive in the three years since the testing was instituted.

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