Expansion of Human Growth Hormone Testing in Major League Baseball – MLB News
It looks like Major League Baseball will be following the lead set by the National Football League and expand their testing methods for detecting human growth hormone during the upcoming regular season.
MLB will be looking to expand their testing methods as they want to detect any fluctuations in the testosterone levels amongst the players. The expansion will include not only blood testing but urine testing as well. It seems MLB is looking to tighten the screws on players that might be using the current system to squeak by. It is imperative for the MLB to start working in a positive manner to help improving the image of baseball and their players.
''This is a proud and a great day for baseball,'' commissioner Bud Selig said. ''We'll continue to be a leader in this field and do what we have to do.''
The new testing program will require the records of each player to be kept at the Anti-Doping Agency’s Laboratory in Quebec.
The timing of this announcement from MLB is rather ironic as just yesterday some top players like Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were unable to secure enough votes to get in to the Hall of Fame. The irony is that these three players have been surrounded in performance enhancing drugs scandal and controversy for the past few years. It was certainly a shock for many of the fans as the tremendous record of Bonds, Clemens and Sosa would usually easily grant them a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Selig also commented about the changes in the drug testing policy of MLB. ''This is remarkable when you think of where we were 10, 12, 15 years ago and where we are today,'' he said. ''Nobody could have dreamed it.''
The fans will appreciate the efforts by MLB to clean up their act and enforce tighter testing standards that each player will get checked at least once during the regular season. For some it may seem that MLB is trying too hard to get their testing standards up to par. It will be interesting to see how the players react to this new testing program as Spring Training is right around the corner.
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