We Don't Condone It, but It Still Makes Sense for Baseball Players to Use PEDs

Major League Baseball started punishing players for positive PED tests in 2005. Seven years later, the good news is that the system is working.

According to a report published on MLB.com in early December of 2011, the amount of PED suspensions handed out per season is dropping. That's a sign that players around the league have gotten the message.

This does not, however, mean that PED usage is entirely absent in Major League Baseball. The fact that players are still being caught and suspended makes it pretty obvious that players are still juicing, and it stands to reason that there are some players out there who have managed to avoid getting caught.

Players are still using. I know that, you know that and Major League Baseball sure as heck knows that. No doubt the question most fans want to ask is a simple one:

Why?

This simple question has a simple answer: Because it makes total sense. Players use performance-enhancing drugs a) because they can, b) because they do exactly what they promise to do and c) because it's not a given that they're going to get punished.

Before we go any further, let's be clear on what we're talking about when we use the term "PED." Your thoughts immediately race to steroids and human growth hormone, but baseball's list of banned substances is significantly more complicated than that. The Los Angeles Times has a list. I recommend checking it out.

Not everything on the list is stuff that players have to buy illegally from shady characters from origins unknown. For example, both J.C. Romero and Sergio Mitre had PED tests turn up positive for over-the-counter supplements in 2009, drawing the ire of MLB (see MLB.com). And if you believe David Ortiz, he tested positive in 2003 for "supplements and vitamins" (see ESPN.com report) that he bought over the counter.

The point is that there's an easy way and a hard way for players to enhance their performance. They may as well be shopping for a car. They've got options.

No matter which option they choose, they're going to get better at their job. Some will debate the notion that PEDs actually make baseball players "better" baseball players, but there's unfortunately too much evidence in support of the idea. These things can't make a player a better natural hitter or a better natural pitcher, but they can make players stronger and more capable of holding up throughout the course of a 162-game season. Extra strength can lead to longer fly balls and faster fastballs, and durability is something that all players strive for.

Yes, there's the risk of getting caught, but there's also the possibility of being rewarded. 

This is an argument you've heard before. It's worth it for some scrub in the minor leagues to start juicing, as it could lead to a long big league career and lots of big league paychecks. If said scrub doesn't juice, he may not make it to the Show. If he juices and gets caught, oh well. It was worth a shot.

Players already in the major leagues have even more incentive to start taking PEDs. It's a results-oriented business, and PEDs can lead to better results. Better results alleviate the pressure to perform, and they lead to huge contracts. An older player can use PEDs to prolong his career, for both monetary and vanity purposes.

Take Barry Bonds, for example. He said back in 2004 (see ESPN.com) that "the cream" and "the clear" didn't work, but the results beg to differ. He was better as an older player than he was as a younger player, which is saying something.

As for the risk of getting caught, we now know that MLB's testing system isn't exactly a well-oiled machine. We shouldn't take it for granted that Ryan Braun did take PEDs, but that whole mess (see USA Today) showed us that MLB's drug testing protocol has some holes in it. The more recent Eliezer Alfonzo situation was the same mess all over again (see MLB.com).

Major League Baseball is going to make the necessary changes, but the league's testing protocol will never be perfect. The league will continue to catch PED users, but there are always going to be cracks for players to slip through.

Even if a given player does get caught and suspended, it's not the end of the world. A 50-game suspension without pay is no laughing matter; a 100-game suspension without pay is even less of a laughing matter, but the only one that's truly scary is the lifetime ban that comes with a third positive test.

There will still be baseball to be played and money to be made after a 50-game suspension. The same is true of a 100-game suspension, albeit to a lesser degree. These things don't have to be career-killers.

Case in point, Edinson Volquez is still around after his 50-game suspension in 2010. Guillermo Mota managed to stick around for a while longer after his 50-gamer in 2007 before he tested positive again this season. Manny Ramirez is on the verge of a comeback this year, and when he returns, he will have served not one, but two 50-game suspensions.

Suspensions resulting from positive tests hurt a player's wallet, but they do more damage to his reputation. Nobody likes a cheater, and baseball fans loathe juicers.

But not necessarily forever. Jason Giambi has been forgiven for his history with PEDs, nobody hates Andy Pettitte for his HGH usage, and nobody feels any ill will towards Brian Roberts. If a player is humble and apologetic after his PED usage comes to light, there's a good chance he's going to be forgiven.

Basically, after all that's gone on with the likes of Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro and other notables, players know what not to do when they test positive for, admit to using or even get linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

All things considered, it's all very simple. The potential reward is very great, and the potential punishments are things that can be overcome. The reward is worth the risk.

This doesn't mean you have to like PED users. In fact, you're more than welcome to go on hating them. Players who venture to use PEDs are asking to be hated.

Just understand that it makes sense. Probably always will.

It is what it is.