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	Thursday, October 12
	ESPN analysis: Steroid use rampant ESPN.com
	Former major leaguers and current ESPN analysts Brian McRae and Rob Dibble talk about steriod use in baseball: Brian McRae: The problem is all the performance-enhancing substances across the board, not just steroids. On a smaller scale, this includes Andro and painkillers, but it goes as far as growth hormones and the stuff people are getting from Latin America that is intended for use in animals like horses and sheep, but players are using it to make them stronger. Anywhere from 50 to 70 percent of the league has used some sort of performance-enhancing substance. And just because Andro is available over the counter, you can't really separate it, because nothing is hard to get. You can get ahold of growth hormones just as easy as you can Andro. When teams go to San Diego, players go down to Tijuana and pick illegal stuff up. You can get prescriptions filled in Canada that are illegal in the States, so when teams go up to Toronto or Montreal, a player can walk into any drug store and get stuff they could never get in America, and it's perfectly legal. It's hard to regulate something that's illegal where 28 teams play, but not illegal where two teams play. Baseball can test all it wants -- but what is it testing for? If you don't know what you're testing for, how are you going to find it? There are ingredients in some substances that mask other substances. Even if the league began testing, nothing would change. New stuff comes out on a monthly basis. People will just go to the new thing that can't be detected yet. Some players have pretty good chemists; they work on things and the players use their bodies like a guinea pig. No one knows what the longterm effects could be, but players are willing to take years off their life to make some money. The worst thing is, guys are starting to use this stuff a lot earlier. It's starting down at the high school and college levels now. There is a mentality that says, "If 10 people around you are benefiting from something, maybe you should try it too." As long as there is competition, people are going to find a way to beat it. And as long as there is money involved, people are going to a find way to cheat. Rob Dibble: I think the 40 percent figure that Cliff Floyd cited is low. No pitchers are using, so that leaves about 450 hitters on big-league rosters. I'd say 50 percent of the guys in the major leagues are using right now, which is sad, because there are plenty of good over-the-counter supplements. There is no reason to be injecting anabolic steroids and dianabol like they did in years past. You shouldn't need illegal steroids anymore. There are two big reasons why players still use steroids: 1) they aren't aware of how dangerous steroid use can be; and 2) they think it will be the difference between getting in the major leagues, and staying in the major leagues. You'll never be able to stop guys from taking something that will enable them to hit 30-40 home runs instead of 15-20 home runs. It can be the difference between making $2 million a year and $10 million a year. Or guys in the minors who are borderline big-league players can become very good major leaguers, maybe even All-Stars. Steroids are easy to come by, so it's all right there for the taking. When I was a player rep, I was shot down year after year when I voted for steroid testing. The union will never go for it. But they need a wakeup call. Some responsibility has to fall to the league and the union, who should be less concerned with dollar signs and more concerned with the health of their players.		ALSO SEE Report: Steroids used extensively in majors