Major league baseball and steroids have a long history. Over a long period of time, the testing of steroids or Major League Baseball was not considered to be a major issue. But the Balco steroid scandal changed all this. It involved the top players in a steroid scandal. The league finally decided to have a steroid testing policy for its players. The policy was accepted by the players as well as the owners and was issued in the 2005 season. The new policy replaced the original old policy which was issued in the year 2002. It had stricter rules.
Rules of the Steroid Policy:
The rules of the steroid policy are as follows:
A first positive test would result in the suspension of a player found guilty for 10 games.
A second positive test would result in the suspension of a player found guilty for 30 games.
A third positive test would result in the suspension of a player found guilty for 60 games.
A fourth positive test would lead to the suspension of a player found guilty for one full year.
A fifth positive test results in a penalty at the discretion of the Commissioner. But these rules soon changed in November of 2005. Based on the new rules, the first positive test lead to the suspension of 50 games, the second for 100 games and the third resulted in a lifetime suspension.
Summary of the Steroid Policy Implementation:
The new policy for Major League Baseball and steroids contain very harsh penalties. The policy brought the MLB closer in line with the international rules. The players had to undergo tests atleast once a year. There was also a possibility of players being tested more than once in a year if they are found to be suspicious. This resulted in the cleaning up of the system.
