Baseball - Penalties For Amphetamine Use Unlikely T

It has become apparent that baseball owners are not interested in pushing for stricter penalties for using amphetamines even after Barry Bonds failed a drug test in 2006.

Amphetamines were banned for the first time in baseball from last season. As per the rules a player is not identified till he fails two amphetamines test. Once this happens the player is handed out a 25 game suspension in contrast to a failed steroids test which attracts a 50 game suspension. If a player fails the first amphetamines test, he has to undergo six additional tests over the next six months. If the amphetamines penalties have to be changed, baseball owners and players would have to reopen the new labor agreement which runs through 2011. Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of White Sox, thinks it is not worth changing the amphetamines penalties. According to Reinsdorf amphetamines are bad and should be banned but he does not think of it as major issue whether the name of the player should be made public on the first positive test or second. Amphetamines are also known as greenies and have been used in baseball for decades. Amphetamines provide the players with energy for a day game after a night game. It also helps them to get through the 162 game season. Baseball’s chief operating officer, Bob Dupuy, thinks that the penalties currently in place are extremely strict and amphetamines are different from steroids. However, Jim Moores, the majority owner of San Diego Padres, wants more information to be made available on the subject along with some hard data since he does not know whether taking amphetamines actually affects the player’s playing ability.