Popular Steroid Making Return in Baseball

Every year – through drug testing – the baseball “police” find their share of culprits in the world of illegal drug use and this spring is no different. New York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia was one of four Major League Baseball pitchers recently suspended for 80 games.

New York Daily News writer Nate Vinton talked with me about this news earlier this week. What is particularly interesting is that a steroid that was once popular with ballplayers in the 1990s and 2000s – stanozolol – is back in the news this spring. I was proud to be quoted alongside high-level, national sports drug testing industry experts in this April 15th New York Daily News story.

The steroid is popular with pitchers because it allegedly doesn’t bulk them up and has the ability to boost arm strength early or late in a season, the times when they are trying to fight off fatigue. When you read the article you will see how I explain that stanozolol is easily traceable.

So, why did they use? The article suggests the pitchers may have been under the assumption they were taking a drug that would be undetectable at a lower dosage or that they would not be tested in the offseason.

– Russell Kamer, MD