MLB’s drug policy too soft — teams should be docked wins
Melky Cabrera makes the boo-boo face after an out, which was common before he juiced.
The objective of a drug policy in professional sports is to deter its use. And yet, there have been 80 violations of baseball’s drug program in the minor and major leagues in 2012 – including 20 alone in the month of August.
The objective of suspending players is in part to have them serve as an example for what can happen if somebody cheats, regardless of the potential rewards that await the player on the other side of the rainbow (and syringe). And yet, the San Francisco Giants’ Melky Cabrera chose to artificially inflate his muscles, which led to him competing for the National League batting title, launching his team into a divisional title race, winning the All-Star Game MVP Award, helping the National League claim home-field advantage in the World Series and setting himself up for the contract of his free-agency dreams.
This is when it’s easy to come to the conclusion that baseball’s drug program doesn’t go nearly far enough.
Suspensions need to be longer: One year with the first positive test. There have been enough warnings and enough education about what can and can’t be used.
Maybe more important, the people who run this game — and any sports league — need to start looking at penalizing teams for using illegal players.
I’m talking about taking away wins.
The NCAA does a lot wrong in its enforcement, but one thing it does correctly is it punishes programs that use ineligible players, vacating victories and sometimes championships. The problem in college athletics is that by the time the investigation has been completed and the punishment comes down, the season is over. It becomes more of a symbolic gesture, even if it leaves a permanent grease spot on the program and some individuals.
That’s not the case here. Even if Cabrera, who was suspended 50 games last week for mutant-like levels of testosterone, doesn’t play another game for the San Francisco Giants, the team already has benefited from his ballooned a .346 batting average. Cabrera isn’t the cartoon that Barry Bonds morphed into late in his career, but he was a career .275 hitter before this season. (We can debate whether he was even clean last season with Kansas City, when he jumped from a .255 average, four homers and .354 slugging percentage with the Braves in 2010 to .305, 18 and .470 with the Royals.)
In Cabrera’s last game with the Giants on Aug. 14, he doubled and scored a run in a 6-1 win over Washington. The Giants were 64-53, tied for first place in the National League West. Cabrera played in 113 of the 117 games. If this was college, the Giants would lose any victory among those 113. A less extreme approach would be for baseball to come up with a standard formula: For example, 20 percent of all wins Cabrera played in. But some penalty is needed as a deterrent.
I would love to hear an argument against this — something beyond, “You just can’t do that.”
A Major League Baseball official declined comment, other than to point out that any increased player suspensions would have to be collectively bargained. He left open the possibility for further measures against Cabrera, but he said MLB has never considered vacating wins.
Baseball was in denial about performance-enhancing drug use for years. It implemented its first serious testing program only after officials and the players’ union were humiliated by Congress in 2005. Are we really to believe teams didn’t know about rampant PED use that led to shattered records (as well as wins and potentially World Series titles)? Why do teams skate?
The obvious downside to vacating wins is that clean players and coaches and certainly fans would be unfairly punished. But such is the case now with NCAA sanctions.
The threat of increased penalties could force teams to step up their own policing of the drug program. The resulting peer pressure among players also presumably would have a ripple effect, down to the minors (where 76 of the 80 positive tests occurred).
Commissioner Bud Selig would like to get past the ugly Cabrera episode. But it’s worth noting it was his plan to have the All-Star game winner gain the home-field advantage in the World Series. Cabrera helped the National League win. He also cheated. So Selig effectively is not only enabling cheating, he’s rewarding it.
Baseball could overturn this by simply giving home-field advantage to the team with the better record. But maybe that’s considered too radical of an idea.
By Jeff Schultz
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160 comments Add your comment
Ted M
August 21st, 2012
3:56 pm
Taking wins away is simply unworkable and as such will never be considered.
The players associations has to make the stand here an increase the suspension. Everyone should be griping about the players association cause its gonna take public pressure on them for something to happen.
Chris
August 21st, 2012
4:01 pm
Lets fine papers for poorly written articles.
Sugar Bear Blanks
August 21st, 2012
4:01 pm
Are you suggesting that the wins simply be taken away? Or awarded to the teams that LOST those games? I agree that the wins should be taken away – but Don’t adjust the losing teams record
Paul
August 21st, 2012
4:01 pm
Difference is it can be reasonably inferred thatbush got benefit bc he was at USC and gettin house from booster tied to school. Kelly not cheating because of San Fran so far as we know
Joe
August 21st, 2012
4:03 pm
Melky’s a disgrace to baseball. We know this. But this imaginary penalty is the stupidest idea thought up on the matter. If you implement this then EVERY World Series title from 1990-2009 has to be stricken from the records. To even compare NCAA measures with the MLB is just plain idiotic.
Melky’s off the team. Hopefully for good. If SF has any sense they won’t resign him. His 50 games is already a blow to the team and the remainder of the season is in jeopardy. That’s punishment enough. Is it really implausible that the team was in the dark on this matter? Melky rigged up a whole fake business and fooled investigators for a long time. To punish the likes of Buster Posey because of one selfish guy is irresponsible.
John
August 21st, 2012
4:08 pm
I absolutely agree that teams should be docked some amount of victories, if a member of a relay team at the Olympics tests positive, doesn’t the TEAM lose the medal? (not sure here.)
In any case, if a team were to lose victories as a result of a player testing positive maybe some team and peer pressure will come into play here. The Bargaining Agreement and the Players Association appear to only be interested in protecting the payers and their overinflated salaries, benefits and egos- maybe hitting the teams will do some good!
GTBob
August 21st, 2012
4:08 pm
I agree that the wins should be taken away – but Don’t adjust the losing teams record
If the Giants were cheating then why should the teams they played be punished with a loss? Basically you are retroactively putting all of the Giants opponents in an unfair position. They had to play against a cheating team which hurt their record.
jason
August 21st, 2012
4:09 pm
Suspend him, fine the team, vacate wins. Home field advantage should always go to the team with the best record. Haven’t enjoyed an all-star game since the change.
urban redneck
August 21st, 2012
4:12 pm
i would think this was terrible if mark bradley wrote it. go bravos.
sidslid
August 21st, 2012
4:15 pm
Bud Selig;
Deer in headlights on the All Star Game tie
Deer in headlights at the Bonds homerun
Most exciting hour in baseball history last year impossible to duplicate with the additional wildcard
Instant cameras to be used at All Star Game stuck in China (Goodell would have had Jerry Jones rent a plane to get them)
Openly campaigning for Minnesota, a relatively successful franchise, to be subject of contraction where it happens to be in proximity to his Brewers
Toothless drug policy that only snags minor leaguers
His minions strangely boggle a drug suspension for a reigning MVP
Baseball now being played in November (even Bowie would have to wear a coat)
Really, the worst commissioner in the history of any sport
joeybiten
August 21st, 2012
4:16 pm
How about a similar penalty for college sports except on an individual basis…example, you commit a crime, you’re out of the program/lose your scholarship. military men the same age as college athletes must abide by the rules or else face the consequences.
Bruzer
August 21st, 2012
4:20 pm
I agree with Neal Bortz on the matter of taking away wins from any team for any infraction. While some can argue that it is effective, the reality is that the players and fans associated with the wins in question know the truth. It’s like saying “remember that person you had sex with in college – well I am taking that away – it didn’t happen.”. Really? I know and they know it happened.
Just seems like a silly penalty.
Alternative? Increase the suspension times and fine amounts.
JREV
August 21st, 2012
4:22 pm
Money talks. Instead of docking wins, dock the PAY instead and also fine the team a significant amount. Melky should lose his entire years’ salary, or at least a large chunk of it. Along with a long suspension, of course. This goes along with a consistent, drug-testing environment (for performance-enhancing drugs…I couldn’t care less about whether they had smoked marijuana). Docking wins is not the way to go imo. I guarantee you that players care a great deal more about their salaries (and potential future contracts) than they do their teams or fans. If they knew they could lose not only their salary, but potentially their career…THAT would be a much bigger deterrent than docking wins, and be a whole lot more fair.
While we’re at, impose a salary cap as well. It’s annoying to see the same teams at the top every year just because they generate more revenue or have deeper pockets. The Phillies notwithstanding. This would be good for the game, imo.
How much is enough?
August 21st, 2012
4:28 pm
So how much of a fine would it take to really touch a ballplayer in the pocket? How long should a suspension be? I think cheaters should be out of sports, period. Cabrera is laughing all the way to the bank. Also, great ballgame you coached last night, Fredi. Maybe he and Cabrera can help each other pack. They are both a waste of skin.
taylor
August 21st, 2012
4:29 pm
Melky has a WAR of 4.8 on the season. Why not take away 5 wins?
Jim
August 21st, 2012
4:31 pm
You are RIGHT on!!! At a minimum, the games should start from the point of his test.
How much is enough?
August 21st, 2012
4:33 pm
He needs to be hit where it hurts; in the pocket. He didn’t seem to be worried while he was making up his wild story, or doing the drugs. Just get rid of him and be done with it. That should set an example. The wishy washy rinky dink policy in place now obviously isn’t working.
Ken Stallings
August 21st, 2012
4:35 pm
Jeff, docking wins is a good idea. But, what about something more such as forfeiture of post-season eligibility? That would be as the NCAA does, but it would certainly encourage teams to take the matter seriously, and that might include using some common sense in trying to find out why a middle of a career player suddenly starts producing better numbers than ever before.
meh
August 21st, 2012
4:36 pm
Something should punish the team for benefiting from the rules being broken. Players should be banned and their records expunged. (Hank Aaron would still be the home run king.)
Ted M
August 21st, 2012
4:36 pm
Basketball has a salary cap and yet the same teams always play for the championship, a lot more then baseball in fact.
otto
August 21st, 2012
4:38 pm
I wonder if those that think vacating wins is the answer think the Braves should take down the 1991 banner because of Otis Nixon’s drug suspension? C’mon, get real folks!
the Crew
August 21st, 2012
4:39 pm
Braun seems to be doing pretty well this year off the roids… because he was never on them. What kind of guy would rather be known as the Herpe King than a roider?
The Great Tobias
August 21st, 2012
4:41 pm
Again, Schultz, you are proving yourself an idiot. Yes, the punishment should be more severe, but you cannot punish the whole team for one persons actions. Each player cannot be babysat daily. When I was in the USMC, we used mass punishment in situations where sometimes, people would be punished for the actions of people that they didn’t even know. This just bred un-wanted, and un-needed hostility towards one another. It didn’t fix anything. Some idiot would still drink and drive, or do something stupid, and the unit would get punished again. Mass punishment doesn’t work, and it’s very unfair. To punish the team is not the answer. After being cought, a player should be forced to sit without pay for the rest of the year, and this year should be removed from their contract as well. A second offense, should be removed from baseball completely. Banned.
Mark
August 21st, 2012
4:45 pm
I’d take 10 wins for the first offense, 20 for the second and all others. Any team that can still win by losing 10 wins or 20 wins, didn’t need the guy anyway. Take 10 from the Giants and the season is over now, but earlier they could still recover. Same with Braves. The peer pressure alone would clean it up – as it is now, the players think they can overcome anything and the suspension doesn’t hit their pocketbooks.
Sundrop Kid
August 21st, 2012
4:46 pm
Thank you for this article Mr. Schultz. You seem to be the ONLY AJC writer with any common sense and logic. While I’m at it, thanks also for speaking out about the Braves and its manager when it’s deserved, which is quite often.
Nativebird
August 21st, 2012
4:51 pm
Absolutely vacate wins. Until the innocenent feel the pain of not doing enough to clean up the trash, then the trash will rule. PEDS users are very much like terrorists who hide among the innocent population. The good guys will never ever be able to root them out without de facto collateral damage…but that is not the good guys fault….it’s the terrorists’. As soon as say the Giants or other contending club misses the playoffs due to one of their bonehead PED users, I guarantee you the other players will a. Firstly kick his arse, and b. refuse to play on the same team with him forcing the club to release him, and c. Turn in any future player they ever get wind of using again….and THEY know, don’t believe it they don’t.
GaGrandma
August 21st, 2012
4:55 pm
The players union in way too strong and the owners are afraid of them. Getting paid while being suspended for drugs is ridiculous. And the owners are at fault. It would be more of a punishment if they missed a few paychecks. Now, it is a paid vacation for cheating.
The union should fight for better scheduling and a day off if you fly to the coast, especially if you are forced to fly after a night game and play the next day.
George Stein
August 21st, 2012
4:56 pm
This is perhaps the silliest piece I’ve ever read from you, Jeff. Hell, this puts the six man rotation nonsense to shame. Let’s see what we have here:
1) You claim that the PEDs are the reason that his performance his increased this season. I think PEDs have some non-zero impact, but I’d love to read the research you have read to support your conclusion here.
2) Taking away wins doesn’t eliminate the incentive to cheat. I think one of the things fans forget is that players want to win, but they want to get paid more than they want to win. If a player thinks he can increase future earnings by cutting corners, he will do it.
3) How many wins get taken away? All of them? Please. Also, what about teams that aren’t contending? The players on those teams have an increased incentive to cheat.
4) Saying that clean players would be unfairly punished by pointing to the NCAA isn’t a reason. End of discussion.
5) What proof do you have to support your contention for more self-policing?
schmo
August 21st, 2012
4:57 pm
I’ve always thought home-field in the Series should be given to them team with the better record. Selig is an incompetent windbag and he needs to be replaced.
Just Asking
August 21st, 2012
5:04 pm
Do teams that trade a player who is using PED’s and get draft picks and money and perhaps even players in return be responsible for the false record of that player they traded? Or should “Let the Buyer Be Ware,” be the motto of the day?
What players are having a “significantly,” better year this season than ever before? In other words, who should MLB suspect of using PED’s?
dc24
August 21st, 2012
5:10 pm
I haven’t looked through all of the comments to know if this has been talked about yet. My only reservation would be, how could you tell when the player started taking the PED and where to start taking wins from?
If Melky didn’t start juicing until June, and was caught in August…Do you take away the wins from April and May? Not that this is the case, but I wouldn’t want to penalize a team as a whole before rules had been broken.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2012
5:11 pm
Taking the wins (and holds and saves) away from those San Francisco pitchers in the Melky games will upset them. They get to keep the losses, right?
Here's a suggestion.
August 21st, 2012
5:11 pm
Take away any direct results of his play. All RBIs, all subsequent runs as a result of his keeping innings going, etc. That way it’s not some subjective result.
Kraig
August 21st, 2012
5:12 pm
“I would like to put a moratorium on any reference to WAR or any statistic I consider stupid, which in this case would be most statistics, or anything created by the Bill James School of Pocket Protectors.”
Is this because you don’t understand those stats or do you still think stats like wins or RBIs are the best we will ever have and why do we need to bother with anything else?
While we are at putting moratoriums in place, I would like to place a moratorium on sportswriters getting up in arms everytime someone gets busted for PEDs (although it is funny that I don’t recall seeing an outcry over Freddy Galvis this year) until they do some investigation themselves on what actual effect the PED the player took had on the games they played. I get that it’s easier to create righteous stances to drive page clicks rather than to do investigative reporting and see if you can come up with some conclusive data to support your views but maybe you’re just afraid of having to admit that maybe you were wrong.
George Stein
August 21st, 2012
5:15 pm
Seconded, Kraig.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2012
5:17 pm
Also, the RBIs from players who drove home Melky, and runs scored by players who Melky batted in. Do all that, and teammates will tend to self-police the problem of OEDs in sports. Chances are, guys like Melky will be on the disabled list a lot from broken bones.
Langston
August 21st, 2012
5:21 pm
“I would like to put a moratorium on any reference to WAR or any statistic I consider stupid, which in this case would be most statistics, or anything created by the Bill James School of Pocket Protectors.”
It’s amazing people like this even get hired to write. Schultz gets dumber with every article.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2012
5:25 pm
Maybe requiring players to use steroids would work. Sort of like requiring all citizens to have guns.
Cheer Shepard
August 21st, 2012
5:33 pm
Suspensions for doping in Olympic sports are measured out in years. So should they be for all American professional sports. That’s my opinion, I welcome yours.
Stinger2
August 21st, 2012
5:43 pm
Kraig: What statistictis more important than wins? I always thought that
it is the only one that really matters. Am I wrong?
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2012
5:44 pm
I can’t recall how many wins were taken away by the George Brett tarred bat incident.
Stinger2
August 21st, 2012
5:44 pm
Kraig: Sorry about bad spelling: statistic.
"Chef" Tim Dix
August 21st, 2012
5:57 pm
lifetime ban. that’ll end it.
Kraig
August 21st, 2012
6:06 pm
Stinger:
Wins are very much a team stat rather than an individual stat. A pitcher does have certain control on run prevention but once the ball is put in play he has no control over what the result of that action might be (let alone controlling his team’s offense or whether or not the bullpen can protect the lead). Let’s look at this another way. Take these two pitchers from 2011 (I’ll even leave out WAR for our esteemed columnist):
Pitcher A: 220.0 IP, 186 H, 71 ER, 198-55 K-BB, 1.09 WHIP, 2.88 ERA
Pitcher B: 216.0 IP, 169 H, 67 ER, 194-44 K-BB, 0.99 WHIP, 2.79 ERA
Looking at those stats you probably would conclude that Pitcher B had a little better season than Pitcher A but their in the same ballpark.
Pitcher A is Ian Kennedy who went 21-4
Pitcher B is Cole Hamels who went 14-9
I await a plausible explaination on why Hamels had 7 fewer wins (and 5 more losses) than Kennedy when all of his stats were better than Kennedy’s.
AFF
August 21st, 2012
6:07 pm
1/9th of the team; forfeit 1/9th of the wins in games he played.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2012
6:16 pm
Make the users participate in the government studies on the link between bath salts and cannibalism.
Game Changer
August 21st, 2012
6:19 pm
@schultz
Testing is done weekly and two players are assigned to the testers at random from the league on both teams at that time. More than one test exist but and your article is not very well researched on your behalf. I like you as a writer and how you report but on this subject you are not close to the real story. For the most part MLB has cleaned the league up and very little cheating in the form of enhancers is taking place.
I and others could make a list of those that were juiced in the past and then look at the last couple of years or past few years. Braves have a second baseman that cannot produce at major league levels, it is 100% enhancers. Uggla average home run at miami was around 395 before all the testing and changes, it was a given that he would not produce at MLB levels hitting. 210 average this year.
Game Changer
August 21st, 2012
6:21 pm
More than one tester is testing on the weekly night. just correcting the sentence for better understanding
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2012
6:28 pm
Check out Adam Dunn 2011 vs. Adam Dunn 2012
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2012
6:29 pm
It took him awhile to get “established” in Chicago.