Dustin Richardson was an obscure, 26-year old left-handed pitcher who most recently played in Minor League Baseball. Sure, he played 29 games in the Major Leagues for Boston Red Sox in 2009 and 2010. But that probably won’t be what makes him famous in the annals of baseball history. Even the fact that he tested positive for steroids isn’t too unusual in the minor leagues. However, the spectacular manner in which Richardson failed the steroid test may give him some notoriety.
Richardson tested positive for three anabolic steroids – Dianabol (methandienone), Primobolan (methenolone) and Trenbolone. He was also caught using the anti-aromatase Arimidex (anastrozole) along with his steroid stack. Amphetamine metabolites represented the fifth banned drug that was found in Richardson’s urinalysis.
It is extremely rare that the anti-doping police catch an athlete using such a large cocktail of banned drugs. Usually, anti-doping officials are lucky to find one banned substance. Interestingly, French anti-doping officials announced last week that they caught and amateur cyclist with at least five steroid metabolites in his urine.
While polypharmacy involving the stacking of various anabolic steroids and ancillary drugs is fairly common among recreational and competitive bodybuilders, it is not often detected in other sports.
Dr. Gary Wadler, the Chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Prohibited List and Methods Sub-Committee, acknowledged the common practice of stacking steroids among bodybuilders. But he dismissed the effectiveness of such practice as “voodoo” with “no real science” behind it.
“There’s a lot of voodoo out there that leads to this,” said Wadler. “There are protocols from supposed gurus you can find by searching on the Internet, telling you how to combine steroids to maximize their benefits and minimize the adverse effects. But there’s no real science behind any of it.”
Competitive bodybuilders would likely disagree with Wadler’s characterization of stacking.
Meanwhile Dustin Richardson is currently a free agent after having been released by the Gwinnett Braves, the triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. If he makes a return to baseball, he will have to begin serving a 50-game suspension.
Source:
Keh, A. (January 26, 2012). Tests on Pitcher Found Five Banned Substances. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/sports/baseball/tests-on-dustin-richardson-found-5-banned-substances.html
