Major League Baseball has suspended four minor league players this month who were playing for their teams’ Dominican Summer League affiliates. Chicago Cubs pitcher Yomar Morel tested positive for the steroid boldenone (aka Equipoise) while his teammate pitcher Enyelberth Pena tested positive for nandrolone (aka Deca Durabolin). Houston Astros pitcher Manuel Sanchez and San Diego Padres pitcher Miguel Severino both tested positive for stanozolol (aka Winstrol). First-time steroid violations under the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program result in an automatic 50-game suspension. [Read more…]
Apr
16
Major League Baseball Tells Impoverished Dominicans Not to Use Steroids
Major League Baseball has singled out the Dominican Republic in one of their most ambitious efforts to crack down on the use of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs among top amateur baseball players. The sport of baseball is an obsession in the small Caribbean country with a population of approximately nine million people. Steroid use was shown to be a major problem last year when MLB tested revealed that 13 of 40 top Dominican prospects were using steroids. Up until this year, top Dominican prospects did not face penalties after a failed steroid test. [Read more…]
Jan
08
Steroids and Corruption in Dominican Republic Baseball Factories
The Dominican Republic is an incredible baseball powerhouse with a solid talent base from which Major League Baseball (MLB) has been eager to tap. Almost a quarter of MLB players are from Latin America and the overwhelming majority of those hail from the Dominican Republic. This type of demand makes the Dominican baseball community particularly susceptible to exploitation by scouts, trainers and buscones who seek to profit by developing baseball talent. Steroid abuse, age falsification and bonus kickbacks have long been problems in the Dominican Republic. [Read more…]
