Is Adderall as Big a Problem as HGH, Steroids in Baseball?

Posted Jan 16, 2008 2:13PM By PostmanR (RSS feed)

Most were quick to scoff at MLB's Congressional hearing on the Mitchell Report yesterday. I suppose it's deservedly so: nothing ground-breaking sprung from it and Bud Selig, Donald Fehr and George Mitchell seemed to answer the questions with aplomb.

But as the New York Times points out today, one question opened up a different can of worms:

Amid discussion of steroids and human growth hormone, amid an atmosphere more tame than tempestuous, it was Representative John F. Tierney, a Massachusetts Democrat, who caught everyone's attention when he asked why the number of major leaguers claiming therapeutic-use exemptions for attention deficit disorder had mushroomed to 103 this past season from 28 in 2006.

To Mr. Tierney, the implication of the sharp increase was clear. Players were brazenly getting around the ban on amphetamines by making attention deficit disorder claims that allowed them to use stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall. Based on the 2007 numbers, Mr. Tierney said, the use of such stimulants among major leaguers was "almost eight times the adult use in our population."

How, Mr. Tierney wanted to know, had baseball allowed this to happen?

"We are trying to break down why it happened and how it happened," Mr. Selig said in response. Mr. Fehr suggested that the attention deficit disorder numbers might be higher in baseball than the general adult population because baseball players have a younger average age.

Now, amphetamines -- or "greenies" -- use is nothing new to baseball; there's been a sizable amount of chatter on the subject the past few years. But it's largely been out of our collective consciousness with the looming Mitchell Report this year and the after effects this past month. To the casual fan, I think they're more inclined to look more negatively upon steroids and HGH than Adderall. But should they?

The numbers are a bit staggering: from 28 to 103 in one year's time. I think it's a safe bet to say that players are faking their way into getting Adderall or Ritalin prescribed to them so they can focus, focus, focus and have energy throughout a 162 game season.

After all, it gets lonely out there in right field after a while.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-01-2008 @ 12:27PM

mark stevens said...

Adult Attention Deficit Disorder is the easiest of all diagnosis to fake and illicitly obtain amphetamines from a doctor. It,s easy. Read the criteria on line, tell the doctor you have all of them, and whammo, a diagnosis and a prescription.

1-16-2008 @ 2:32PM

Moonshine Mike said...

I love Adderall. I can't say much more about it than that.

1-16-2008 @ 3:53PM

John S. said...

I've taken adderall once, hated it but it got me from Chicago to Boulder, CO in about 16 hours without stopping through the middle of the night.

The real problem?

Oh yea, that's the prohibition of marijuana in favor of alcohol. But that's a whole different can of worms.

I've taken adderall once, hated it but it got me from Chicago to Boulder, CO in about 16 hours without stopping through the middle of the night. Really made me grind the crap outta my teeth and very anxious. On the other hand, my ex-gf needs it or she's a mess, so medically speaking it does wonders, but for the players, well they're just turning into a bunch of frickin junkies.

The real problem?

Oh yea, that's the prohibition of marijuana in favor of alcohol. But that's a whole different can of worms.