Major League's drug policy helps no one

The blame has to begin with the kid himself.

But it better not end there.

By most accounts, 23-year-old prospect Steve Bechler reported to spring training with the Orioles woefully out of shape. You might think a roster spot and a big-league check were incentive enough to show up ready to play, but he didn't.

So Bechler planned to make up for months of not working out enough by working out more than he should for a couple of days.

And he was prepared to cut corners.

"We've all been down that road," veteran Braves outfielder Gary Sheffield recalled Wednesday. "You just pray you don't get your hands on something that's life threatening."

Bechler, apparently, wasn't that lucky.

On Tuesday, the Broward County medical examiner concluded the ephedrine in a weight-loss drug Bechler used probably played a role in his death. The stimulant has been linked to heatstroke and heart trouble and banned by the NCAA, NFL and International Olympic Committee -- but not by major league baseball, the NBA and NHL.

The baseball drug policy included in last summer's collective bargaining agreement was hammered out by a commissioner too timid to do what's right and a union boss more interested in projecting strength than protecting the players he's supposed to lead.

It was designed to dim the spotlight on claims by a few former players that half the guys in the game were on steroids.

For the record -- and for the moment, anyway -- both commissioner Bud Selig and union head Donald Fehr have declined comment on Bechler's death. But ephedrine was included on the original list of banned substances proposed by management, according to one management lawyer.

Over the last 10 years, the only thing that's swelled more than ballplayers' biceps and their offensive stats is their bank accounts. Baseball has been supersized, in large part because of steroid and supplement use, and everybody has looked the other way because the long ball sells.

Years ago, only the really big guys hit lots of home runs and drove Cadillacs. Nowadays, everybody is buff and backup infielders give Escalades to their personal trainers for Christmas.

It's true that more than a few clubs actively discourage supplement use, but the fact they're not banned speaks much louder.

Athletes have been making deals with various devils since sport began, and while a 23-year-old player dying in their midst caused some of them to pause, it wasn't for very long.

"It's hard because it affects different guys in different ways," said Oakland A's center fielder Chris Singleton, who tried ephedrine early in his career

"It made me feel like my heart was fluttering at times, and it was scary, so I decided it wasn't for me. But I think it's up to each individual to be responsible for his own health. We're supposed to be men here. Anything that's legal over the counter, you've got to make an adult decision on whether to use it. We shouldn't need baby sitters."

But the way baseball is set up, not even baby sitters would make a dent.

"Even if you did ban ephedrine in the clubhouse, that's not to say a guy wouldn't have it at home," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said. "It's not an illegal substance."

Even so, Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield made one more appeal in a meeting with players Tuesday. He has no idea whether it got through.

"From a policy standpoint, we don't condone any of our players taking these. You realize that some people do," he said. "We just make sure to tell them to talk to people that are informed about these things."

But baseball is obligated to do more.

Just weeks after Minnesota tackle Korey Stringer died of heatstroke after a training-camp workout, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue added ephedrine to the league's banned-substances list. Officially, he took the action in "consultation" with NFL union chief Gene Upshaw, but the real wording should have been "full cooperation."

The NFL players' union might look like lapdogs compared to its counterparts in baseball, basketball and hockey, but it's also more enlightened.

It was the players who gave Upshaw a mandate to rid football of steroids once they learned of all the dangers. Adding ephedrine to the banned list without a fight only made them look smarter, not weaker.

Baseball has become an escalating arms race, much like football used to be. Fear of falling behind is why the constituencies of Selig and Fehr won't take the first step toward banning supplements like ephedrine and androstenedione.

But somebody has to, if only to make sure that the next kid willing to do almost anything to have it all will know when to say when.

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press.