12/20/07 Baseball's Doping Scandle Hurts Aspiring Players

From the time my son Austin was a toddler he had a baseball in his hand. Naturally, like many other parents, we fantasized about the day he would go pro. Austin's career ended at the college level and I must admit I am thankful given the current state of baseball. There is a danger in baseball's doping scandal that goes far beyond the stats, records and pro contracts. For each trainer juicing a pro there is a player in High School College or the minor leagues doing a cycle somewhere alone& The scope of this problem is frightening considering the fact that there are thousands of lower level ball players working toward making it to the professional ranks. No longer does the warning "remember Lyle Alzado" register with these kids when the likes of Barry Bonds and others show them that they can have it all; the trophy wife, celebrity status, McMansion etc& with out any "apparent" raminifacitons from years of drug use. And it is the word "apparent" that should shake the parent of any aspiring ball player to the core.