Baseball

Cleef said:

Thanks.

As per the steroid availability per country, they are far more readily available* in the DR. Nevermind going to a random pharmacy - although that would work most of the time - but a buscone or other "adviser" would make that transaction (or connection) for that player. In the US, you'd most easily locate them through a gym/trainer. The great risk in the US is getting caught with/selling them; in the DR the risk is that what you pump into your arse might have you working a salt lick and eating scrub grass in a few days ? and 6' lower and horizontal a few days later.

From my understanding, the steroids come into play in the DR mostly upon a player getting noticed and then being included in a combine (i.e. someone notices the talent, invites them to compete with others). At this point, an "adviser" would make the connection and make the transaction happen (understand I'm simplifying this for the sake of the post).

A player then would have a window of opportunity to pump in some steroids and do the requisite work; run, pump iron, long toss, swing weighted bats, whatever - over a short period of time. At this point, the player would be going to a combine or a tryout "jacked". Looking good and swinging a powerful bat or throwing an electric fastball, etc.

All they really need is one outstanding tryout to impress the right scout and get themselves involved in the process and eventually signed - all of which can easily (seemingly) fall within a cycle (a turn of steroids). Standing head and shoulders above your relative competition will get you on your way. If you've done the steroids that could be you, if you AREN'T doing steroids and see what it does for the other guy, well..... that math isn't too difficult, even for someone with only a mediocre 3rd grade under their belts.

Get this: The effects of a cycle and simply doing forearm curls 5x a day and swinging a heavy bat for a week would be dramatic. If the player already has the basic skill, this uptick would turn heads in a very quick way - he'd be hitting "frozen ropes" ? and they don't get too many "frozen ropes" on the island.

It's not a clear-cut debate, but the DR/US ballplayer comparison is an interesting one. The Latino's in general have to overcome far more to get to the show - as they say - and that's what makes them so wonderful to root for (for me anyway). The US ballplayer has a lot to overcome as well, but in a much different vein; they have dozens of other choices for their time. Baseball requires a huge time commitment and that's not a problem on the island.

However, part of the reality of reaching fame from the deepest depths of poverty is that you've been built up from the bottom so the fall is greater. Hence, we have the current trend of Latino's getting the most positive tests - and of course the most press.

Baseball requires an enormous amount of committed practice and repitition; something Latino's have a greater opportunity for due to climate and fewer sports to choose from, AND it's been proven as an avenue to riches beyond dreams, so the motivation is practically inborn.

In the US (in it's simplest form), it's practically reversed, the middle class/upper are the predominant baseball players. It involves field time, organizations, uniforms and usually a sizeable cost (gear intensive). Whereas the lower class is probably more driven to basketball (one player can practice basketball in almost any neighborhood in the US - by themselves), baseball doesn't work like that.

What makes you say that? I'd say - and numbers prove this - that there are far more players in the past 10 years. Not many players put up great numbers at the end of their careers anway - they're just playing out their contracts/can't let go (Sosa for instance).

(*anyone can get them at almost every corner, they may be for cattle, but they can get them, that is NOT the case in the US.)

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