There’s an interesting piece over at The Biz of Baseball on a report put out by the MLBPA and MLB. The report contains among other things, the number of players who were granted Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) from baseball’s drug policy due to their particular conditions. All told, 115 players were exempted in one way or another from MLB’s drug policy. Of those 115, an overwhelming 108 were being treated for Attention Deficit Disorder.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): 108
- Hypertension: 2
- Hypogonadism: 2
- Narcolepsy: 1
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): 1
- Post-Concussion Disorder: 1
During their mandatory testing in 2009, MLB found 11 instances of Adderall, a stimulant, which is an approved substance used in the treatment of ADD.
MLB players being treated for ADD is nothing new. A few years back, relief pitcher Scott Eyre was very open about his ADD and treatment for it. Apparently, he was bouncing all over the place before getting help. Once treated, he could focus and started to pitch better. Rumor has it, his bench-mates could tolerate him better, too.
Two things I’m taking away from this… One, I never knew the extent of those baseball players who have ADD (or, let’s face it, claim to have ADD). Out of the relatively small number of players that play in the majors, 108 is a pretty high number.
Two, it seems Adderall is the drug of choice to treat ADD among players. I know for a fact there is a variety of drugs out there that treat ADD and they don’t all work the same. It just seems odd that among the 3000+ drug tests that the MLB administered that another drug wasn’t found.
Finally, in case you are wondering (I was):
Hypogonadism is when the sex glands produce little or no hormones. In men, these glands (gonads) are the testes; in women, they are the ovaries.
I know… too much information..