The lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court seeks unspecified damages from Coral Gables anti-aging clinic Biogenesis of America and its operator, Anthony Bosch. Several other Bosch associates are named in the lawsuit. A phone message left for a Bosch representative wasn't immediately returned, and associates have previously said Anthony Bosch is out of the country.

MLB contends the clinic's operators solicited players to use banned substances knowing that would violate their contracts, specifically the drug prevention and treatment program that became effective in 2003. That program, part of baseball's collective bargaining agreement with players, includes a list of banned substances, lays out penalties for violations and imposes testing requirements.

Because of the alleged conspiracy, the lawsuit contends MLB has suffered "costs of investigation, loss of goodwill, loss of revenue and profits and injury to its reputation, image, strategic advantage and fan relationships," attorneys Allen Weitzman and Matthew Menchel wrote in the complaint.

Continue Reading...

Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative) who was jailed for distributing steroids, was asked by USA Today what  percentage of the players he thought might be taking a secret advantage? “I would say,” said Conte,” maybe as much as half of baseball.”

I would say that Victor Conte is blowing smoke out of his rear end. Let's stick with what we do know about the number of players who have used performance enhancing drugs. In 2003, after years of bickering on the subject, Major League Baseball and its players union finally agreed to a plan for random drug testing. Almost 1,200 players were tested – anonymously – and if the percentage of positives was over 5 percent, then testing would be incorporated into the next Basic Agreement. The number of users proved to be 104, or to be precise, 7.7 percent of all players under a major league contract. That’s why, since 2004, MLB has had a formal testing program.

Continue Reading...