Justin Verlander returned to form with a vengeance last season, falling just shy of the AL Cy Young Award. Verlander, also, isn’t one to usually hold back his thoughts either. Don’t believe me, check out his twitter. One of his most prominent passions is stricter rules on PED users. In short, he wants a clean game.
From John Heyman of Fanragsports.com:
“Justin Verlander, who’s probably the most ardent hardliner for the strongest drug testing possible, said, ‘Test me every day.’ And he’s not kidding. He’d like to see every player tested upon entrance to the clubhouse each day.”
PED use has been a prominent in Major League Baseball for nearly a decade now with some of its most prominent stars being their greatest culprits (allegedly). Guys like Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens to name a few.
But, beyond the stars, even less known players have been hit by the epidemic too. The use of PEDs in baseball has become even a major sticking point for most Hall of Fame voters.
Now, JV’s idea of testing every day would be a major undertaking and is highly unlikely anyway. “If you come in every day knowing you’ll be peeing into a cup, that should deter people,” he told Heyman. Even with stricter regulations than in the past, guys are still getting hit with suspensions and for JV, that’s not good enough. He told Heyman, ““The proof’s in the pudding…Guys are still getting popped.”
Verlander’s love and passion for the sport are clear every time he steps onto the mound. With a fierce look in his eye, he stares down the opposing batters, challenging them with every pitch he throws. His main objective with such a staunch stance on PEDs is clear, ““I’m passionate about it…This is a great game. I love the challenge of it. But you like to know it’s fair.”
I think we can all agree with JV on this one.
