Japan Steroids Gaijins

I totally forgot about this coming out today. I just searched the PDF for connections to Japan and got a list of former NPB players who were named in the document. There could always be a couple that I missed by not reading the whole document. The guys I found are Alex Cabrera, Chris Donnels, Phil Hiatt, Adam Riggs, Bart Miadich, Jeff Williams, and Chad Allen.

Cabrera has an especially long part detailing his time with the Diamondbacks and how training staff actually hid his shipment of steroids from him and claimed that it was lost. It's a pretty interesting read. It starts at page 94.

In a really shameful display, most of the Japanese sports sites aren't even reporting on this. I saw a Sponichi article that named only Clemens and Pettite.

It's sad, but I completely expect Japanese press to ignore this. That's just how they work. It's sickening. Pretend it doesn't exist and everything will go away.

I flipped through the Japanese evening sports news shows on TV as I usually do every night and every one of the shows I caught had something about the Mitchell Report.

Some (Japanese) fans were even on camera saying things like "I want to cheer for Jeff... but now I don't know..."

I don't like this at all! Is the steroid problem as bad in Japan? Riggs ordered HGH and another substance according to the report. Radomski had 6 to 10 transactions with Riggs between 2003 to 2005. I am hoping that he didn't take any of it. But is is pretty hard to believe that he bought all those and not taken any! They have a money order that Riggs signed that they show on the report. Riggs got referred by Paul lo Duca of the Nationals to go to Radomski for the steroids.

What are your thoughts?

I find it hard that Riggs didn't take any HGH in that period. Here's the Mitchell Report for citing purposes.

The Mitchell Report went in-depth into Riggs:

According to Radomski, LoDuca referred Riggs to him. Radomski subsequently engaged in six to ten transactions with Riggs from 2003 to 2005. Radowmski never met Riggs in person. Radowski said that he sold Riggs human growth hormone, clenbeurtol, and Winstrol. [Page 211]

Radomski produced five checks and money orders that he received from Riggs and deposited into his bank accounts. The dates ranged from July 10, 2003 to November 30, 2005. [Page 212]

The report shows that Riggs deposited two international money orders on November 30, 2005 to the order of Radomski. [Page 394]

Riggs was playing in Japan from 2005 to 2007. What I would like to know, which is highly unlikely, when did Riggs use the HGH, clenbeutrol, and Winstrol? Did he use them during the 2006 season? NPB's Anti-Doping Tests started during that season. If the drug use took place during the 2006 season, then NPB dropped the ball.

The Mitchell Report also said that pitcher Bart Miadich contacted Radomski regularly when playing in Japan to buy performance enhancing substances for use in the off-season. Miadich played in Japan in 2005. [Page 261]

Regarding Williams, Radomski said he sold Anavar and Dianabol to Williams. Radomski produced one check from February 10, 2004 for $1,820. [Page 275-76]

Hopefully, teams like Hanshin and Orix will re-consider their thoughts on Cabrera and Williams, though so far it doesn't look like this is the case. So far it seems they're dragging their feet in the sand.

What I'm interested in knowing is what NPB teams will do now with regards to players such as Adam Riggs, Jeff Williams, Larry Bigbie, and Alex Cabrera who were implicated in the Mitchell Report. Unlike in MLB, where they're represented by the MLBPA, there no one to fight for them in NPB if teams decide to release them. I'm looking forward to seeing how NPB teams respond to players who were implicated in the Mitchell Report.

I suppose this was the 136kg gorilla in the room.

The names I recognized from the list who are current or former NBP players:

Alex Cabrera, Chad Allen, Chris Donnells, Matt Franco, Adam Riggs, and Jeff Williams.

Current NPB players mentioned in the Mitchell Report were Alex Cabrera, Adam Riggs, and Jeff Williams. For those of you who have been here for a while, former Hanshin's Phil Hiatt was also named.

ESPN offers a detailed coverage of the Mitchell Report.

It's now being covered by the evening papers. The focus is on Jeff Williams and Cabrera. Williams in particular is the big shock. Given that and Fujikawa's desire to be posted, JFK and Hanshin have taken a big knock.

Japan Ball provides some info with regards to how the NPB is approaching this issue. Hope it helps.

With the recent revelations over Franco, Cabrera, et al, that now makes about 15 current or former Japan leaguers who have either failed drug tests or who have been implicated in use of performance enhancing drugs. The most famous of those is Rafael Bettencourt of Cleveland.

While Yokohama not only just picked up Bigbie, but also Yusaku Iriki, who flunked a screening while he was in the Mets' system.

Yeah, the evening reports are starting to cover it like it needs to be covered. What I want to know is, what will NPB do about Alex Cabrera's 55 home runs? I know politics in America make it so putting an asterisk or erasing the accomplishment altogether is difficult, but do you guys see NPB doing this with Cabrera?

It's pretty obvious Cabrera was 'roided out during his 50 homer seasons in NPB, as he was hitting home runs in a style that nobody had ever seen before. He was sending balls back to the last row of Seibu Dome on the most awkward swings. Japan really needs to get its act together with the drug testing. Letting Cabrera go off like that is almost as bad as letting Barry Bonds hit over 70 homers.

- The focus is on Jeff Williams and Cabrera.

Well from the words of the Hanshin and Orix Buffaloes' officials, they seem to miss the point. Hanshin club president, Nobuo Minami, said this about Williams:

I trust him. He flatly denied the use of any banned substances and said he is ready to accept fresh checkups any time.

Also, Orix Buffaloes' officials said the recent allegations on Cabrera will not affect their pursuit of him.

Also, both Williams (pages 227-228) and Riggs (pages 211-212) were paying Radomski while they were already in Japan, so I wonder how that will play out.

It was a surprise for me to see Larry Bigbie's name on the list. I went to university with him and never thought he was the type to get mixed up with that stuff. I guess the pressure of being on an Orioles team that was juiced from top to bottom and trying to make the roster as a young player made it easier. I was happy to see that he cooperated with the investigation. I hope Yokohama keeps him around because he is a quality player.

If the NPB are going to take any action on this matter I would think they would need proof that the players were using performance enhancers during the time they played in Japanese baseball. This is going to be difficult to get as there was no testing at that time and I doubt anyone will admit to such practices unless they have a sudden flash of decency and discover a conscience. NPB has a drug testing program in place at the moment and probably consider it to be sufficient.

If there is any change there will be a bigger focus on the foreign players as they are the ones who have been exposed. However, beyond that expect things to continue as they are and the authorities to hope for the fuss to die down. No Japanese player was named in the report (except for Iriki, and that was after he moved to America) so NPB will not consider it such a big problem for them. (Reference Negoro's comments about Japanese players being clean in 2005.)

So how many Japanese players are on 'roids? Other than Kiyohara who is a 'roid poster boy?

I fear I have to side with Christopher here. Considering that the players haven't failed any drug tests either here or in the US, that they've denied taking the substances, that they were not given an opportunity to defend themselves against the allegations contained in the report, there's not a lot NPB can do.

Keep in mind that because a player has not tested positive does not mean they have been clean. In MLB, players give samples, but only a small percentage of those samples are actually tested (perhaps 2 or 3 per club), so theoretically a player could be on banned substances all the time and not get popped. I believe that NPB does the same, perhaps someone can verify or debunk that. To actually test every player and every sample multiple times per year would be incredibly costly and time consuming.

It seems to me it would only be a waste of time if you only got a small sample tested. If what you said is true then that is what is wrong with pro sports. They're not going to get anything accomplished. That's why this problem is getting out of hand, almost every player is getting by the test. If they do find a test for Human Growth Hormones it will probably be more expensive than the standard steroid test. Spend some time and money and get it figured out. It's not like the tickets are cheap! MLB just had a record year in sales, too.

- Keep in mind that because a player has not tested positive does not mean they have been clean.

You miss the point. I'm not saying they're clean. I'm saying that there's no hard evidence that they're not clean. If, as you say, the NPB or MLB believes it's too expensive or time consuming to run a comprehensive testing program, then so be it. But nobody can expect them to take action against individual players on the basis of hearsay evidence in the absence of anything more concrete - like a positive drug test, or sworn testimony from someone who actually saw them do it.

Clemens has never tested positive for steroids, but was taking shots in the rear end from his trainer.

Anyone who thinks the testing system in Japan, which seems even weaker than the U.S. failed testing system, is an effective process is suffering from a reality problem.

My guess is that they are being used in the NPB but not at the level of MLB over the last decade. Will anything be done about it here? It's doubtful. How can NPB not see that Cabrera and Kiyohara were using? Just measure their hat size, that would be enough to prove steroid use.

- Just measure their hat size, that would be enough to prove steroid use.

I imagine there are more effective ways to test for steroids than this. But sure, the testing system in Japan is weak. I'm not sure anybody said it was strong. I certainly didn't.

So let NPB introduce a more robust testing regime. Gather the evidence. And then come down hard on these players taking steroids. I know some people are always quick to start baying for the blood of this or that player, but without hard evidence, without proof, what can you do?

And regardinhg Clemens, OK, so McNamee does a deal with the feds to avoid jail time, spills the beans on Clemens, and maybe he did do what he said he did. Or maybe not. If they can find someone to corroborate the story, then Clemens is in trouble. But without a positive drug test, without corroboration, the case may be shaky. Oh yes, we all love a good scandal, but I'm more concerned that they get the process right.

- Or maybe not. If they can find someone to corroborate the story, then Clemens is in trouble.

The fact that close friend, Andy Pettitte, admitted to using HGH, it lends more credibility to McNammee's story. Why would he tell the truth about Pettitte, but lie about Clemens?

- The fact that close friend, Andy Pettitte, admitted to using HGH, it lends more credibility to McNammee's story.

Ah yes, but he's only admitted to using it on two occasions, when he was recovering from injury. The other allegations, he says, are a pack of lies. So McNamee's version may not be entirely correct after all.

Clemens has also denied using steroids but retaining McNamee as a personal trainer does open up questions. One has to be skeptical about all these denials floating around. It is also a common tactic to admit to the minimum and get kudos for honesty while denying the main body of the allegations. This is not to say that Pettite is doing this, but it would be a logical move.

With Riggs and Williams we even have copies of checks and money orders which have not been explained. It is beginning to look like all the denials are not credible and that the revelations are accurate.

- Clemens has also denied using steroids but retaining McNamee as a personal trainer does open up questions.

And exactly what questions are those, Christopher? That it makes him more likely to be guilty? No it doesn't.

But of course, now that Clemens has dropped McNamee, what does that say? That he's now more likely to be innocent? Again no.

Retaining or not retaining McNameee has nothing to do with anything. In fact I'd be surprised that any ball player would want to have anything to do with the guy now.

When the Yankees dropped McNamee after a particularly sordid and dangerous incident involving the date rape drug GHB, Clemens kept him on. This sort of thing does make you ask questions, the chief of which is why?

And remember this, none of the players named in the Mitchell Report responded to his invitation to meet him and to present their side of the story. This is another reason why Clemens', and for that matter Riggs', Cabrera's, and Williams' credibility are not so high. They had the chance to respond and didn't.

Oh, so you're talking about the incident in which McNamee was questioned by police and never charged. And even though he still maintains his innocence it appears you don't believe him. Fine. But are you saying he's definitely telling the truth now over the steroids business? So he was a liar then and now we're supposed to believe every word he utters now? Mmmm.

And I don't really think it's surprising that none of the players responded. I don't think I would have either. They were not compelled to talk to Mitchell. There are many legal reasons why it would have been prudent to say as little as possible. Even if you were innocent.

Look, I'm not sure you fully understand the point I'm making. I'm not saying they're all guilty, or that they're all innocent. I'm just sounding a warning about getting the process right. The Mitchell report is a good start. But it's certainly not the last word. By all means issue subpoenas, force the players to testify, gather the evidence, introduce drug testing. But let's not turn it into a witch hunt, damn everybody through guilt by association. If a player says he's innocent, we've got to take him at his word unless and until the evidence proves otherwise. We're hearing the allegations, now let's turn to the next step - finding the evidence and doing something about the problem.

I haven't said he's innocent or guilty and am not about to judge that situation in those terms. However, it does show a certain lack of judgment, and given that Clemens has now disassociated himself from McNamee one is entitled to ask questions about why it took him so long. Just questions - people like Clemens have a lot of explaining to do.

If a player is innocent or able to explain - why didn't they? The legal reasons argument doesn't hold much water I'm afraid - if you're innocent say so. If you're innocent sue. Silence will be construed one way because of cultural expectations. We expect the guilty to remain silent, we expect the innocent to speak out.

Your point is clear and you have explained very well, but it might be that the situation has moved beyond getting the process right. Experience in other sports shows that athletes will go to extreme lengths to cheat and to avoid getting caught. They will also lie till they're blue in the face (Marion Jones, for example, also never failed a test). The cheats will abuse the system as much as they can and will rely on due process to get away with abuse. Rather than talking about due process the aim should be to root out the problem as quickly as possible.

"When they came for me, ..."

With respect to Pastor Martin Niemöller, I apologize for my silence up to now. However, I'm a fan for due processes, even if there are some who do abuse it. The statement, "Rather than talking about due process the aim should be to root out the problem as quickly as possible" sounds like advocating a witch hunt. That's probably not what you intended, but that's what it sounds like. That is exactly what should not be done.

I'm an advocate for letting bygones be bygones and seeing to it that such action will not be repeated in the future. I realize that many of you don't like the idea of forgiveness, and I won't push it. But failing a pardon for all transgressions before 2005 (when it became crystal clear that such actions weren't allowed), I'd at least like to see to it that due process is followed to protect the falsely accused.

(My wife falsely accuses me of all kinds of things and it drives me mad. No amount of evidence pointing to one of the kids doing it is able to convince her of my innocence, and I'm never given a pardon.)

No I would not advocating anything like a witch hunt, but I would advocate quick action. I am not even advocating punishment of the offenders, but as long as the problem is unaddressed it will cause more damage. Clemens may indeed be innocent, but because the steroid issue was not dealt with earlier, his credibility is low.

All leaving things alone or moving slowly accomplishes is to allow rumors and false beliefs to take root. You have a vacuum into which all sorts of things can intrude. When you finally do get around to dealing with the problem it is too late and often irreparable damage has already been done. This happens all too often in business with the result that the companies who are slow or cover up tend to collapse. The ones who survive are the ones who are open and take quick action to root out a problem survive and often prosper.

I like your idea of forgiveness, but it can send the wrong message to people - that it is possible to cheat and get away with it. At this stage that is not necessarily an idea that you want to be encouraging and maybe punishment would be necessary. However, if forgiveness were to be adopted then strengthening the anti-drug regime needs to be done very quickly because some of the cheats would continue to do so.

- [...] if forgiveness were to be adopted then strengthening the anti-drug regime needs to be done very quickly because some of the cheats would continue to do so.

I can agree to that. Let the past be done, but make the punishment going forward grave enough that the risk isn't worth it. Sounds good to me.

Yes, I was taken aback by Christopher's seeming dismissal of due process as an obstacle to solving the problem. Throwing out due process would virtually guarantee that the players wouldn't cooperate.

I'm concerned also at this:

The legal reasons argument doesn't hold much water I'm afraid...

Legal considerations are central to this issue. Remember that not all these guys are known for their mastery of the English language. They're ballplayers. One verbal slip, one inconsistency, one less than straightforward answer and that could spell trouble for themselves, their teammates, their trainers. If I were advising them, I'd tell them to wait for the subpoena. This is serious business, and guilty or innocent, you don't talk unless you're compelled to. (IMHO)

But as to why Clemens didn't drop McNamee, well, maybe he enjoyed the guy's company, or that he felt was no reason to cut him off as he hadn't been charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime. Who knows? But it's fun to speculate, isn't it?

- Ah yes, but he's only admitted to using it on two occasions, when he was recovering from injury. The other allegations, he says, are a pack of lies. So McNamee's version may not be entirely correct after all.

If I were McNamee, what would I have to gain from lying? I'm sure that he wouldn't risk going to jail for perjury.

As for the other evidence, what evidence do you have that it is a pack of lies? Like I said, what basis would McNamee have to tell the truth on Pettitte but lie on Clemens when faced with perjury for lying? It wouldn't be the bright thing to do.

So far the evidence in the Report is all falling into place with every coming admission by players. As for the Report, there are the four checks that are written by McNammee to Radowski. Wonder what they're for?

I'm not saying that it's a pack of lies - that's what Pettitte said. I don't have any evidence either way. All I'm saying is that everybody should receive the benefit of the doubt in the absence of corroborating evidence.

What does McNamee gain by lying? To avoid jail time himself. He's already been fingered by Radomski, who has given evidence under a plea bargain. Now McNamee has got to come up with something valuable himself. It's not unheard of to have informants tell tales to save their own skin. That's why corroborating evidence is important.

Just because some players on the list are guilty, it doesn't mean they all are. Find the corroborating evidence and I'll be happy. Copies of checks are fairly incriminating, but entries in address books don't prove anything (I hate to think how many address books my name appears in). So let them dig some more. Get some real evidence. Work out who is guilty and exonerate the rest.

Not trying to start anything here. I'm just theorizing, but what if there were a bigger problem that Japanese fans couldn't even imagine?

For example, this year's high school draft saw the fastest pitcher in Koshien history and a kid who shattered the record for career HS home runs. We all know how obsessed top HS baseball programs in Japan are about winning. I also think a lot of foreigners underestimate how easy it is to get drugs in Japan.

I was recently watching an interview with Satoh, Nakata, and Karakawa. Satoh mentioned how he gained over 20 km/h on his fastball in his second year after maxing out at only 125 km/h as a freshman. Everyone was laughing and perplexed at how a pitcher can add that much velocity in such a short time. However, the American in me knew that if that kid were pitching in any HS in America, the allegations of steroid use would be rampant among his peers.

The fact that NPB will probably never test a Japanese player positive will only keep up this mentality that the Japanese are automatically honest, natural, and clean players. With this mentality, any Japanese player who wants to cheat will have free reign to do whatever he wants and reap the rewards.

I'm not accusing either player, but I think people easily dismiss the young players because of their baby faces. The Americans here know some HS athletes in the States will take a banned substance in order to get an edge on the competition. I've experienced this first-hand with my own teammates. Who's to say that mentality hasn't crossed over the Pacific? Any person using steroids in Japan would have such a huge advantage over the average non-user, they'd probably gain interest from pro scouts.

So you can either toil around and hope some miracle happens to set you apart from the thousands of other baseball players or you can needle up, get pro scouts coming to games, and sign with a pro team for hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary and signing bonus. I think only a very small percentage of kids would cheat to attain that stardom, but that still means there's a possibility for them to exist in Japan.

Yeah, you're probably right about the situation in Japan. But you know, it still comes back to getting hold of hard evidence. So set up a robust testing regime, weed out the offenders (and that includes coaches, trainers, and parents too), and send the message that this sort of thing is unacceptable.

But I suppose that's asking a lot in the land of dango-nyusatsu, amukadari, and sokaiya. Indeed, the baseball powers can't even get the playoffs or draft right. So I'm not holding my breath.

The baseball culture in Japan is a lot more conservative than that of America. Furthermore the group is considerably more important in defining views and how people react and act. The group ethos is clearly anti-steroid and anti-drug. Look what happened to the Kanto Gakuin Rugby Team when two of their players were caught with Marijuana (the players were thrown off the team and the team itself withdrew from the rest of the season).

Thus, whilst it may be possible for young players to access steroids and then lie about using them, it is incredibly unlikely. High school baseball coaches (who would be the ones to disseminate steroids) are also incredibly conservative and I cannot imagine these guys giving their players steroids. No, I think that drug use at this stage can be ruled out. The possibilities may exist later on, but once again the culture will be a very big barrier.

Marijuana is a criminal substance. Even given that if marijauna made hitters hit better or pitch faster, teams at all levels would look the other way.

"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" as Lombardi famously said. Steroids help players play better and teams win more often. Clemons pitched better in his 40s than he did in his 30s, when many said he was washed up as a pitcher. He was given a pass by all and used his work out routine as cover for his drug abuse.

In the U.S. over a million HS kids are using steroids now. In Japan, the numbers I hope are smaller, it's happening, too, without a doubt.

The NPB will not test because if they do the sport is tarnished. Selig, I am sure, operated on the same cowardly principle until it was too late.

Yoshinori Satoh and Nakata are unlikely to have been involved in steroids. It isn't unusual for young pitchers to gain velocity with vigorous training and just pure growing up. Moreover, the risks of using those substances are catastrophic. If Satoh was caught up in a steroids scandal, Sendai Ikuei could face possible removal from the Japan High School Baseball Federation for a time and Satoh, his coaches, and his parents would get destroyed in the press. The Koshien experience, at least as one of my Japanese friends has it, is at least an exhibition of the purity of youthful fighting spirit, and to have that sullied would be traumatic to all of Japanese baseball.

I would also offer that Hayato Terahara didn't throw all that hard when he entered high school, either. But he stepped up his running program, learned how to use his legs better during his delivery, and had a substantial jump in velocity to upwards of 98 mph as a schoolboy. He has been clocked as high as 96 mph in the pros.

Lastly, I've told this story often, so please excuse me if you've heard it before, but when I was living with a Japanese woman for a time, I told her about my use of pot in high school. She went absolutely ballistic even though I hadn't smoked it in over 20 years at that point. That is emblematic of just how the Japanese public would react to a high school doping scandal. Believe me, coaches and players do not want to go there in terms of trying to goose performance through chemistry.

I'm with you guys when you talk about the Japanese drug culture. The average decent person wouldn't even think of it, but this also leads to a society that doesn't even suspect it. You could call this innocence, but others would also call it ignorance.

As for high school baseball programs all being about honor and stuff, I'm not too sure about that. I think things have changed a lot in recent years. Was there much tradition and honor when top prospects were being paid millions under the table? I'm sure the majority of HS programs are still very traditional, but a lot of these big schools rely on their baseball programs for PR. It's a lot like college at that point, so there's pressure for everyone to succeed. Pressure leads to stupid decisions.

Plus, I'm not so sure how often HS kids get tested in Japan. Does anyone know? When I played HS football, we had the physical at the beginning of the year and that was it. Kids could be on all sorts of drugs if they wanted to be, as long as they were clean at the physical.

Anyway, I think the majority of Japanese players are clean because their production drops realistically. They start seeing a decline in speed in their early 30s and the bat speed goes in their early to mid-30s. They don't throw 95 mph at age 40.

The high school baseball is pretty thoroughly covered by the press and there are scandals. However, these mainly concern smoking, bullying, and violence between schools. Given the pressure to conform and the sanctions employed to ensure this ("the nail that sticks out should be hammered down") I really doubt that anyone would risk the opprobrium that would result from using drugs. It cannot be ruled out entirely, and as you say, "Pressure leads to stupid decisions." But at the moment I would say that a decision to use steroids would carry so many risks no coach or player would attempt it.

That's an ignorant statement.

- That's an ignorant statement.

You care elaborating on what your even talking about?

Name them, please.

Does anyone know if NPB is going to open an investigation into steroid use by any of the players mentioned in the Mitchell report who play here? I'm a neighbor of one of those players, and while I personally haven't seen anything, other neighbors have. Whether any of them would be willing to come forward is another question, as is whether NPB really wants to know.

Then statement from the Commissioner's Office is that Japan has enacted testing and it's good enough.

Various teams have had their own reactions. Most (Hanshin regarding Williams and Orix regarding Cabrera) have been supportive of the players, stating that they believe what the players have said and that the Mitchell Report will not effect anything.

The only player I've seen this have an adverse effect on has been one of Yokohama's new foreign players. The last I've read, it's not clear if he'll be joining the team or not. It did look like the team was still talking with him.