Yesterday I discussed the silly controversy over “torpedo bats,” which are completely legal despite some commentators who should know better calling the use of them by some players “cheating.” Lo and Behold, no sooner had I posted that essay than news of a player being caught really cheating shook the baseball world.
Major League Baseball announced that Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG). Profar will be able to return during the season but won’t be eligible for the playoffs this year: that’s the restriction and part of the pentalty for all players in the year they serve a PED suspension.
The Braves released a statement that began, “We were surprised and extremely disappointed to learn that Jurickson Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program.”
Why were they surprised?
I wasn’t.
A former top prospect, Jurrickson Profar’s main distinction after appearing in 961 big league games was that he had one of the coolest names around. At the end of the 2023 season, Profar’s lifetime stats showed just a .238/.322/.383 batting line. That meant he was 8% worse than league average overall, and even worse for a player whose primary position is in the outfield. He had a hard time finding a team willing to sign him for the 2024 season; ultimately Profar settled for a $1 million, one year deal with the San Diego Padres. That sounds like a lot, but it is barely more than the league minimum, $740,000.
Profar, at the advanced age of 31, proceeded to have the best season of his career by far, exceeding his previous levels in all categories. Suddenly he was 39% better than the average batter. The average exit velocity on the balls he hit into play jumped from 86.5 miles per hour to 91.1. His “hard hit rate” (yes, they can measure all of this stuff now) went from 31.8% to 44.4%. He made the All Star game for the first time.
Hmmmmm.
Players don’t get better in their thirties; they virtually all get worse. A batter’s peak is between 26 and 28; after that it’s all downhill. When a player dramatically improves in his thirties—like, say, Barry Bonds—something unusual is definitely going on.
Never mind: baseball clubs are greedy and contrived ignorance is the rule. The Atlanta Braves, looking for a relative bargain to strengthen their outfield, signed Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal in January. Despite all of the red flags, the team is shocked—shocked!—that their Amazing New Star at 32 outfielder turned out to be juiced.
“This news will naturally lead the baseball world to re-evaluate that breakout season,” observes one prominent baseball website.” Ya think? “[The Braves] tried to walk a tightrope this winter by cutting spending but still competing. Profar was the jewel of that off-season but the shine has come off real fast.”
This development should surprise no one, especially the Atlanta Braves.
[WordPress’s AI bot wants me to tag this piece “Shohei Ohtani.”]
Ethics Alarms 
Somebody in Braves management and player personnel department is definitely going to get fired for that 32 million blunder. I wonder whether he can be cut, and the contract voided because of the drug policy violation. Maybe the Players Union doesn’t allow that.
As a life-long Braves fan, this was especially disappointing for me. When he was signed, I thought we were paying a lot for a guy with one good year…and honestly, the notion of PEDs never crossed my mind.
It should have…
Just an FYI, here’s the statement from Profar:
Braves fans,
Today is the most difficult day of my baseball career. I am devastated to announce that I have been suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball and the Commissioner’s Office, for testing positive for a banned substance this offseason. This is especially painful for me because anyone who knows me and has seen me play knows I am deeply passionate about the game. There is nothing I love more than competing with my teammates and being a fan favorite.
I want to apologize to the entire Braves organization, my teammates, and the fans. It is because of my deep love and respect for this game that I would never knowingly do anything to cheat it. I have been tested my entire career, including eight times last season alone, and have never tested positive. I would never willingly take a banned substance, but I take full responsibility and accept MLB’s decision.
I am devastated that I won’t be on the field with my teammates for the next 80 games. I look forward to competing again at the highest level this season upon my return.
Pretty typical banned player statement. I don’t believe any of them, but this one is particularly incredible. I am happy to say that I wondered about Profur and PEDs early last season.
So…he unwillingly took a banned substance? He was held down against his will and injected? It happened while he was sleeping? In a coma? Under anesthesia at the hospital? How can he be fully responsible when he was forced?
It’s those kinds of statements that drive me nuts. Just be honest and write, “I took a banned substance and I got caught. I’m an idiot and Braves fans will pay for my idiocy.”
As far as I know, no other major, national sport has as big a tiered minor league as baseball. This allows a lot of guys to keep playing the sport when equivalent players in other leagues are long done.
My buddy had a nephew playing baseball well in to his early 30s, and I believe had a brief stint as high as AAA, but was quickly moved back to AA, and as he aged was back in A, and eventually wound up in the kind of league where pay is less than dirt, and you live with fans families in order to keep playing ball.
The other sports, you basically either have it, or you don’t; if they see a spark, you play in the NBA G league or the NHL equivalent, but probably not for long. At least nowhere near like what baseball can offer.
Since this fellow got to the bigs for a couple years, for he and those like him I have the idea that the “need” to cheat to stay in the league is larger than other sports, easier to compromise ones integrity.
Given that so many in our nation have probably never been taught the importance of integrity, the fact that it sometimes requires a sacrifice in service to a larger good (as opposed to the instant gratification me me me our world offers so well), I wonder that there aren’t a whole lot of “average guys” in the bigs that wouldn’t otherwise be there.