Thursday, November 02, 2006

Latin players & positive tests

The NY Times article about Mota's positive test informs us that Latin players are more likely to test positive.
Mota fits the profile of players suspended in 2006. Of the 39 who tested positive this season, 26 were from Latin America. Breaking down the 39 suspensions by position, 26 of the players were pitchers. Mota joins the Mets' Yusaku Iriki and Jason Grimsley, who had been released by Arizona when he was suspended, as major leaguers penalized since the punishment for first-time violators increased to 50 games from 10.

The number of positive tests has plummeted since last season, a sign that the tougher rules are deterring players from taking performance-enhancing drugs. In 2005, 93 players, including 12 in the majors, violated the policy. Of those 93 players, 44 were from Latin America. Broken down by position, 46 of the 93 violators were pitchers.
I wonder if these sorts of statistics could be used by the government to tighten the rules regarding visas for ballplayers from Latin America. It could be argued that these ballplayers are taking jobs that could (would) otherwise by done by Americans.