Before we get into the details of the MLB's PED report for 2014, which was released on Monday, let's first talk about the San Diego Padres hiring a hitting coach. The man named to the post actually played with the Padres in 2013.
Mark Kotsay will replace Phil Plantier as the Padres' hitting coach. The move was announced on Monday as San Diego remains in many discussions involving free agency and trades. Kotsay played 17 MLB seasons, including five with San Diego, and was a fine hitter, amassing a stat line of .276/.332/.404 with most of his good years coming between 1998 and 2006. Kotsay has 1,784 career hits in 1,914 career games.
The Padres probably took into account Kotsay's great strikeout-to-walk ratio, which stands at 1.37 strikeouts to 1 walk for his career. As San Diego is working on building a young team, it's only prudent that they choose a hitting coach who can help improve their eye for pitches. The Padres ranked last in the MLB this season in terms of runs scored (535) and were 24th in 2013 and 2012 under Plantier. They'll now turn to Kotsay to improve that aspect of their team.
Major League Baseball also released its 2014 PED report on Monday. Such information for the past year was documented the day after the 2013 World Series and concluded at the end of the 2014 World Series. One year removed from the Biogenesis Scandal, the MLB looks to be cleaning up, and it showed in 2014 because Nelson Cruz was the only player to hit 40 home runs and 100 RBIs, which is no longer a common occurrence. To compare, in 2000, a total of 16 players achieved such numbers, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
According to Spotrac.com, only three MLB players - Alex Rodriguez (162 games), Alex Colome (50 games) and Chris Davis (25 games) - were suspended for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The other nine players that were disciplined were in the minor leagues. Here's the breakdown of the statistics, provided by NBC Sports' HardballTalk:
- 7,929 drug tests: 6,394 were urine samples and 1,535 were blood tests.
- 12 total suspensions: Adderall usage (8); Boldenone usage (1); Methandienone usage (1); Methylhexaneamine usage (1) and; Modafanil usage (1). *Rodriguez's suspension dated back before the 2013 World Series because he was appealing the ruling, and he also never failed an MLB drug test.
- The league granted 113 Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs).
Since 2008 there have only been two players who hit more than 50 home runs (Jose Bautista, 2010 and Chris Davis, 2013), which is a good indicator of declining PED usage. The issue has plagued the MLB for many years, but it looks like commissioner Bud Selig has started to clean up the game and put his successors in a good spot to continue doing so.
