“While I’m sure there are those who try to take advantage and get these drugs without needing them, quite frankly, i think the percentage of players on them would be a lot higher if that were the case.”

There were 103 players that tested positive for steriods (you know the ones where the names were never to be released). That squares with the 105, the percentage of “cheaters”
is about the same.

A person with ADHD is *already* overstimulated; that’s why they have difficulty concentrating. They also have more energy than most people do; that’s very likely the reason why there are more of them in baseball than the general population would suggest, just as there are, for example, more folks with Asperger’s working in scientific and technical fields.

And, for the record, this is not a rubber-stamp move, as reported LAST SUMMER.

So, I’m very inattentive a lot of the time and have trouble concentrating and sitting still. However, I was able to graduate high school and college with a very high GPA and now I hold down a job (as a counselor, no less). Therefore, it does not severely impact my life functioning, and I do not have the disorder.

But yes… often it is misdiagnosed and people, and sadly, children, are medicated without a proper evaluation being done.

I’m not saying it’s a phony disease, I know people whom it legitimately affects and the medication certainly serves it purpose for those who legitmately need it. But you are correct that that drug could serve another, very beneficial purpose to those who take the drug without having the disease.

In one of my classes in college we were given a medical dictionary’s entry of ADD and ADHD to review, and honestly I was shocked, as according to the definitions and symptoms, I too have ADD and/or ADHD. In fact, accordingly to that medical dictionary and the symptoms it defined, I’d say about 70% of society would qualify as being ADHD.

Limited attention span? Check.
Fidget in your chair freqently when sitting? Check.
Interrupt a serious and engaging conversation with a random outburst such as “Oh look, a butterfly!” Check.

See? Medically speaking, I’m ADD, just like that. And it’s a condition that is incredibly simple to fake at a doctor’s office when you look at the symptoms.

Again, I know this is a serious condition and I know several people who are severly impacted by it. I wish I could remember the name of that medical dictionary that we used in the experiment. In any event, I see how this could become a huge problem, but I don’t see any way how this can be stopped. The condition usually pops up during adolensence, but realistically, it wasn’t very well known or documented or medicated until most of these guys were out of adolesence, so they could jsut play the “I’ve definately had this my whole life but no one realized it was ADD until just last the year or two or three.” Because of the increase in awareness over the last few years, they can use that line and get away with it, and no one has any proof to the contrary.

Now I’m wondering if Cliff Lee is an Adderall user. A walk rate that low requires intense, prolonged focus!!