Braun Linked to PEDs

By Joe Fontanazza
SC Staff Writer

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is back under suspicion for using Performance Enhancing Drugs after a former coach, Jimmy Goins, was linked to a clinic based in Miami known for distributing PEDs to other prominent players like Alex Rodriguez and Gio Gonzalez.

Braun, who was named the National League’s most valuable player in 2011, was first linked to PEDs when a urine sample tested positive for high levels of testosterone after his MVP season but was not suspended after it was proven that the sample was tampered with.

When Braun entered Major League Baseball, he was seen as the prototype of the post-steroid era superstar; a sweet swinging five tool player who was a change from the hulking power hitters of the 90s and early 2000s.

He has been a fan favorite since he burst on a national scene was an impressive .324 batting average, 34 home runs, 97 runs batted in and being awarded the National League Rookie of The Year. He was also a hero for his culture: a role model for young, Jewish boys and a reminder of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax for older Jewish men.

The suspicion of Ryan Braun’s alleged steroid use has died down since the mishap, but his connection with Jimmy Goins has been questioned. Goins, Braun’s college strength and conditioning coach while he attended Miami University, has been linked to an anti-aging clinic in in Miami named Biogenesis. Biogenesis has been
known to sell supplements that are legal for the public to use but are on the Major League Baseball banned substance list. The evidence became more incriminating after recent Biogenesis records indicate that Ryan Braun had contact with the clinic over the years.

When Braun tested positive for high levels of testosterone in the summer of 2011, he sought out Anthony Bosch, the founder of the Biogenesis Anti-Aging Clinic, as a consultant. Braun is currently innocent until proven guilty if this goes into any type of judgment but in the court of public opinion there will a lot that he needs to prove to be seen as innocent to the sports world.

Braun is oddity when it comes to suspicion of performance enhancing drugs, because there was no great spike in production over his career. Although every player goes through ranges of developments many of the players that have used PEDs go through massive spikes after elevating to when their production should drop off.

For instance, Sammy Sosa, retired outfielder and fellow suspect of using PEDs , gained a huge spike in production from his 1997 season when he hit an impressive total of 36 but then going to an astronomical total of 66 in 1998. He turned 29 that year and continued that trend going into his mid-thirties, which under normal circumstances should not happen.

This makes Ryan Braun quite peculiar, as he has kept the same level of production since being drafted as a top prospect. There are multiple things that incriminate Braun, but there are also multiple things that show innocence. Major League Baseball does have the resources to find the right answer so many things shall be divulged.

Email Joe at:
jfontanazza24@yahoo.com