It's Not Worth Your Life

As noted in my post from yesterday below, Baltimore Orioles rookie pitcher Steve Bechler, died yesterday after a workout in high heat and humidity. It turns out now that he may have had some of the dieting herb ephedra in his locker. This is a dangerous substance; at least 20 members of the military have died after using it.

The MLB players' union has steadfastly refused to let MLB ban substances like this and androstenedione, the bulk-up amino acid supposedly used by Mark McGwire and others. I shouldn't totally blame the MLBPA; MLB's owners and Czar-for-Life Bud Selig have similarly had their heads in the sand about this issue too.

So although it's dangerous, players like Steve Bechler who wanted to lose weight, do it fast, and make the majors -- Bechler was a rookie who was probably going to start 2003 in Triple-A -- did this, rather than work out and do it right. The results are devastating, even more so since Bechler's wife is seven months pregnant.

I should say that the reports of ephedra in Bechler's locker are not confirmed yet, but if so, he was asking for trouble.

This story, unfortunately, has no happy ending for Steve Bechler or his family. But MLB and its players could prevent something like this from happening again, by banning ephedra and substances like it.

And I can recommend, from personal experience, a better way to lose weight fast, by using the ideas and recipes in my friend Dana Carpender's book. It's worked for me -- 35 pounds lost in the last three months, safely.

Let's hope there are no more Steve Bechler-like tragedies.