Lasik Surgery

[westofyou]

If Dan Uggla can get laser surgery isn't that an enhancement?

I say yes... Pete should be in the Hall!!!

[Always Red]

I remember Greg Maddox prominently getting vision-correction surgery in the offseason about 10 years back. He pitched much better the following year. Reading this, it surprised me that a team would DL a player who wanted to get it.

Uggla can't hit anything right now, and they want him back, recovered and seeing better by playoff time, would be my guess.

[vaticanplum]

If it turned out that LASIK rots your eyes in old age after a couple of decades of top-level performance, I would be against LASIK for athletes too.

Those of you arguing that it's no different from performance-enhancing drugs, how do you feel about contact lenses? About wearing a brace for a sprained wrist? About having a stitches on a cut? All of these likely allow you to perform better than having poor eyesight, wrist pain, or profuse bleeding, but none damage your body in the process.

[Chip R]

No. No more half measures.

He would agree.

[westofyou]

If it turned out that LASIK rots your eyes in old age after a couple of decades of top-level performance, I would be against LASIK for athletes too.

Those of you arguing that it's no different from performance-enhancing drugs, how do you feel about contact lenses? About wearing a brace for a sprained wrist? About having a stitches on a cut? All of these likely allow you to perform better than having poor eyesight, wrist pain, or profuse bleeding, but none damage your body in the process.

Or a cortisone shot in your elbow before a game in the World Series!!

Pete should be in the Hall!!!!

[Always Red]

If it turned out that LASIK rots your eyes in old age after a couple of decades of top-level performance, I would be against LASIK for athletes too.

Those of you arguing that it's no different from performance-enhancing drugs, how do you feel about contact lenses? About wearing a brace for a sprained wrist? About having a stitches on a cut? All of these likely allow you to perform better than having poor eyesight, wrist pain, or profuse bleeding, but none damage your body in the process.

You're assuming that PEDS always damage your body. Many here are assuming that PEDS ALWAYS damage your body.

They don't, steroids and HGH are used every day by physicians to treat all kind of medical problems. When used responsibly, under a physicians care, they are safer than eating fast food, as TSJ55 said above. Ken Caminiti, of course, is the poster child for taking way too many steroids.

The poison is in the dosage.

Does that mean they should be legal for MLB'ers? I have no idea, that's not up to me to decide. But I'm here to tell you right now, PEDS can/could be used in a responsible manner, under a physicians care. After all, these are prescription drugs. Does that mean they should be used, even if under the care of a doc? I would say not, mostly because of the trickle down effect it would have on college and high school players, and the occasional little leaguer with the gung ho dad.

[vaticanplum]

You're assuming that PEDS always damage your body. Many here are assuming that PEDS ALWAYS damage your body.

They don't, steroids and HGH are used every day by physicians to treat all kind of medical problems. When used responsibly, under a physicians care, they are safer than eating fast food, as TSJ55 said above. Ken Caminiti, of course, is the poster child for taking way too many steroids.

The poison is in the dosage.

Does that mean they should be legal for MLB'ers? I have no idea, that's not up to me to decide. But I'm here to tell you right now, PEDS can/could be used in a responsible manner, under a physicians care. After all, these are prescription drugs. Does that mean they should be used, even if under the care of a doc? I would say not, mostly because of the trickle down effect it would have on college and high school players, and the occasional little leaguer with the gung ho dad.

Fair point. Besides the trickle down effect you mention, I think the other major reason this walks a fine line is because it would be so hard to monitor, and to monitor uniformly. Physicians likely have slightly different opinions of what a "dangerous" dosage is, and a dangerous dosage probably also varies from patient to patient. That's a legal nightmare.

[PuffyPig]

No. No more half measures.

LASIK and Tommy John for EVERYONE!

If you take it that far, then all women who attend baseball games must have mandatory breast enhancements.

Surely Sammy Sosa shouldn't be the only one in the ball park with corked bats.

[Wonderful Monds]

If you take it that far, then all women who attend baseball games must have mandatory breast enhancements.

Surely Sammy Sosa shouldn't be the only one in the ball park with corked bats.

And boom goes the dynamite!

[Always Red]

Fair point. Besides the trickle down effect you mention, I think the other major reason this walks a fine line is because it would be so hard to monitor, and to monitor uniformly. Physicians likely have slightly different opinions of what a "dangerous" dosage is, and a dangerous dosage probably also varies from patient to patient. That's a legal nightmare.

Not to mention the occasional completely unscrupulous physician, ala "Dr. Feelgood"

[MillerTime58]

Not to threadjack, but I have a question:

Setting aside the legalities, what's the moral difference between a player that gets the Lasik medical treatment to improve his performance and a player who uses PEDs to improve his?

Have you heard of Neil deGrasse Tyson? If so you should see his recent Twitter posts about the subject of "performance enhancing drugs".

[mth123]

Not to threadjack, but I have a question:

Setting aside the legalities, what's the moral difference between a player that gets the Lasik medical treatment to improve his performance and a player who uses PEDs to improve his?

I've had the same question. I do think there is a difference because use of PEDs puts pressure on other players to risk their health by using too to keep up where Lasik doesn't (theoretically) create that health risk.