Rays pitcher had a great reaction after random MLB drug test at his home: 'This is wild, free roaming, 100 percent grass fed'
- Chris Archer had a great reaction after his recent drug test, tweeting that he is "wild, free roaming, 100 percent grass fed."
- Archer has been critical of PED users in the past.
- Fourteen current or former MLB players have been suspended for PEDs in the past two years, in addition to a number of minor leaguers.
If there's one MLB player who's confident in his ability to pass a drug test, it's Chris Archer.
Random tests to detect performance-enhancing drugs have become business as usual in professional baseball, but that doesn't mean the players don't react with surprise when it's their turn to submit a sample. Archer, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, was recently selected for a test, and he had a great reaction:
Archer's description makes him sound more like a cow than a man, but the message is clear: there's no point in testing him, because the sample will come back clean.
Of course, drug testing policies only work if they are applied indiscriminately, a fact that Archer readily acknowledges. In 2017 alone, five players with MLB experience were suspended for at least 50 games apiece, while in 2016, there were nine. Drugs detected include nandrolone, boldenone, closetobol, and Turinabol.
Less than one week ago, ESPN reported that the Toronto Blue Jays were launching an internal investigation after six players in their minor league system were hit with lengthy suspensions. While MLB's culture of steroid use has weakened over the past two decades, it's clear that the game must continue to do its due diligence.
Archer has been critical of admitted steroid users in the past. In a 2014 interview with Bleacher Report, he said he relished striking out Alex Rodriguez all the more because of the legendary slugger's history of skirting the rules.
"I don't have too much respect for people who cheated the game and took steroids. Especially somebody of his caliber," he said. "So striking him out was a little more sweet knowing that he had 600 home runs and felt the need to take steroids strictly for his ego ... Why not just work harder? Why not just focus more?"
After going just 10-12 with a 4.07 ERA in 2017, Archer will be training to get back to his old self this offseason - and you can bet that PEDs won't be part of the regimen.