Now that the baseball season has begun and more than just pitchers and catchers are heading south to Florida and Arizona to commence spring training, I can finally offer you my two cents on my favorite professional sport, Major League Baseball.I have grown up a baseball lover since my earliest days. The game has always been my favorite to both watch and play. Hopefully, it will enjoy a rebirth of sorts as America's Pastime in years to come, but today's article is about something more serious and actually closer to my heart.

This past Monday baseball lost a family member when Steve Bechler died on just the second day of spring training. The tragedy was baseball's most significant since the horrific Cleveland Indians boating accident that killed pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews ten years ago. To quickly summarize, Bechler is the first player to die of heatstroke in the better half of the last century. This alone warrants worldwide attention. More interestingly, though, is that preliminary medical reports reveal that his death was triggered by the use of Xenadrine, a popular supplement that can help speed up the weight loss process.

First, I believe that this disaster deserves all of the unique attention it has received, because Bechler's loss highlights the problems facing Major League Baseball. One of the core issues that almost forced a strike by the players union in September was the drug issue. The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) held firm that their players shouldn't be subjected to random tests to determine if athletes are using various legal and/or illegal supplements and drugs.

How ludicrous and out of touch with the rest of the world! I dare you to find another workplace outside of sports where you can take drugs and stimulants and then refuse to take a drug test. Yet you continue to earn millions of dollars a year. And in the particular incident of weight-loss drugs, Major League Baseball has still not banned Ephedra (the nutritional supplement that causes weight loss in Xenadrine). To Commissioner Bud Selig's credit, he has asked for it to be banned in the aftermath of the Bechler incident. But no laws will be implemented without consent from the MLBPA. We can only hope that all parties involved come to their senses soon before baseball suffers another unnecessary tragedy.

Why has this issue affected me more than others? Why dedicate an entire column to just one story? Well, this is not just one story. This one hit home. Only one year ago this week I weighed in at over 225 pounds. Desperate to shed weight in response to the constant ribbing from friends and foes alike here at Brandeis, I walked into a General Nutrition Center (GNC) store at the Natick Mall and gleefully purchased what I thought to be the quick answer to years of poor eating habits and my refusal to hit the gym at all costs.

What happened next will stick with me for the rest of my life. As instructed, I took two pills right before dinner and began to chow down on a small crossover calzone at Pete's (not real healthy, I know). As the meal came to an end, a friend noticed that I seemed out of sorts. I stopped talking and appeared motionless.

What was happening was that damned little pill began to work its unholy magic on my insides and my heart began to beat irregularly and create an odd burning sensation. The situation was more uncomfortable than painful, but that one experience taught me that I needed to do something more natural that didn't require me to risk my life for the benefit of a little extra self-esteem.

I can relate to Steve Bechler. To me, he was simply following the social norm to lose weight as soon as possible and without much effort. But how many more Steve Bechler's have to die before people begin to care a little less how others weigh and a little more about being healthy without regard to aesthetic beauty? Hopefully we can all learn a little from the tragedy that killed Steve Bechler.

For argument's sake, it is important to note that Ephedra is already banned by the NFL, NCAA and International Olympic Committee. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration reported 100 deaths linked to the supplement.

-- Brian Ashin '03 submits a column to the Justice. He can be

e-mailed at bashin@brandeis.edu.