Cheaters Always Win

I read an interesting article today in the USAToday, not necessarily well-written, but an intriguing argument.  The gist of the theorem: MLB players will continue to use performance-enhancing drugs because the rewards far outweigh the penalties.  A-Rod, even after serving a potential 211 game suspension, will stand to make an additional $60M+.  Nelson Cruz will be a free agent after a 50 game suspension; he stands to sign a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.  These contracts are based on statistics.  Numbers.  Production.  Performance.  Enhanced with drugs.  The kicker: these contracts are guaranteed. 

Why wouldn't you cheat?  You get fame and notoriety.  You get swimming pools filled with cash.  You risk your health, to a degree, but you have all this money to spend on top-notch medical care after you retire.  Sure... your "manhood" may get smaller, but that will always look small next to the stacks of cash on your nightstand.

When I was in high school, I took pre-calculus and calculus from the same teacher.  Mr. Skie.  He was a great teacher, and he had a tried and true method to get students to understand the subject matter.  In fact, he even encouraged his students to call him at home with math questions.  He spent years refining his grading policy.  It was simple.  There were three tests each quarter worth 40 points each.  He also gave you 20 points for homework automatically, but he took away points when assignments were not complete.  You could not, however, lose any more than 6 points a quarter for missing assignments. 

He guaranteed his students 14 points.  You could spit in his face, and you wouldn't lose more than 6 points.  (You'd probably get detention though.) 

As long as you got at least 116 of 120 points on tests, you would still receive a mathematical A.  If you managed to get 112 points on tests, you were guaranteed an A-.

I used this to my advantage.  I rarely did my homework.  In fact, I only did so much as was needed to understand the math lessons.  This was probably his point all along; as long as you knew the material, you should be able to receive an A.

Mr. Skie, though, was irked by my lack of effort and the apparent ease with which I comprehended calculus.  (I can't even complete a simple derivative today.)  My parents often came home from conferences demanding that I do more homework.

My response was simple: what more did they want from me than an A?  If Mr. Skie was so upset about it, he should change his grading policies.  He should make the penalties for not completing homework more punitive. 

Until then, I would continue to bend the rules to my benefit.

Until MLB makes the penalties stronger with longer suspensions and greater fines (or limiting the amount of future contracts to a league minimum), players will continue to be incentivize to use PEDs.  For them, it pays to cheat.