Sad news

[VTSoxFan]

Orioles' minor league pitcher Steve Bechler died this morning after collapsing on the field at training camp yesterday. I guess they've said he died of heat stroke. He was only 23 years old.

[cowboy15]

My prayers and condolences go out to his family...

[Captain Cold Nose]

His wife, Kiley, is several months pregnant.

[rockin500]

man, that sucks.

his wife is nearly 8 months along.

[Hammerin Hank]

A moment of silence...

[rubber thumb]

Thats horrible, I still wear 57 on all my hats for Kile...this kind of thing shouldn't be happening to players so young.

[racosun]

It is a tragedy, but this type of thing happens almost every day to regular people. Please, as the summer months approach, remember to wear sunblock and drink plenty of fluids...no joke. My son nearly died of heat stroke a few years back. He's okay now, but I'm much more aware of heat stroke and it's circumstances now.

My condolences to his family and the Orioles' organization.

[bigtime39]

The more we hear about this, the worse it sounds. Ephedrine, undiagnosed liver problems, borderline hypertension...and a 23-year old father to be coming to camp overweight, out of shape, remorseful and fighting for a job he had no chance of getting...this year. Sad, sad, sad.

I'm old, fat and bald, but you can bet I suck down prodigious amounts of Gatorade every time I haul my carcass out onto the softball field. I wish Steve had done the same, and lived. RIP.

[NickG]

This is horrible.

The only "good" that can come out of this is that now MLB will probably set some kind of restriction on Ephedrine, probably banning it altogether.

[racosun]

One thing about Ephedrine is that it is in tons of different products, mostly cold medicines. If they banned its usage, someone could get suspended for using Alka-Seltzer Plus or something of the sort.

[J W]

I'm going to refer to a reply I just posted because I think it bears repeating:

Ephedra is definitely too dangerous for atheletes... unfortunately, my guess is he used it in conjunction with other substances (creatine?), because 81 degree temp w/ 70% humidity, well that just doesn't make sense.

There's a product called "Hydroxycut" in which there is a specific program to take the pills containing ephedrine from the Ma Huang herb (genus Ephedra), along with natural caffeines and other herbal stimulants (and a common appetite suppressant, Chromium Piccolinate). You take one pill twice daily for a week, then two pills twice daily for the next, and finally three pills twice daily for the rest.
The report said Bechler "took 3 pills" the morning he died. Could be he took too much too soon?

Personally, I would never take six Hydroxycuts in a day. Two would be fine enough. FYI, I haven't taken such diet pills, but I have been keeping tabs on it as I went on a pseudo-Atkins diet for a year and dropped a lot of weight that way. But atheletes I assume would have a hard time watching their carbs during an intense workout regiment.

Ephedrine products are better used for people who are obese and do not have high blood pressure... it is very effective, and because it is so effective that is exactly why it is a dangerous stimulant when not used properly. IMO, because some people just don't watch themselves well enough while taking it, ephedrine should be a prescription drug. The FDA should take a look at it.

The FDA should NOT MAKE IT ILLICIT. I am staunch against that. Ephedrine is a prescription-strength drug.

I feel horrible for Bechler's family.

[BaseballDude89]

Corry Lidle, Josh Hancock, Meguel Del Toro.

[rdonahue]

Corry Lidle, Josh Hancock, Meguel Del Toro.

This was 4 years ago...

[BoofBonser26]

This was 4 years ago...

New forumer.

[rdonahue]

New forumer.

I guess...

There's several threads like this going.