Jack's Flash - Trips, Bulls, and K's

[Jackstraw]

After I got out of high school, I became an apprentice plumber/steamfitter. Besides getting an education in a trade, I learned how to drink excessively. I also learned how to throw darts.



Back in 1987, darts were huge in Chattanooga. Our local league was second only in size to Cincinnati in the southeast. Every night of the week you could find a blind draw somewhere, or on any given weekend you could find a tournament. I would go to work at 7:00am, get off at 5:00pm, head home, take a shower, and then hit the bars. Then I would throw darts until 3:00am. Sleep was never very important.



I caught a break in my first blind draw. The partner I drew was about 7 feet tall. When he leaned out to throw his dart, I swear he could have just about stuck it in the bull with his hand. It was unbelievable. We kicked ass. Here I was, the rookie partnered up with Gigantor. We made it through the money rounds up to the match for first place. We threw against two guys that were awesome. They won, but hey I collected a little cash.



I threw in leagues after that, and tournaments, and blind draws, every chance I got. But for some reason I could never cross the threshold. There always seemed to be this core of players that won everything. There was no beating them.



And then the secrets started unfolding…



One night a guy came up to me and said that he knew the secret to throwing better. Being a competitor, I told him to let me in. I didn’t just want to know; I needed to know. We ran down to the store, bought some ephedrine and the world changed. Once they hit, I started hitting. I’d shot a couple of ton-80’s before and a few cricket patches, but on that evening I posted a 10-dart cricket game. I couldn’t miss. When I looked at the board it seemed like the bull was the size of a basketball. The ephedrine increased my focus and awareness of the game so much that I couldn’t miss.



That little secret carried me for a few weeks and I put myself right up there with the Big Dogs. I remember I had a tournament match with a guy ranked 10th nationally in Murfreesboro, TN one night. It was the single best game that I have thrown in my life. I would go trip, trip, trip; he would go trip, trip, trip. It went back and forth for awhile with me holed up in 18’s and him in bulls. He eventually got me, but when we walked away he shook my hand and said that was one of the toughest matches he had ever played.



We sorta became friends after that and he started introducing me to the in-crowd around Chattanooga. It didn’t take long to learn the secret that most of the Big Dogs were hiding – cocaine.



I was using the ephedrine to boost my game, but these guys were taking it to a whole new level. They couldn’t miss. Their eyes were as big as saucers. Their focus and concentration were second to none. They could put a dart anywhere on the board. When they stepped to the line, you knew that they were going to be busting trips left and right. I don’t know why or how, but cocaine and ephedrine elevated players’ games. Those guys dominated the circuit and many of them went on to national tournaments. Those guys made a lot of money throwing darts. Me? I just couldn’t cross the moral line between the legal and illegal.



However, for most of them it was short-lived. We had a huge coke bust in Chattanooga around 1994 and a couple of the guys went to jail. One guy died from a heart attack at 42. One guy developed AIDS from shooting it. A few moved out of the city and I still hear their names when ESPN shows dart tournaments. Shortly after the drug bust, the dart league in Chattanooga died out. It still hasn’t recovered.



I guess the point of this is that steroids and other performance enhancement drugs do increase a player’s ability to compete. They make the players more focused. They make them stronger. They make them recover faster. They also make the field very uneven. There are players who won’t cross that moral line. There are those that will. There are those that come from poor families that need the money regardless. There are those that just don’t care either way and take the easiest path to success. In the end though, it isn’t the players that suffer; the league does. And when the league suffers everyone involved with it suffers as well, but most namely the fans.



My contention has always been that pitchers use amphetamines and HGH to develop better control and recover faster. I’ve seen the effects of amphetamines and cocaine on the ability of dart throwers to improve their focus and concentration. I’ve even used ephedrine myself to improve my dart game, and I can tell you firsthand that it works.



Strikeouts were on a steady increase until 1969 when the pitcher’s mound was lowered to 16” and the strike zone was made smaller. From 1969 until 1981, the strikeout rate per game steadily decreased to levels seen during the 1950’s. Strangely though, without a major change to the rules, strikeout rates began increasing again in 1982. There is a jump from an average of 4.7 K/gm in 1981 to 5.3 K/gm in 1982. This may not sound like a large jump, but in light of the fact that in 1969 the strikeout rate was 5.8 K/gm and steadily decreased until 1981, it is obvious that some change took place. In 2006 the strikeout rate in baseball was 6.5 K/gm. The evidence of performance enhancers doesn't need to come from players. It is apparent in the statistics. I would have to question most all of the high strikeout pitchers.



Interesting fact, BALCO was founded in 1984. Hmmm, I wonder what Victor Conte was doing in 1982?



And I wonder how the purging of performance enhancers is going to affect us as fantasy players? It’s pretty obvious that it is taking its toll on the pitchers now. And they killed my local dart league.



[ April 09, 2008, 07:31 PM: Message edited by: Jackstraw ]