As the controversy around steroids in baseball has swirled the past few years, there has been speculation about who is using steroids and who is not. Rumors circulated, accusations were made and theories were tossed around. But we never had any factual evidence of who the users were except for a few confessions.

Last week, though, baseball announced the suspensions of 38 minor leaguers who failed steroids tests during spring training in Arizona. The list of names is our first glimpse at the profile of the steroid user in baseball and it provides two interesting bits of information:

n Of the 38 players suspended, 20 (53 percent) of them are from Latin American countries, where drug laws are less strict than in the United States.

n The list had 17 pitchers (45 percent) on it. Most people think of the players using steroids as bulked-up sluggers but it appears just as many pitchers are using.

The 925 players tested in Arizona is a small sample of all the major- and minor-league players in baseball, but if these numbers are an accurate sample, it gives us a taste of the problem baseball is facing.

EASY TO GET

Baseball has gotten more and more of a Latino flavor through the years. This year’s Opening Day rosters were 25-percent Latin American. Of the 829 players (25-man rosters and disabled lists), 206 hailed from Latin America, with the Dominican Republic leading the way with 91 players. In the minor leagues, 36 percent of the players are foreign-born.

In many of these countries, steroids are available without a prescription. It is well known that steroids are easily accessed in Mexico, and in the Dominican Republic players have died from using veterinary drugs in hopes of making it to the big leagues.

“It’s easy to get it [in the U.S.] and we have laws against it,” said Charles Yesalis, a Penn State professor who has studied steroids for more than two decades. “I’m sure getting steroids in those countries would be as challenging as buying a can of Coke.”

There is not much baseball can do about the laws in the countries from which they are drawing except to educate the players. Rob Manfred, MLB vice president of labor relations, said baseball does test in the Dominican Summer League and has an educational program for those players. Baseball is in the process of expanding that program to Venezuela.

“To the extent that substances banned by the basic agreement are legally available in other countries where players live, players have to be much more careful about the products they purchase in those countries,” Manfred said. “Obviously, we must have a single standard for all players. Those who live in countries with less strict drug laws must be more careful.”

Of the 38 players who failed, nine came from the Dominican Republic and eight from Venezuela, the two foreign countries that have the most players in baseball. Mets Victor Diaz and Jose Reyes, both of whom are Dominican, said they don’t believe steroids are prevalent in their country.

“I’ve never been approached by someone,” Diaz said. “If you are going to do it, you are now taking a big chance because they are testing.”

JUICED HURLERS

It also seems the general perception of who is using steroids in baseball is off. For years, those accused of juicing have been the big-time home run hitters like Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire. But nearly half of the players on last week’s list make their living on the mound. The first major leaguer to fail under the new policy also wasn’t a big bopper, but was speedy Devil Rays outfielder Alex Sanchez, who has made his name by stealing bases.

Steroids experts say this data is not surprising because steroids not only build muscle mass, they also increase acceleration and improve recovery time.

“When you say baseball and steroids, the average person thinks home runs,” said Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency. “There are other attributes to steroids that get less attention.”

People around baseball have learned through the years how important it is to keep pitchers rested. This has caused the concentration on pitch counts and days between starts. Steroids can help a pitcher recover quicker between starts.

Steve Phillips, the former Mets general manager who now is an ESPN analyst, said most of the failed tests that came across his desk from the minor league players were position players, but there were some pitchers.

“It’s not necessarily to throw harder,” Phillips said. “One effect is it allows you to maintain stamina and endurance and it helps you recover quickly and have more consistent stuff on a regular basis.”

Said Wadler: “If you’re throwing 93-95 every X hours and you can recover faster and can come back more frequently, at least in a theoretical sense it can enhance pitching performance.”