This is Major League Baseball’s dishonored roll for 2016, with the suspended cheaters’ achievements added:

• Jenrry Mejia                permanent suspension
• Marlon Byrd                162 games
• Dee Gordon                  80 games
• Taylor Teagarden        80 games
• Daniel Stumpf             80 games
• Chris Colabello           80 games
• Juan Duran                  80 games
• Abraham Almonte      80 games
• Josh Ravin                   80 games
• Raul Mondesi              50 games

This group of disgraced players is twice the number of players who were suspended at the equivalent time last year and exceeds by three the number of players who were suspended the entire year. The tawdry 10 represent the most who have been suspended in a calendar year since the 15 suspended players in 2013, and many of those were casualties of the Biogenesis episode.

Are more players acting more foolishly by using performance-enhancing drugs? Are they taking greater risks by trying to get away with it? Or have they failed to recognize that testing has become tougher and their transgressions more easily detected?

Based on conversations with people familiar with Major League Baseball’s PED scene, I’m going to opt for the last reason. Although it has long been said that the testers can’t keep up with the chemists, it appears that the testing has made significant strides.

People on both the union and management sides are reluctant to talk about the drug developments, if they’ll talk at all, because the joint drug agreement calls for confidentiality. However, one person said, “It’s a concern. Everybody is trying to figure out why this happening.”

His theory: Improved testing.

“The science behind testing has improved,” he said. “It can detect stuff that maybe before it couldn’t. It depends on how long it stays in your body.”

If improved testing is undermining players’ cheating strategy, the public views of other players are opening a whole new look at the PED problem.

“Marlon Byrd is a joke,” pitcher Jeremy Guthrie tweeted. “All you cheaters are a joke. Do it the right way one time, accept your ups & downs.”

Another pitcher, Dan Haren, tweeted, “can I get back all the home runs he hit off me please?”

Then he added a second tweet: “Also last year magically returned from a broken wrist in 16 days, at age 38. Proceeded to homer off me that day.”

Justin Verlander, also a pitcher, offered a wordless criticism:

The tweets highlight a significant aspect of baseball’s PED plight. It has been the players who have spearheaded the effort to rid the game of performance-enhancing drugs.

In the 1990s the union rebuffed management efforts to establish a PED-testing protocol. Donald Fehr, the union chief, was widely criticized for refusing to agree to a joint testing program, but Fehr was acting on behalf of his membership. A vast majority of the players opposed testing.

As years went by and PED use and controversy escalated, the players began changing their outlook. The players who were honest and clean didn’t like being lumped with the cheaters and didn’t like the cheaters having an advantage over them.

The players let the union know how they felt, the union’s position changed and a joint drug agreement emerged. The players’ serious approach has been seen in the union’s willingness to make changes in the agreement and increase the penalties for positive tests.

Still, players who test positive for PED use express shock and declare they don’t know how the banned substances invaded their bodies. Usually they say the supplement they took must have been tainted with a substance that didn’t appear on the label of the bottle.

Penalized players have taken to issuing statements through the Players Association. Here is the statement Byrd issued last week after he was suspended for 162 games, an entire season, the penalty inflated as the result of a 2012 penalty of 50 games:

“Today, I have accepted a 1 year suspension by Major League Baseball. Recently, I was notified that I had tested positive for Ipamorelin, a peptide prohibited by the JDA. In 2012, I tested positive for the medication Tamoxifen, which I was using on the advice of a physician for a medical condition resulting from surgery, and I accepted my suspension without challenge. Since that time, I have paid close attention to the substances that are banned by the Joint Drug Agreement, as I had no intention of taking any banned substances. I relied upon a medical professional for assistance and advice with respect to the supplements that I was taking. However, certain supplements I was taking were not on the NSF Certified for Sport list, and therefore, I assumed certain risks in taking them. When I learned that I had tested positive for Ipamorelin, I retained the services of private counsel and an independent chemist to determine the origin of the Ipamorelin test result because I never knowingly ingested Ipamorelin. After an extensive investigation by my lawyers and an independent chemist, it was concluded that the most likely source of Ipamorelin was a tainted supplement. I alone am responsible for what I put in my body, and therefore, I have decided to forgo my right to an appeal in this matter and accept the suspension. I apologize for any harm this has caused the Cleveland Indians, Indians’ fans, my teammates, and most importantly, my family.”

T.J. Quinn, an investigative reporter for ESPN who has done a lot of work with PEDs, posted an interesting Tweet in response to Byrd’s statement:

“Ipamorelin is not a drug someone is likely to stumble into by accident. This is what a knowledgeable user would use.”

In a telephone interview, Jay Reisinger, Byrd’s lawyer, said of Byrd’s acceptance of the suspension without challenging it, “It was a hard call, but the way the joint drug agreement is written, he had to accept responsibility.”

This was a statement from Dee Gordon, the Miami Marlins’ second baseman, who is on the cover of the team’s media guide. He was suspended April 29 for 80 games:

“Though I did not do so knowingly, I have been informed that test results showed I ingested something that contained prohibited substances. The hardest part about this is feeling that I have let down my teammates, the organization, and the fans. I have been careful to avoid products that could contain something banned by MLB and the 20+ tests that I have taken and passed throughout my career prove this. I made a mistake and I accept the consequences.”

Three days after Gordon was suspended, Josh Ravin, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was suspended for 80 games. He issued this statement:

“During 2016 spring training, I came down with a severe case of intestinal flu and strep throat. I was put on antibiotics and lost a total of 20 pounds in less than seven days. To try and speed up my recovery, I took some supplements that I thought would help. Unfortunately, I was not as careful as I should have been and one of the supplements contained a banned substance.

“I later learned that the substance showed up in a regular drug test done of me during 2016 spring training. This has been a very painful lesson for me. I have always tried to avoid doing anything in violation of the system and I take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions and my bad judgment. So, I have decided to accept the suspension and continue my ultimate goal to be able to pitch again in the major leagues.”

A week later the Players Association issued this statement for Raul Mondesi, a 20-year-old Kansas City infielder, who was suspended for 50 games:

“Today I agreed to accept a 50 game suspension from Major League Baseball.

“It is by far one of the hardest moments I have had to face in my life, but it is a decision that I accept and one that I take full responsibility for as a professional.

“I took an over-the-counter medication (Subrox-C) which I bought in the Dominican Republic to treat cold and flu symptoms. I failed to read the labeling on the medication or consult with my trainer or team about taking it and did not know it contained a banned substance. I tested positive for that banned substance, with a minuscule amount of Clenbuterol in my system which could not have possibly enhanced my performance on the field, and now must face the consequences of that mistake.

“I apologize to my organization, my teammates, the fans and everyone who has supported me in my career. Never did I intend to take a substance that would give me an unfair advantage on the field. It is solely my mistake and there are no excuses for my carelessness in not being fully informed of what I put in my body.

“My goal is to work through this setback and make it back in time to help my organization compete for another World Series title.”

Chris Colabello, a Toronto infielder, issued this statement through the Players Association after receiving an 80-game suspension:

“On March 13, I got one of the scariest and most definitely the least expected phone calls of my entire life. I was informed by the Players Association that a banned substance was found in my urine. I have spent every waking moment since that day trying to find an answer as to why or how? The only thing I know is that I would never compromise the integrity of the game of baseball. I love this game too much! I care too deeply about it. I am saddened more for the impact this will have on my teammates, the organization and the fans of the Toronto Blue Jays. I hope that before anyone passes judgement on me they can take a look at the man that I am, and everything that I have done to get to where I am in my career.”

Other major leaguers who have been suspended this year are

Jenrry Mejia, New York Mets, lifetime; Juan Duran of Cincinnati, 80 games; Abraham Almonte, Cleveland, 80; Taylor Teagarden (free agent), 80; Daniel Stumpf, Philadelphia, 80.