I may not be a sports fan – darts and Scrabble are about as athletic as I get – but I do appreciate the rush of a good sports play. Several seasons ago, there was Richard Greenberg's dazzling, Tony-winning baseball drama "Take Me Out," and back in January the impressive one-man show about football, "Runt of the Litter," ran Off-Broadway.

Now I can add Itamar Moses' shrewd study of steroids and team spirit, "Back Back Back."

Drawing directly from the 1990s steroid scandal that rocked baseball and led to a 2005 Congressional hearing, "Back Back Back" follows three Major League Baseball players over the course of 21 years as they share a locker room, and later find themselves traded across the country. As they reconnect over the years, the silent specter of performance-enhancement drugs looms over even the most banal exchanges.

Our players are Jeremy Davidson's Kent, who seems humble and low-key but has a dark, competitive drive; the blustery and quick-tempered Raul, played by Michael Martinez, and sweet-natured rookie Adam, Michael Mosley, who seems like a scrawny shrimp compared to his beefy teammates. Soon enough, we learn that Kent and Raul – clearly inspired by controversial All-Stars Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco – are "juicing" and lifting weights to give them an edge at home plate.

Besides the sheer fun of hearing these guys banter and trash talk, there is an undertow of melancholy to Itamar Moses' pitch-perfect script. If you hadn't guessed from the title, the playwright is not only interested in issues of cheating versus good sportsmanship. There is also a deeper concern about growing old with memories versus staying young and clinging to the moment. Steroid use for these guys is a way to avoid the messy complexities of life, to keep chasing that fly ball.

This spare production is tightly staged by Daniel Aukin, who ran downtown's SoHo Rep Theater in the 1990s. Not only is it great to see Manhattan Theatre Club continuing to support a canny young writer such as Moses, but hiring a director with his own stylish spin on the ball.