(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Melky Cabrera lost the right to play baseball by failing a drug test and now he has given up his chance to win the National League batting title. Cabrera was disqualified from the NL batting honor at his own request when Major League Baseball and the players' association agreed Friday to a one-season-only change in the rule governing the individual batting, slugging and on-base percentage champions. Cabrera had 501 plate appearances, one short of the required minimum, but would have won the title under section 10.22 (a) of the Official Baseball Rules if an extra hitless at-bat were added to his average and he still finished ahead. With Friday's agreement, that provision won't apply this year to a player who "served a drug suspension for violating the Joint Drug Program." The process for the change was set in motion Wednesday evening when Cabrera's agent, Seth Levinson, sent an email to union head Michael Weiner with an attached letter from Cabrera in English and Spanish. "I ask the Players Association to take the necessary steps, in conjunction with the Office of the Commissioner, to remove my name from for the National League batting title," Cabrera wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. "To be plain, I personally have no wish to win an award that would widely be seen as tainted, and I believe that it would be far better for the remaining contenders to compete for that distinction," Cabrera wrote. So too, the removal of my name from consideration will permit me to focus on my goal of working hard upon my return to baseball so that I may be able to win that distinction in a season played in full compliance with league rules. To be plain, I plan to work hard to vindicate myself in that very manner. Lawyers from Major League Baseball and the union finished drafting the change on Friday. "Major League Baseball will comply with Mr. Cabrera's request," MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said. I respect his gesture as a sign of his regret and his desire to move forward, and I believe that, under these circumstances, the outcome is appropriate, particularly for Mr. Cabrera's peers who are contending for the batting crown. On Wednesday morning, Selig had said "we generally don't interfere" in the batting title issue. Cabrera then took the initiative. "It goes without saying that the last couple of months have been painful for Melky and he has certainly paid a significant price for the mistake that he made," Levinson wrote in the email, also obtained by the AP. He wants to show the baseball world that he is remorseful and worthy of a 2nd chance. He understands that it will take both time and action to restore his good name and to prove that his love and respect for the game is unequivocal. "I am grateful that the Players Association and MLB were able to honor my request by suspending the rule for this season," Cabrera said in a statement. I know that changing the rules midseason can present problems, and I thank the Players Association and MLB for finding a way to get this done. Baseball rules state a player needs to average a minimum 3.1 plate appearances for each of his team's games to become a batting, slugging or on-base percentage champion. The provision came into play for the first time in 1996, when San Diego's Tony Gwynn won his third straight NL batting title, and his seventh overall. Weiner praised Cabrera, saying "we commend Melky's decision under these circumstances." So did McCutchen, who played down the chance to take the batting crown himself. "It was him saying - he was just manning up and saying he was wrong and he took himself out of the race," McCutchen said. It was man of him to do that. I guess he thought that was the right thing to do and I commend him for doing that.