Baseball toughens its drug policy – again
By Mercury News | themerc@bayareanewsgroup.com |
Baseball players and owners toughened their drug rules again Friday in response to outside criticism. They agreed to more frequent testing and increased – but not total – authority for the program's outside administrator.
All players implicated in the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs were given amnesty as part of the agreement, the third major modification since the program was instituted in 2002 after accusations players were abusing steroids.
"It is time for the game to move forward," Commissioner Bud Selig said.
Thus, the deal eliminated 15-day suspensions assessed against Jose Guillen and Jay Gibbons.
The agreement Friday also ensures there will never be another Mitchell Report, as both sides agreed to keep players' names private until discipline is imposed in any future probe. The sides also agreed a player would be given any allegations and evidence against him before any investigatory interview.
Many players, including Roger Clemens, complained Mitchell never disclosed the case against them until the report was released in December.
Talks to amend the drug agreement were prompted by the Mitchell Report's strong allegations, including those by Brian McNamee, the former personal trainer who testified under oath that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone.
• Baseball fined White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen for accusing umpire Phil Cuzzi of having a vendetta against him. "I got fined a lot of money. That's all I can say – a lot of money," Guillen said.
• Former Cy Young award winner Denny McLain is in a Michigan jail after his arrest on a charge of missing a court appearance in a civil case.
• A construction worker on a concrete crew at the new Yankee Stadium secretly buried a Red Sox T-shirt under the future visiting clubhouse in an effort to jinx the Yankees, the New York Post reported.