Angry about the players union’s lack of cooperation, Commissioner Bud Selig is strongly considering using his “best interests of baseball” powers to mandate a stronger testing program for illegal use of steroids.
According to sources, Selig is seeking to have major-leaguers tested randomly year-round with much stronger sanctions for those who test positive. He wants players to be suspended for 15 days without pay on the first offense, 30 days on the second and one season on the third.
Selig prefers this be the result of a joint initiative with the Major League Baseball Players Association but is weighing unilateral action, which the union almost certainly would challenge.
The death of Baltimore Orioles minor-leaguer Steve Bechler haunts Selig, and he is worried about the health risks to players who take performance-enhancing substances. He also is concerned about the integrity of his sport, which is damaged by the public perception of widespread steroid use.
Major League Baseball instituted a testing program in 2003 but critics point out it is much softer than those used by other professional sports as well as those for bodies governing international competition.
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Edited by Phillip Thompson (plthompson@tribune.com) and alBerto Trevino (atrevino@tribune.com)
