A day after another painful reminder of how severely performance-enhancing drugs damaged the sport, baseball took steps to clean up its act.
Starting this season, players will be subject to “unannounced, random blood testing for the detection of human growth hormone (hGH) during the regular season” as part of their Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
The step comes too late for baseball to save itself the embarrassment of seeing some of the game’s greatest players being turned down by Hall of Fame voters, as both Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds came up well short for induction Wednesday.
Baseball first introduced blood testing for hGH in 2010, but that only impacted minor leaguers.
Starting last year, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, major league players began being tested in spring training, the off-season and for “reasonable cause.”
In a statement, commissioner Bud Selig said: “This agreement addresses critical drug issues and symbolizes Major League Baseball’s continued vigilance against synthetic human growth hormone, Testosterone and other performance-enhancing substances… We will continue to do everything we can to maintain a leadership stature in anti-doping efforts in the years ahead.”
MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner said: “The Players are determined to do all they can to continually improve the sport’s Joint Drug Agreement. Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest proven scientific methods, and fair; I believe these changes firmly support the Players’ desires while protecting their legal rights.”