Union offers counter

On the eve of another round of Congressional hearings on steroid use in sports, baseball union chief Donald Fehr responded to commissioner Bud Selig's call for stiffer penalties in Major League Baseball by proposing a 20-game penalty for first-time offenders, which is double the current standard but falls well short of the 50-game penalty Selig is seeking.

The union also agreed to more frequent testing, and said it would support moving the administration of the testing program from the current management-union joint committee to a ''jointly selected independent expert." The union also agreed to random testing for amphetamines, which have been widely used in baseball but have never been subject to testing. As with steroids, players would be subjected to at least two random tests; treatment would be mandated for first-time offenders and discipline beginning with repeat offenders.

Fehr's response, delivered in a letter to Selig yesterday, comes five months after an April 25 letter in which Selig called for a 50-game suspension for an initial positive test, a 100-game ban for second-time offenders, and a lifetime ban for a third violation. Fehr and other union officials met with players on all 30 clubs before issuing a response.

''A 50-game penalty for a first-time steroid positive is not necessary to deter steroid use," Fehr said in his letter. ''Indeed, you have never defended your proposal on the basis that it is. As you have acknowledged, both in 2004 (when our agreement provided for follow-up testing only for such violations) and in 2005 (when it mandated a 10-day suspension) our program has worked.

''And the facts support that judgment: The program has reduced steroid use to only 12 confirmed positives last year, and only 9 so far this year (including the one player whose positive test was the result of prior use for which he had already been disciplined). Nor do we believe that a 50-game penalty is fair, and you have never defended your proposal on the basis that it is."

Fehr noted that in the minor league testing program imposed by Selig prior to Congressional hearings in March, first-time offenders were suspended 15 games.

''It appears the 50-game initial penalty is principally a response to criticisms which have been made of our current program," Fehr wrote. ''We share your concern about the criticism our program has received, and, in response, the players have demonstrated, several times now, their willingness to take all reasonable measures in response. But we are still required to adopt, and defend, reasonable, fair and appropriate agreements."

Nine players have been suspended this year under the MLB program, with Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro the most prominent. Earlier this season, he became only the fourth major league player to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

In the Congressional hearings set to begin tomorrow, Selig and Fehr are expected to join the commissioners and union heads of the NFL, NBA, and NHL in testifying about legislation to standardize testing and punishment policies.

''It's good to see the players' union moving in the right direction. But it remains to be seen whether this is good enough for members of Congress," said Rob White, spokesman for House Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis.

Johnny Damon, the Red Sox player representative, left immediately after last night's game was postponed and was not available for comment.

Fehr said that during recent negotiations with management, the union agreed to:

have every player tested at the start of spring training and at least one additional time.

the possibility that a first-time offender's suspension could rise to 30 games if there were aggravating factors, or be lowered to as few as 10 if an arbitrator finds mitigating circumstances.

increase the penalty for a second positive steroid test from 30 to 75 games, with the possibility that an arbitrator could increase it to as many as 100 or lower it to as few as 50.

allow the commissioner to impose ''such discipline as you believe appropriate, including a permanent ban" for a third positive test ''provided that it is consistent with just cause and subject to arbitral review."

''Twenty games are not enough," baseball spokesman Rich Levin said. ''Also, the union's proposal is not three strikes and you're out. It is three strikes and maybe you're out."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.