Baseball gets tough about doping

Major League Baseball players and owners yesterday reacted to months of embarrassing scandals and congressional pressure by reaching a landmark agreement aimed at purging the game of anabolic steroids and amphetamines.

The new policy, scheduled to take effect next season, sharply increases penalties for steroid use -- to a 50-game suspension for a first offense, 100 games for a second offense, and a lifetime ban for a third -- and establishes mandatory random testing for amphetamines for the first time in the history of the nation's major professional sports leagues. Under the current policy, steroid users face suspensions of 10 days for a first offense, 30 days for a second, and 60 days for a third.

The agreement makes baseball's penalties for steroid use the harshest among American professional sports leagues.

''This is an important step to reaching our goal of ridding our sport of performance-enhancing substances and should restore the integrity of and public confidence in our great game," commissioner Bud Selig said. ''This has been an historic day in baseball."

Congressional leaders generally expressed satisfaction with the policy, indicating they may ease their push to impose a sweeping, federal anti-doping program on the major professional sports. Citing baseball's current program as one of the weakest, legislative leaders had gained support for their anti-doping initiative when three prominent sluggers -- Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Gary Sheffield -- were implicated in the BALCO steroid scandal and a fourth, Rafael Palmeiro, became the game's first major star to test positive for illegal steroids.

''This is what I had hoped for all along, for the two private parties to come to an agreement on their own without Congress having to do it for them," said Senator Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican and baseball Hall of Famer who is a chief sponsor of the Integrity in Professional Sports Act.

Bunning said the policy is ''not as tough as I would like," yet he seemed ready to accept the program barring any unforeseen problems. Major leaguers and owners are expected to ratify the agreement without major dissent.

''I and my colleagues will be watching very closely, and if things unravel, we still have tough legislation we can move through Congress," he said.

Selig, who spoke yesterday with several congressional leaders, said of the policy, ''I have a great deal of confidence that it will absolutely satisfy any concerns they may have."

Major league players made several striking concessions to achieve the deal, including reopening their collective bargaining agreement, which otherwise is in force through 2006. They also backed off their proposal for less stringent penalties for steroid users (20 games for a first offense, 75 games for a second offense, and disciplinary action set by the commissioner for a third offense).

Amid congressional pressure and public concern over the integrity of the game, the players ultimately accepted Selig's terms.

''This agreement reaffirms that major league players are committed to the elimination of performance-enhancing substances and that the system of collective bargaining is responsive and effective in dealing with issues of this type," said Donald Fehr, executive director of the Players Association.

The agreement is expected to remain in force through the duration of the collective bargaining agreement that succeeds the current pact, or about 2010.

Major League Baseball began testing for steroids in 2003, despite indications the game had been altered since the mid-1990s by illegal performance-enhancing drugs. But baseball was even slower to respond to the widespread use of amphetamines, which has gone unfettered since the 1950s. Amphetamines are considered far more prevalent in the major leagues than steroids.

''I don't think we could have solved this problem if we ignored amphetamines," Selig said. He asserted he was ''startled" to learn from team doctors and trainers about ''the severity and significance" of amphetamines in baseball.

Under the new policy, first-time amphetamine offenders will be subject to mandatory follow-up testing. Second-time offenders will be suspended for 25 games and third-timer offenders for 80 games. Players could be banned for life for a fourth offense.

The agreement also mandates penalties for players who are convicted of possessing or distributing illegal steroids or amphetamines. The penalties range from a suspension of 15 to 30 days for a player first convicted of possessing amphetamines to a lifetime ban for a player who is twice convicted of distributing steroids.

Any player who is banned for life under the agreement would have the right to seek reinstatement after two years.

In accepting the policy, major leaguers agreed to subject themselves to more drug tests than ever before. While the current plan calls for players to undergo at least one test from the start of spring training to the end of the regular season, the new policy will require players to be tested during spring training and submit to at least one unannounced test during the regular season. They also will be subject to year-round random tests.

Twelve major leaguers, including Palmeiro, were suspended for 10 days this year after testing positive for illegal steroids. Under the new policy, they would not be considered second offenders if they were to test positive next year. Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, indicated the owners and players agreed it would be unfair to classify them as second offenders because of the severity of the penalties under the policy.

The nationally televised hearing unfolded after Jose Canseco implicated numerous players, including Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa as steroid users and said performance-enhancing drugs were widely abused in baseball. (Palmeiro and Sosa testified they had never used steroids, while McGwire refused under oath to say whether he'd done so.)

Witnesses also included the parents of amateur baseball players who had committed suicide after using steroids. Selig said he was moved to tears flying home from the hearing as he recalled the parents' testimony.

''I made up my mind that night that this sport wasn't going to rest until we took the appropriate actions," he said. ''Today, we have taken, in my opinion, a giant step forward."

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.