Mitchell requests players' presence

The chairman of the special commission set up to examine the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball said for the first time yesterday that he has asked a number of active players to appear before the commission, a move that marks a major turning point in the year-long investigation.

Former US Senator George Mitchell of Maine, who is overseeing a team of lawyers and investigators working on the case, declined to say how many players have been sent letters.

But others familiar with elements of the investigation said they believe at least three dozen current and former players are being sought by the panel. The prospect of any number of elite players being linked to the steroids issue would throw Major League Baseball into considerable turmoil only a month into the season, as players turn to hiring lawyers rather than focusing on hitting and pitching.

Mitchell, responding by e-mail to a series of written questions from The New York Times, described his investigation as entering its final phases.

"We expect to meet soon with the players whose interviews we have requested," Mitchell wrote. Mitchell has no subpoena power, and said if players refuse to talk to his panel, which reports to commissioner Bud Selig, "we will deal with the issue at that time." Mitchell also said Selig had agreed that Mitchell's final report would be made public.

Officials from the commissioner's office declined to comment on any phase of the Mitchell investigation, including which players might be asked to appear. League officials and union officials said they are unaware of which players have been or will be asked to speak to Mitchell. A union official said the union had received copies in the past of letters Mitchell sent to former players.

Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger who is 13 home runs shy of breaking Hank Aaron's career record, most likely will not be asked to meet with the panel soon, according to a person briefed on the investigation.

Bonds is under federal investigation for possibly perjuring himself during grand jury testimony in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative case, which involved the distribution of steroids to elite athletes in a wide range of sports. Bonds's lawyer, Michael Rains, said in an interview that Bonds would decline to speak to the panel if it would risk incriminating himself.

In responding to inquiries, Mitchell stepped around questions of whether he is using names provided by Kirk Radomski, a former Mets clubhouse assistant who pleaded guilty last week to selling drugs to major leaguers.

In his plea bargain, Radomski, of Manorville, N.Y., admitted to distributing steroids, human growth hormone, amphetamines, and other drugs to dozens of current and former players from 1995 to 2005. As part of that plea, he agreed to cooperate with Mitchell's investigation.