Common Ground
Union agrees to increase ban for first-time offenders
NEW YORK (AP) -- Baseball players offered to accept a stiffer penalty for first-time steroid offenders -- 20 games instead of 10 days -- along with agreeing to amphetamine tests, but their proposal Monday still fell short of what commissioner Bud Selig wanted.
In an April 25 letter to the union, 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.
Union head Donald Fehr's response said Selig's proposal was meant to quiet criticisms of baseball's current policy, not deter steroid use.
"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," Fehr wrote.
Nine players have been suspended this year under the MLB program, with Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro the most prominent.
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