Baseball Getting Closer to a New Steroid Policy

One month after the Major League Baseball Players’ Assn. authorized its leaders to seek a more stringent steroid policy, a source familiar with talks between union chief Don Fehr and baseball negotiator Rob Manfred said Friday that “substantial progress has been made” and predicted an agreement in the next week or two.

Under pressure from Commissioner Bud Selig, Congress and the public, Fehr and Manfred have met regularly since Dec. 15 at baseball’s New York offices, where they have worked to narrow the gap between the policies contained in the collective bargaining agreement and the tougher measures employed in the minor leagues.

An agreement would require an amendment to the existing CBA, which expires in December 2006. Such an amendment would be unprecedented in baseball’s labor history, but it has support from the union’s executive board and rank and file.

Baseball and the union included mandatory testing for performance-enhancing drugs for the first time in the current basic agreement in 2002.

In light of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroids scandal, however, the provisions for testing and discipline were re-examined. After superstars Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, among others, testified before a federal grand jury, Giambi reportedly admitting he used steroids, Selig and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) intensified their demands for harsher regulations.

The minor league system, not covered by the CBA, allows for year-round testing and a suspension for the first positive test. Major leaguers are tested once a year and, with a positive test, are ordered to undergo counseling. Only after five positive tests can a player be banned for a year.