Pittsburgh Pirate Manager Chuck Tanner testified in...

Pittsburgh Pirate Manager Chuck Tanner testified in Pittsburgh that he never warned infielder Dale Berra to stay away from a man now accused of dealing cocaine to major league baseball players.

Tanner was the first defense witness in the U.S. District Court trial of Curtis Strong, 39, of Philadelphia, the former Philadelphia Phillie clubhouse caterer accused of 14 counts of dealing cocaine to ballplayers while the Pirates were at home from 1980 to 1984.

Meanwhile, former Pirate Willie Stargell was also requested to testify, but his attorney told defense attorney Adam O. Renfroe Jr. that Stargell would invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination on any drug-related question, according to a source involved in the case.