Leach Is Suspended 60 Days for Drug Use : Baseball: Players’ group says it will challenge the ruling against the San Francisco player and force a hearing in front of arbitrator.

San Francisco Giant player Rick Leach was suspended for 60 days by Fay Vincent, commissioner of baseball, Monday because of a positive drug test.

The type of drug was not revealed. Leach, 33, disappeared twice from his teams during the last four seasons. He was ordered to undergo drug counseling after marijuana was found in his hotel room last year.

“I am truly sorry this has happened,” Leach said in a statement released by the Giants. “I know I have disappointed my family, my teammates and the Giants.”

Leach is batting .293 in 174 at-bats this season with two home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Said Giant Manager Roger Craig: “This is a real shock. He’s devastated. The club is in shock, too. He’s done so much for us. He’s been a real leader. We’re going to have to pick up from here.”

The Major League Players Assn. said it will challenge the suspension and force a hearing before arbitrator George Nicolau.

Leach left the Giants, who are in Houston, and returned to San Francisco on Monday.

Ralph Nelson, assistant general manager of the Giants, said Leach was tested at spring training and during the season.

“The test he failed was during the weekend series against Cincinnati (on July 26-29),” Nelson said.

Leach was released by the Texas Rangers in November, spent spring training as a non-roster player with the Atlanta Braves and the Giants, and was signed by the Giants on opening day. Leach has played in 78 games.

“I’m grateful to (General Manager) Al Rosen and Roger Craig for taking a chance on me when a lot of teams wouldn’t,” Leach said in the statement. “I’m sorry for letting them down, and I hope I can get this behind me and get back into baseball.”

Leach is the first player suspended for drug-related reasons since last Sept. 22, when St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Leon Durham was suspended for 60 days.

While a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, Leach disappeared in Seattle from Aug. 25 to Aug. 27, 1987, after having an argument with his wife, Angie.

On May 8, 1989, Leach left the Rangers while the club was in New York. He didn’t contact the Rangers, and police who searched his hotel room found less than an ounce of marijuana.