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MLB players suspended for drugs during season will be banned from playoffs
RONALD BLUM
Mar. 28 2014
Baseball players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that year’s post-season under changes to the sport’s drug agreement announced Friday.
In the most significant toughening to the drug rules in eight years, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association said the penalty will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban.
Baseball started testing with penalties in 2004, established a 10-day suspension for a first testing violation in 2005 and increased the discipline to 50 games in 2006.
While there were two-to-four major league suspensions annually from 2008-11, the number increased to12 in 2012 and 14 players were penalized following last year’s investigation of the Biogenesis of American anti-aging clinic. Among them were All-Stars Jhonny Peralta and Nelson Cruz, former NL MVP Ryan Braun and three-time AL MVP Alex Rodriguez, who is suspended for the entire 2014 season.
“Our hope here is that the adjustments that we’ve made do inevitably get that number to zero,” said new union head Tony Clark, a former All-Star himself. “In the event that that doesn’t happen, for whatever reason, we’ll reevaluate and move forward from there. But as I sit here, I am hopeful that players make the right decisions that are best for them, for their careers and for the integrity of the game.”
Peralta and Cruz returned from their suspensions in time to participate in the playoffs, which angered some of their colleagues. Clark said the union membership wanted to make sure “a player is not coming back and affecting a change in the post-season as a result of the decision that particular player made earlier in the year.”
In addition to the post-season ban, players who serve PED suspension will not be eligible for automatic post-season money shares but may be given cash awards at the discretion of their teammates.
A player serving a season-long suspension will lose all his pay. Under the previous rules, Rodriguez gets 21-183rds of his salary this year, or $2,868,852.
“Although we had the strongest program in professional sports before these changes, I am committed to constantly finding ways to improve the program in order to eradicate performance-enhancing drugs from the game,” baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
An arbitrator would be allowed to reduce a suspension for a first or second testing violation by up to 50 per cent if a player proves by “clear and convincing evidence” that a positive test was not caused by his “significant fault or negligence.” However, penalties may not be cut for muscle-building substances such as testosterone, human growth hormone, Boldenone, Nandrolone and Stanozolol.
In-season random urine tests will increase from 1,400 to 3,200 overall in addition to the minimum two for each player, and off-season tests will rise from 250 to 350.
There will be 400 random blood collections used to detect human growth hormone in addition to the mandatory one for each player during spring training.
Players with PED violations, other than those who penalties are reduced for mitigation, will receive six additional random urine tests and three more blood tests annually for the rest of their careers. Foreign players entering the major leagues and those not subject to the major– or minor-league testing program for at least a year will be required to take urine and blood tests before signing contracts.
“There are certain considerations we need to make in an effort to put guys in a position where the guys who are doing it correctly aren’t being adversely affected any more than necessary,” Clark said.
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A timeline of Major League Baseball’s drug-testing rulesAug. 30, 2002 — Players and owners announce a collective bargaining agreement that includes a joint drug program for the first time since October 1985. The deal calls for a survey urine test for banned steroids in 2003 and 2004, and if more than 5 per cent of tests are positive in a year, for testing with penalties to start the following year and continue until less than 2.5 per cent test positive in two consecutive years combined.
Nov. 13, 2003 — MLB says between 5 and 7 per cent of 1,438 anonymous tests were positive for steroids, triggering the start of testing with penalties in 2004. A first positive test results in treatment and a second in a 15-day suspension without pay or fine of up to $10,000. Penalties increase to a 25-day suspension or fine of up to $25,000 for a third positive test, a 50-day suspension or fine of up to $50,000 for a fourth and a one-year suspension or fine of up to $100,000 for a fifth.
Jan. 13, 2005 — Under pressure from Congress, players and owners announce a new drug agreement in which first offences result in a 10-day suspension, second violations in a 30-day ban, third in a 60-day penalty and a fourth in a one-year ban. Fifth violations are subject to discipline determined by the commissioner.
Nov. 15, 2005 — Still under pressure from Congress, players and owners announce a new drug agreement in which first testing offences result in a 50-game suspension, second in 100-game bans and third in lifetime suspensions. Many stimulants are banned for the 2006 season. The deal is along the lines of what Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had proposed on April 30.
April 22, 2008 — Following the Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball, players and owners adopt George Mitchell’s recommendations that the drug program’s Independent Program Administrator be appointed for a multiyear term, be removed only in narrow circumstances and issue annual public reports. Random urine testing is increased.
Nov. 22, 2011 — Players and owners announce an agreement to have blood testing for human growth hormone during spring training in 2012.
June 7, 2012 — Players and owners announce they have agreed to add HGH blood testing during spring training, during the off-season and for reasonable cause. Random urine testing is increased, players suspended before the All-Star game become ineligible for election or selection to the game and collection rules are modified following the successful grievance that overturned the suspension of Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun.
Jan. 10, 2013 — Players and owners announce they have agreed to HGH blood testing throughout the regular season and to have the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Laval, Quebec, keep records of each player, including his baseline ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone. The lab will conduct Carbon Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) tests of any urine specimens that “vary materially.”
March 28, 2014 — Players and owners announce penalties will increase to 80 games for a first testing violation and to 162 for a second, and a season-long suspension will result in a complete loss of that year’s salary, rather than 162-183rds. A player who serves a PED suspension during the season will be ineligible for that year’s post-season. For certain substances that cause positive tests, an arbitrator will have the discretion to reduce discipline if the player proves the use was not intended to enhance performance. In-season random urine tests, in addition to the minimum two for each player will increase from 1,400 to 3,200. There will be 400 random blood collections used to detect human growth hormone in addition to the mandatory one for each player during spring training. At least one IRMS test will be performed on a specimen from each player. Didehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is added to the banned list.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...will-be-banned-from-playoffs/article17726720/
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I say they make it really fair and set a limit that no player can go past.. why should someone with low test be cut short of their dream. Cap the testosterone levels at 1500 is what I say.
RONALD BLUM
Mar. 28 2014
Baseball players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that year’s post-season under changes to the sport’s drug agreement announced Friday.
In the most significant toughening to the drug rules in eight years, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association said the penalty will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban.
Baseball started testing with penalties in 2004, established a 10-day suspension for a first testing violation in 2005 and increased the discipline to 50 games in 2006.
While there were two-to-four major league suspensions annually from 2008-11, the number increased to12 in 2012 and 14 players were penalized following last year’s investigation of the Biogenesis of American anti-aging clinic. Among them were All-Stars Jhonny Peralta and Nelson Cruz, former NL MVP Ryan Braun and three-time AL MVP Alex Rodriguez, who is suspended for the entire 2014 season.
“Our hope here is that the adjustments that we’ve made do inevitably get that number to zero,” said new union head Tony Clark, a former All-Star himself. “In the event that that doesn’t happen, for whatever reason, we’ll reevaluate and move forward from there. But as I sit here, I am hopeful that players make the right decisions that are best for them, for their careers and for the integrity of the game.”
Peralta and Cruz returned from their suspensions in time to participate in the playoffs, which angered some of their colleagues. Clark said the union membership wanted to make sure “a player is not coming back and affecting a change in the post-season as a result of the decision that particular player made earlier in the year.”
In addition to the post-season ban, players who serve PED suspension will not be eligible for automatic post-season money shares but may be given cash awards at the discretion of their teammates.
A player serving a season-long suspension will lose all his pay. Under the previous rules, Rodriguez gets 21-183rds of his salary this year, or $2,868,852.
“Although we had the strongest program in professional sports before these changes, I am committed to constantly finding ways to improve the program in order to eradicate performance-enhancing drugs from the game,” baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.
An arbitrator would be allowed to reduce a suspension for a first or second testing violation by up to 50 per cent if a player proves by “clear and convincing evidence” that a positive test was not caused by his “significant fault or negligence.” However, penalties may not be cut for muscle-building substances such as testosterone, human growth hormone, Boldenone, Nandrolone and Stanozolol.
In-season random urine tests will increase from 1,400 to 3,200 overall in addition to the minimum two for each player, and off-season tests will rise from 250 to 350.
There will be 400 random blood collections used to detect human growth hormone in addition to the mandatory one for each player during spring training.
Players with PED violations, other than those who penalties are reduced for mitigation, will receive six additional random urine tests and three more blood tests annually for the rest of their careers. Foreign players entering the major leagues and those not subject to the major– or minor-league testing program for at least a year will be required to take urine and blood tests before signing contracts.
“There are certain considerations we need to make in an effort to put guys in a position where the guys who are doing it correctly aren’t being adversely affected any more than necessary,” Clark said.
---
A timeline of Major League Baseball’s drug-testing rulesAug. 30, 2002 — Players and owners announce a collective bargaining agreement that includes a joint drug program for the first time since October 1985. The deal calls for a survey urine test for banned steroids in 2003 and 2004, and if more than 5 per cent of tests are positive in a year, for testing with penalties to start the following year and continue until less than 2.5 per cent test positive in two consecutive years combined.
Nov. 13, 2003 — MLB says between 5 and 7 per cent of 1,438 anonymous tests were positive for steroids, triggering the start of testing with penalties in 2004. A first positive test results in treatment and a second in a 15-day suspension without pay or fine of up to $10,000. Penalties increase to a 25-day suspension or fine of up to $25,000 for a third positive test, a 50-day suspension or fine of up to $50,000 for a fourth and a one-year suspension or fine of up to $100,000 for a fifth.
Jan. 13, 2005 — Under pressure from Congress, players and owners announce a new drug agreement in which first offences result in a 10-day suspension, second violations in a 30-day ban, third in a 60-day penalty and a fourth in a one-year ban. Fifth violations are subject to discipline determined by the commissioner.
Nov. 15, 2005 — Still under pressure from Congress, players and owners announce a new drug agreement in which first testing offences result in a 50-game suspension, second in 100-game bans and third in lifetime suspensions. Many stimulants are banned for the 2006 season. The deal is along the lines of what Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had proposed on April 30.
April 22, 2008 — Following the Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball, players and owners adopt George Mitchell’s recommendations that the drug program’s Independent Program Administrator be appointed for a multiyear term, be removed only in narrow circumstances and issue annual public reports. Random urine testing is increased.
Nov. 22, 2011 — Players and owners announce an agreement to have blood testing for human growth hormone during spring training in 2012.
June 7, 2012 — Players and owners announce they have agreed to add HGH blood testing during spring training, during the off-season and for reasonable cause. Random urine testing is increased, players suspended before the All-Star game become ineligible for election or selection to the game and collection rules are modified following the successful grievance that overturned the suspension of Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun.
Jan. 10, 2013 — Players and owners announce they have agreed to HGH blood testing throughout the regular season and to have the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory in Laval, Quebec, keep records of each player, including his baseline ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone. The lab will conduct Carbon Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) tests of any urine specimens that “vary materially.”
March 28, 2014 — Players and owners announce penalties will increase to 80 games for a first testing violation and to 162 for a second, and a season-long suspension will result in a complete loss of that year’s salary, rather than 162-183rds. A player who serves a PED suspension during the season will be ineligible for that year’s post-season. For certain substances that cause positive tests, an arbitrator will have the discretion to reduce discipline if the player proves the use was not intended to enhance performance. In-season random urine tests, in addition to the minimum two for each player will increase from 1,400 to 3,200. There will be 400 random blood collections used to detect human growth hormone in addition to the mandatory one for each player during spring training. At least one IRMS test will be performed on a specimen from each player. Didehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is added to the banned list.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...will-be-banned-from-playoffs/article17726720/
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
I say they make it really fair and set a limit that no player can go past.. why should someone with low test be cut short of their dream. Cap the testosterone levels at 1500 is what I say.
