Chapter[ XI. Recommendations ]
Section[ B. Additional Actions to Address Performance Enhancing Substance Violations ]
B. Additional Actions to Address Performance Enhancing Substance Violations
There are several other actions that the Commissioner can take to address the
issue that do not require collective bargaining.
1. Background Investigations of Prospective Clubhouse Personnel
Kirk Radomski and Luis Perez vividly demonstrate that sources of supply can
come from within the clubhouse. The Commissioner’s Office must require all clubs to submit to
it the names of proposed clubhouse personnel hires for appropriate background checks.
2. Random Drug Testing of Clubhouse Personnel
In 2003, the security department of the Commissioner’s Office recommended
possible random drug testing of clubhouse personnel in conjunction with its investigation of the
Luis Perez incident that is described earlier in this report. Baseball’s drug policy has provided
for the possibility of random testing of non-playing personnel for decades. Kirk Radomski
admitted that he was using steroids while he was a clubhouse attendant with the Mets, a time
when he began building the relationships that would ultimately facilitate his distribution of
performance enhancing substances to players after he left the Mets.
The 2003 proposal to implement mandatory, random, unannounced drug testing
for clubhouse personnel was never adopted, but officials in the security department continue to
recommend it. The testing could be conducted in conjunction with testing of major league
players under the joint drug program.
3. Hot Line for Reporting Anonymous Tips
Sources both currently and formerly associated with Major League Baseball have
suggested that an anonymous hotline or ethics committee for reporting tips may prove useful.
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USADA and its counterparts have employed such hotlines for some time and report that they
have yielded information that resulted in the detection of drug violations.
4.
The Top Draft Prospects Should Be Tested
Prior to the Major League Draft
The Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau identifies the top 100 draft eligible
prospects annually. The scouting bureau has proposed that those prospects be subjected to drug
tests before the draft each year. It has had preliminary contacts with the National Collegiate
Athlete Association to discuss the feasibility of this proposal.
As with the minor league testing program, unannounced tests will discourage the
use of performance enhancing substances from the very beginning of a player’s professional
career. The testing of draft prospects could be administered as an adjunct of the minor league
testing program.
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