MLB begins HGH testing in minor leagues

HGH detection 1st in pro leagues

July 23, 2010|Associated Press

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball implemented random blood testing for human growth hormone in the minor leagues yesterday, the first professional sports league in the United States to take the aggressive step against doping.

The blood testing becomes part of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, which commissioner Bud Selig introduced in 2001 to test for performance-enhancing drugs.

“The implementation of blood testing in the minor leagues represents a significant step in the detection of the illegal use of human growth hormone,’’ Selig said in a statement. “HGH testing provides an example for all of our drug policies in the future.’’

Testing will be limited to players with minor league contracts because they are not members of the players association, which means that blood testing is not subject to collective bargaining.

“Obviously, we make a separate decision with regard to the minor league program, but the Major League Baseball Players Association has been proactively engaged in conversations with us on the scientific and logistical issues associated with blood testing at the major league level,’’ said Rob Manfred, MLB executive VP for labor relations.

The players association has long been against blood testing. Earlier this month, union executive director Michael Weiner told the Associated Press it was “just more complicated than urine testing, from a number of perspectives — player health, collector qualifications, potential for interference with play, among others.’’

Blood samples will be collected after games by the National Center for Drug Free Sport, the organization that currently collects urine samples in the minor leagues. The blood samples will be taken from the non-dominant arm of players who are not members of a major league team’s 40-man roster, and sent to a testing laboratory in Salt Lake City for analysis.