Baseball players would agree to 20-game suspension for initial steroids penalty
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-27 11:08

In a telephone interview, Fehr said he released the union's position because of the upcoming hearing and to ensure players are up to date before they scatter when the regular season ends Sunday. He's met separately with players on all 30 teams since April "to give everybody an opportunity to weigh in who wanted to.

"We knew we were dealing with 2006 all along. I never saw the crisis to do something in a short-circuited process," he said.

Fehr said the sides disagree "on what the first penalty should be and the first penalty range."

"We always thought there was a need for a review," he said. "You don't have a cookie-cutter approach. The better approach if you can is to gauge the individual facts and circumstances."

Fehr said the while Selig publicly called for 50-game suspensions for first offenders, management negotiators proposed it be a range of 50-60 games, giving players the right to ask an arbitrator to lower it to 40 games.

Rob Manfred, executive vice president of labor relations in the commissioner's office, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

"Twenty games are not enough," baseball spokesman Rich Levin said. "Also, the union's proposal is not three strikes and you're out. It is three strikes and maybe you're out."

Baseball began testing for steroids in 2003, but players were not identified by name. Because more than 5 percent of tests were positive, penalties began in 2004 under rules that were scheduled to run through 2006.

"I think it's great," Detroit's Brandon Inge said of the union's response. "I'm glad they're cleaning up the sport. I don't like it that anything can be tainted with an illegal substance. It's just going to make the playing field a little more level."

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