SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig wants tougher penalties for major league players who violate the sport’s drug agreement.
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Selig says the situation surrounding last year’s positive drug test of All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera and the allegations players received banned substances from a now closed Florida anti-aging clinic helped lead him to seek stiffening of penalties as quickly as possible.
He declined to give any specifics of what he had in mind, saying MLB Executive Vice President Rob Manfred and players’ association head Michael Weiner will meet.
Selig says he wants increased penalties “as expeditiously as possible.”
Since 2006, initial infractions result in a 50-game suspension and second offenses in a 100-game ban. No player has been penalized a third time, which results in a lifetime suspension.
