Major League Baseball implemented random blood testing for human growth hormone in the Minor Leagues Thursday, 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 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 MLB spokesman Rob Manfred. The players association has long been against blood testing. “The union's position on HGH testing remains unchanged,” union executive director Michael Weiner said. “When a test is available that is scientifically validated and can be administered safely and without interfering with the players' ability to compete, it will be considered. “We have been engaged with the Commissioners' Office on this subject for several months, though they have not shared with us the specifics behind their decision to begin blood testing of minor leaguers.” Outside experts have long questioned the union's logic against blood testing. Told of baseball's announcement, Gary Wadler, who chairs the committee that determines the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned-substances list, said it was “a significant step forward.” “One important thing is, as young players evolve through the Minor Leagues, the concept of a blood test will no longer be alien to them,” Wadler said. “It will be easier to implement it in the Major Leagues as more players in the Minor Leagues recognize it makes sense.” Travis Tygart, the CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency, also welcomed the news. – AP “This is another important step in the fight to return all of the playing fields in the US to clean athletes,” he said. __
