26 Orioles Agree to Drug Testing

The Baltimore Orioles, expressing concern over baseball’s tarnished image, announced Thursday the formation of the game’s first voluntary drug-testing program.

Acting individually, 26 of the 38 players on Baltimore’s spring training roster have already agreed to take part in the one-year pilot program, or were already subject to similar arrangements through contract clauses or minor league testing.

The remaining 12 have not yet been contacted. General Manager Hank Peters said he hoped for 100% participation but added that no disciplinary action would be taken against anyone who refuses.

Noting the many public disclosures of drug abuse in baseball last year, Peters said the new program should “remove any clouds hanging over the club, or baseball.”

Baseball has not had an industry-wide program since the owners withdrew from a limited testing plan last fall. Should agreement be reached on a new drug-abuse program, that would supersede the Baltimore plan.

Individual players on other major league teams have agreed to drug testing in exchange for a guaranteed contract, which the players’ union is opposing.

But there was no union complaint on the Oriole program.

“From a union standpoint, where it is truly voluntary and not a condition of employment, this is not something we ordinarily become involved with,” said Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Players Assn. “It is something the players are doing on their own, with doctors of their own choosing, and is not compelled as a condition of employment.”