European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 15, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 1985 the stars and stripes Page 23 drugs in baseball potential Bombshell Dave Anderson new York not every so often in the sum Mer of his Vida Blue would go to the Oak land where he once was baseballs most gifted Young left handed but instead of strutting to the he sat in the he wore old jeans and an old As Green Cap with the yellow Peak pulled Down to where sunglasses hid his eyes and his after having spent 81 Days at a Federal correctional Institute in fort Worth for cocaine posses Sion and having been discharged from a 28day drug recovery program in he had been sus Pended for the remainder of the 1984 id sit out in the bleachers and eat my heart he was saying during Spring id Only stay half the now 36 years Blue has a 20 record in six Relief appearances with the san Francisco giants this season and is struggling to resume a career shattered by Blue is not since a total of 17 major league three on More than one have been publicly involved in drug related incidents either or a combination of the five of those players have been convicted of commentary either possessing cocaine or attempting to possess co Caine and sent to five other players have been publicly involved in alcohol related and the drug scene in As in is getting not who knows How Many baseball play ers have used illegal drugs without having been publicly branded who knows How Many will be victimized in the years to come the major league baseball players Asso which presumably is designed to help the play continues to harm in defying Peter Ueber roths urging to join the commissioners drug program for the rest of Don Fehr of the players association argues that mandatory drug testing would be de humanizing to the that argument is by refusing to adopt mandatory the players association is protecting the guilty and increasing the not protecting the inno cent and harbouring the the Union also is Riding for a fall that could coincide with criminal indictments reportedly due soon from a Federal grand jury in Pitts Burgh in a drug related two years the Kansas City royals drug Case stunned in indictments Are reportedly due regarding drug dealing in the pirates Vida Blue Alan Wiggins although several players from several teams were believed to be granted immunity in the Pittsburgh grand jury if anyone indicted Doest plead some of those players might be ordered to testify in open court under Cross examination a potential Bombshell of embarrassment not Only for the but for base Ball and if Kansas City and Pittsburgh have had their baseball drug what cities will be infected in another two or two months if the players association were to agree to mandatory testing it at least would show it cares More for its than for their but by continuing to defy mandatory the players association has shown Only its As if the association is we dont need were but the Box score shows baseball int clean the Box score of those 17 drug involved players since More the Public deserves to know that a baseball player is As the san Diego padres second baseman last Alan Wiggins batted scored 106 runs and had 70 stolen this season he was batting with Only two hits in 37 times at Bat and no stolen bases when he suddenly required drug rehabilitation which he had also undergone three years if mandatory testing had been Wiggins might not have resumed using if nothing his resumption might have been detected but the association testing is dehumanize in its insistence on not testing is even More dehumanizing to those players whose careers have been wrecked by testing exists in some other notably the olym without any dehumanizing at a race horses Are tested for disallowed drugs in order to protect the Public nobody at a race track argues that its dehumanizing to the trainers and grooms to Check their remember no horse Ever took drugs a human sup plied the Public deserves the same Protection at the Ball where the True fan is betting his if not a few on a favorite regarding those the lesson to be Learned from the recent Tulane University basketball Point shaving scandal is that cocaine was the fear of or any sport that attracts Gam is that a fixer will Supply a player with cocaine in order to fix a game eventually either in return for More cocaine or in payment of a debt prompted by the use of if cocaine creates another Black sox while the players association continues to defy mandatory the Public wont have much sympathy for the players or for the no one can argue with Ueberroth objective in rid Ding baseball of Only with his habit of issuing decrees without when the new commissioner was asked two months ago How he intended to Force the club owners to open their books in the current collective bargaining Neotia he ill get them but he still Hast explained How he intends to do when the new commissioner reinstated Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays eight weeks he talked about How he would Issue a new set of gaming guidelines for baseball personnel in a few but As yet those guidelines have not been and when the new commissioner last week ordered All major league front office coaches and along with minor league play to submit to drug he added that details would be announced in the very near As it Many baseball clubs have been testing their minor league players for illegal drugs in past in that Ueberroth was As Fehr accused but no matter How loudly Fehr shouts that drug testing is violating individual some it is have clauses in their contracts enabling a club to test them because of past drug if the players association could go for a year without any of its members requiring the Public might sympathize with fehrs but with so Many players with so Many the association has forfeited its right to along with having forfeited its right to defy mandatory testing vital to protecting games integrity Ueberroth goes to Bat for drug program by Michael Goodwin new York not commissioner Peter Ueberroth wants baseball players to submit to drug tests because of a fear that players who become dependent on cocaine Are potentially vulnerable to gamblers seeking inside information or seeking to control the results of he and other officials the integrity of the game is every the commissioner said late last weve got to eliminate illegal sub stances from the substances which can be used to control such asap patently happened at this office was created in 1920 to Stop a gambling he although he cited testimony by baseball players a Pittsburgh grand jury investigating drug use As a Factor in his Call for mandatory drug Ueberroth references to Tulane and which he repeated several times in recent were unmistakable indications that his concern Over baseballs drug problem extends beyond the Pittsburgh Case and even beyond now Many players Are using by talking of potential he has framed the Issue in terms that Are at once larger and yet fundamental to the game that the action on the Field must remain above sus asked whether he knew of recent or current incidents involving gamblers and player the commissioner indicated he did Peter Ueberroth about concern if i had i obviously would be taking some very Strong he at the same he said he was privy to More information about drug use among players than has been made in getting a lot of he declining to Ueberroth reference to Tulane was to charges made earlier this year that eight three of them basketball players at the new Orleans conspired to shave Points in College gamblers allegedly gave the players Money and co his reference to the creation of the commissioners office was to baseballs biggest the fixing of the 1919 world series by some members of the Chicago White the context of the commissioners com ments was an explanation of his announce ment tuesday that everybody associated with except the players and the would be required to submit to drug As if to reinforce the serious Ness of his and to urge the unions representing players and umpires to agree to the tests for their he began using the extraordinarily Strong analogies of Tulane and the so called Black sox scandal of the mention of the potential for scandal has not set Well with the players nor did the fact that Union officials were not consulted about Ueberroth drug testing Don the acting executive director of the major league baseball players said the present which provides for voluntary was working Well he said the Union was concerned about invasion of the play ers regarding the possibility of a Fehr said if he really believes such activities Are imminent and not just then he should be Frank in sharing with us the problems so we can examine the Circum stances the commissioners statements Are a curious mix of Confidence in baseball and the players and a sense of alarm about the drug he for that he believes other sports have worse drug problems than baseball and that the vast majority of players do not take at the same he said that baseball is not immune to the drug prob lems besetting american society in Gener Al and that the sports efforts to combat the problem were not he said the game has a responsibility to the health and Well being of those who earn their living from it As Well As preserving its generally Good reputation among the millions of fans who pay to attend especially the Young people who idolize baseball he also stressed that he was interested in attacking not i think we have an Opportunity to to tally restore the Public Faith in the protect the players who dont have a prob Lem and help the few who he the continued reports from Pittsburgh and the investigation there into cocaine use were a Factor in his drug testing plan but not the Only the commissioner so about a dozen major league players have been subpoenaed there to Tes see Ueberroth on Page 26