MILWAUKEE (AP) - Baseball owners have unanimously ratified
tougher drug-testing rules.
Players have until May 23rd to ratify the drug agreement, which
will increase the frequency of tests and the authority of the
program's independent administrator.
Commissioner Bud Selig says he will now turn his
attention to whether maple bats have become dangerous.
Selig says the executive council discussed players' use of bats
made from maple wood, which seem to be shattering more frequently,
and in a more dangerous fashion, than those made of ash.
Selig says the discussion was "very premature," and baseball
officials plan to discuss the issue with the players' association
and the rules committee before taking any action.
Selig says it's too early to say if baseball would consider
regulating the thickness of maple bat handles or even ban them
entirely.