NEW YORK, April 30 (UPI) -- It was reported Saturday Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has proposed stiffer penalties for violators of the league's drug policy.
In a letter to Major League Baseball Players' Association head Donald Fehr, Selig calls for a "three strikes and you're out approach" for players who test positive for steroid use.
Selig wants to suspend first-time offenders for 50 games with a second offense bringing a 100-game ban. A player who tests positive a third time would receive a lifetime suspension.
"I recognize the need for progressive discipline, but a third-time offender has no place in the game," Selig wrote in the letter dated April 25. "Steroid users cheat the game. After three offenses, they have no place in it."
Under the current drug-testing agreement reached by the league and the players' union, a first steroid offense calls for a 10-day suspension. Second and third offenses call for 30 and 60 days.
