Mitchell to head baseball steroid probe

NEW YORK, March 30 (UPI) -- Commissioner Bud Selig named former Sen. George Mitchell to lead an investigation into past usage of performance-enhancing drugs by baseball players.

Selig made the announcement Thursday at a news conference at his New York office.

The publication of "Game of Shadows," which alleges San Francisco slugger Bobby Bonds took performance-enhancing drugs beginning in 1998 for five years, spurred the inquiry. Bonds, who attempted to block publication of the book, told a congressional hearing he never used steroids.

Major League Baseball instituted random drug testing in 2003.