Travis Whitmore’s day began on the bench.It ended with his teammates mobbing him between first and second base.FORT WAYNE – one in English, the other in Spanish – detailing drug prevention in baseball hang in the hallway heading toward the weight room in the TinCaps’ clubhouse at Parkview Field.
They will need updating.
On Thursday, Major League Baseball implemented random blood testing for human growth hormone in the minor leagues, the first professional sports league in the United States to take the aggressive step against doping.
“The minors have been so far out in front in most cases of the drug testing, both recreational and performance enhancing, before the major league guys,” TinCaps President Mike Nutter said.
Blood testing for HGH becomes part of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, which baseball Commissioner Bud Selig introduced in 2001 to test for performance-enhancing drugs.
Fort Wayne players and personnel praised the decision as a move toward leveling the playing field.
“We’ll see who is real now,” TinCaps relief pitcher Miles Mikolas said. “We’ll see who the real gamers are.”
Testing will be limited to players with minor-league contracts because they are not members of the Major League Players Association. Blood testing for HGH is not part of the major leagues’ collective bargaining agreement.
“Guys are looking forward to a cleaner game, just let their natural talents shine,” TinCaps outfielder Wande Olabisi said. “A lot of guys don’t like giving blood, so that’s the only negative, but the overall picture is it’s going to be a cleaner game and eventually be a better game that way.
“San Diego has always pushed for us to be clean, always pushed for us to have a clean approach to the game. They have encouraged a healthy, clean, safe development.”
Nutter got to see that firsthand while at the parent team’s camp in March for ceremonies honoring last season’s championship team in the Midwest League.
“They got with (players) in spring training and told them, ‘Guys, the testing is going to ramp up even more. There are rumors of HGH testing. It’s coming,’ ” Nutter said.
Fort Wayne trainer Nate Stewart said the ruling won’t add more to his responsibilities.
“I’m going to follow the rules MLB sets forth and inform the players of what MLB says or what MLB’s ruling is and the consequences if they are caught,” Stewart said.
In a statement, Selig said the testing “represents a significant step in the detection of the illegal use of human growth hormone.
“HGH testing provides an example for all of our drug policies in the future.”
The players association has long been against blood testing. This month, Michael Weiner, executive director of the union, told The Associated Press it was “just more complicated than urine testing, from a number of perspectives – player health, collector qualifications, potential for interference with play, among others.”
Outside experts have long questioned that logic. Told of baseball’s announcement on HGH testing in the minor leagues, Gary Wadler, who chairs the committee that determines the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned-substances list, said it was “a significant step forward.”
“One important thing is, as young players evolve through the minor leagues, the concept of a blood test will no longer be alien to them,” Wadler said. “It will be easier to implement it in the major leagues as more players in the minor leagues recognize it makes sense.”
Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, also welcomed the news.
“This is another important step in the fight to return all of the playing fields in the U.S. to clean athletes,” he said. “We applaud MLB’s efforts in this regard.”
Tigers President and GM Dave Dombrowski e-mailed the AP that it “seems like a positive step for the game.”
Blood samples will be collected after games by the National Center for Drug Free Sport, the organization that collects urine samples in the minor leagues. Blood samples will be taken from the non-dominant arm of players who are not members of a major league team’s 40-man roster. Samples will be sent to a laboratory in Salt Lake City for analysis.
Dr. Gary Green, medical director for Major League Baseball, called the testing “a major development in the detection of a substance that has previously been undetectable.”
“The combination of widespread availability and the lack of detection have led to reports of use of this drug amongst athletes,” Green said. “This is the first generation of HGH testing, and Major League Baseball will continue to fund the Partnership for Clean Competition for ongoing research to refine testing procedures in this area.”
The Partnership for Clean Competition is a coalition of MLB, the NFL, USADA and the U.S. Olympic Committee that funds research for drug testing.
The NFL doesn’t conduct blood tests for performance-enhancing drugs. But the league recently said it would like to begin such tests, which its players union has long been against. With the current collective bargaining contract due to expire in March, the issue is expected to be a key point in upcoming negotiations.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
