MLB Wants HGH Blood Test for Next Season

Players union must sign off on new exam for banned substance
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 14, 2007 8:08 AM CDT
MLB Wants HGH Blood Test for Next Season
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel, right, is joined by Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty as he answers questions from the media prior to the team's baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday, Sept. 7, 2007, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)   (Associated Press)

In the wake of scandals involving Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel and Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, among others, Major League Baseball is weighing a blood test for human growth hormone that would be implemented by next season. A test developed by the World Anti-Doping Agency is expected to be available for mass use within a few months, USA Today reports.

"If there is a valid blood test, I'm sure baseball will consider it," says an MLB spokesman. The players' union would have to give the go-ahead to HGH testing; the president declined to comment. NFLPA chief Gene Upshaw is opposed: "There's no way I'm having my guys punched for a blood test every time they walk into a locker room." (More human growth hormone stories.)

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