"I think our drug-testing policies are ridiculous and need to change," he wrote.

These are trying times for the union, given the controversy surrounding steroids and the reports of a rift among players over baseball's drug-testing policy.

In addition to the fear of injury, the stricter drug-testing policy could cause some players to hesitate.

Baseball's drug-testing policy started in 2003, but players were not suspended for a first offense until 2005.

Under the current drug-testing policy, every major league player is given one unannounced test a year and can also be subjected to random tests.

He said that someone working for the league violated confidentiality provisions of the drug-testing policy by leaking the information.

Major League Baseball did not institute a drug-testing policy until after he retired in 2001.

He also called for a 365-day-a-year drug-testing policy rather than the current slapdash system.

Major League Baseball had no drug-testing policy at the time.

In less than a year, the owners and the players union strengthened drug-testing policies twice.