From Fastball to Eight Ball –
Dec. 12, 2019 – After a season that saw the opioid-overdose death of a 27-year-old pitcher, Major League Baseball and the players’ union on Thursday announced that players will be tested for opioids and cocaine starting in spring training under an updated drug policy. The update to the drug policy takes a treatment-based approach, rather than a punitive one, as players will only be disciplined if they violate a prescribed treatment plan after a positive test. The changes come in the wake of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs’s death in July because of an opioid dose, as M.L.B. acknowledged it was not immune to the national opioid epidemic.
