In February 2004,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

announced a new

drug policy A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances (commonly referred to as drugs), particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemen ...

which originally included random, offseason testing and 10-day suspensions for first-time offenders, 30 days for second-time offenders, 60 days for third-time offenders, and one year for fourth-time offenders, all without pay, in an effort to curtail performance-enhancing drug use (PED) in professional baseball. This policy strengthened baseball's pre-existing ban on

controlled substances A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession and use is regulated by a government, such as illicitly used drugs or prescription medications that are designated by law. Some treaties, notably the Single C ...

, including steroids, which has been in effect since 1991. The policy was to be reviewed in 2008, but under pressure from the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

, on November 15, 2005, players and owners agreed to tougher penalties; a 50-game suspension for a first offense, a 100-game suspension for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third. In December 2009, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' named baseball's steroid scandal of performance-enhancing drugs as the number one sports story of the decade of the 2000s. The current penalties, adopted on March 28, 2014, are 80 games for a first offense, 162 games for a second offense, and a permanent suspension ("lifetime ban") for a third. Players are also ineligible from participating in the post-season the same year they receive a suspension, regardless of when their suspension is completed, unless the penalty is reduced on appeal. Players receiving a permanent suspension can apply to the

Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

for reinstatement after one year, which if granted can occur not sooner than two years after the suspension started.

Suspended players

Players are ordered by the announced date of their suspension, placed in the appropriate table per their MLB experience and roster status ''at the time they were suspended''. Players who are active in

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

(not limited to MLB) are listed in italics; players who have retired or have been a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

for over a year are not considered "active". DSC03222 Manny Ramirez

Players who were on major league rosters

Players listed in this section were active in MLB at the time of their suspension.

Players with major league experience on minor league rosters or free agents

This table lists players with prior MLB experience who, at the time of their suspension, were in Minor League Baseball or were a

Players with only minor league experience

This table lists players who, at the time of their suspension, were in Minor League Baseball with no prior MLB experience. Various of these players completed their suspensions and later played in MLB.

Players with major league experience in a non-affiliated professional league

This table lists players with prior MLB experience who, at the time of their suspension, were in a baseball league not affiliated with MLB, such as

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

in Japan or

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

in Korea.

Footnotes

Players' responses

References

External links

38 Minor Leaguers Suspended For Steroids. April 4, 2005
* ttps://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3078690 Bud Selig comments on the suspension of players found to have broken U.S. laws in regards to the steroid scandal. October 25, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Major League Baseball Players Suspended For Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

Players suspended for performance-enhancing drugs Suspended Drugs in sport in the United States Drug policy, suspensions *