NEW YORK — There was just one positive test resulting in discipline from among a record 11,783 samples collected by Major League Baseball and the players’ association in the year ending with the 2023 World Series.
Therapeutic use exemptions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder dropped for the 10th straight year. There were 61 exemptions, independent program administrator Thomas M. Martin said Friday in his annual report. That was down from 72 last year and 119 in 2013.
The only positive test among players on 40-man rosters involved Milwaukee Brewers pitcher J.C. Mejía, who was suspended for 162 games on Sept. 20 for his second positive test for Stanozolol. Mejia was suspended for 80 games on May 17, 2022.
Drug tests were up from the previous high of 11,619 in 2019. This year’s total included 9,550 urine samples, an increase from 9,011 last year and the previous high of 9,332 in 2019. There were 2,233 blood samples to check for human growth hormone, up from 1,027 last year but short of the high of 2,287 in 2019.
Offseason tests between 2022 and 2023 increased 82% from 2021-22, from 935 to 1,698.
There were no positive tests for banned stimulants that resulted in suspensions. A first positive involving a banned stimulant results in follow-up testing, and a second positive causes a 50-game suspension.
There were a total of 65 TUEs, with one each for hypertension, sleep disorder, hormone function and uveitis/high eye pressure.
