Carlos Gomez insists Major League Baseball's drug testing process isn't random, but the league says he's wrong.
After the Tampa outfielder said MLB isn't being honest about how it decides which players to test, the league responded Wednesday.
"Our joint drug program, which is negotiated with the (MLBPA), is independently administered and has random testing procedures in place with no regard for a player's birthplace, age, or any other factor," the league wrote in a statement acquired by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "Every aspect of the test selection process is randomized and de-identified, and every player is included each time random selection is conducted.
"This results in some players being tested more often than others, but, as a whole, MLB players are tested more frequently than any athletes in professional sports."
Gomez, who says he's been tested six or seven times this season, demanded Tuesday that the league be more transparent about the testing selection process.
"It's not random. They pick names. Tell the truth. Tell the truth to the baseball world,'' the 12-year veteran said. "You're going to tell me this is random? It's not 1930 anymore. People know. You can come any time; I'm available to do a drug test. But don't tell people it's random. That's the only complaint that I have."
Earlier in May, Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano and Chicago White Sox catcher Welington Castillo both received long-term suspensions after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Following Cano's suspension, Gomez told a Yahoo Sports podcast that he believes older players and Hispanic players are tested more often.
