Lost in Translation? MLB Steroid Testing Policy and Spanish-Speaking Players

Boston Red Sox DH/first baseman David Ortiz, a native of the Dominican Republic, wonders if language barriers help explain why four of the five players who tested positive for steroids are Latino. Ortiz appears annoyed with the Players' Association for failing to conduct information sessions in both English and Spanish. He also wonders why Major League Baseball failed to provide Latino players with drafts of the new steroids testing policy in Spanish. MLB Executive VP Rob Manfred acknowledges that while all of the documents applying to the Collective Bargaining Agreement are made available in both English and Spanish, final drafts of the new steroid testing policy were not immediately made available to players. (Guregian, "MLB Sees Ortiz' Point," Boston Herald, 5/4/2005).