Federal authorities probing an alleged steroid distribution ring have seized the results and samples of drug tests on selected major league baseball players from a drug-testing lab, a spokesman for the lab said Friday.
Internal Revenue Service agents served a search warrant to obtain "documentation and specimens" from a Quest Diagnostics lab in Las Vegas, Quest spokesman Gary Samuels said.
Samuels would not say whether IRS agents took the drug-test results or specimen of Barry Bonds, but said the agents took materials consistent with a federal subpoena that had sought test results and specimens from the San Francisco Giants' slugger and fewer than a dozen other players. Among them were New York Yankees Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi.
The raid occurred Thursday, shortly after the Major League Baseball Players Association filed a motion in a San Francisco court seeking to squash that subpoena.
IRS spokesman Mark Lessler and U.S. Attorney's spokeswoman Ji-Yon Yi both said Friday they could not comment.
Samuels said the IRS agents served the search warrant on the Quest lab after obtaining a coded list from California-based Comprehensive Drug Testing that matched players to the results and the samples.
Teterboro, N.J.-based Quest and Comprehensive Drug Testing, of Long Beach, did the tests last year for Major League Baseball, which was trying to determine the prevalence of steroid use among players. When more than 5 percent of those tests came back positive, the major leagues began a new testing program this season that includes punishments for those caught using steroids.
The tests were supposed to remain anonymous. But a federal grand jury in San Francisco that issued indictments in February against four men for allegedly distributing steroids to professional athletes sought the results as part of its probe.
One of those indicted Feb. 12 was Greg Anderson, the personal trainer for Bonds — who, along with Sheffield, Giambi and dozens of other pro athletes, testified before the grand jury.
The grand jury's probe focuses on the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and has led to charges against four men: BALCO founder Victor Conte, BALCO vice president James Valente, track coach Remi Korchemny and Anderson. All have pleaded innocent and are free on bail.
Bonds, Sheffield and Giambi have not been charged in the case and repeatedly have denied using steroids.
TORRE EXTENSION: Joe Torre and George Steinbrenner are going to grow old together.
Torre and the New York Yankees agreed Friday to a $19.2 million, three-year contract extension through 2007, reaching the deal a season after his relationship with Steinbrenner soured so much it threw the manager's future in doubt.
"I'm glad to be back," Torre said before the Yankees played the Chicago White Sox. "Last year, I wasn't sure during the course of the year if the Yankees had had enough of me."
Despite guiding the Yankees to four World Series titles in eight years, Torre still wasn't sure what would happen when he got to spring training. Then, Steinbrenner popped into his office at Legends Field for an impromptu chat, and that changed everything.
"What do you want to do next year?" the owner asked Torre.
Said Torre: "I was really pleased to hear that."
HUNTER ON DL: The Minnesota Twins placed center fielder Torii Hunter on the 15-day disabled list Friday, the third member of their starting lineup to land on the DL in the season's first week. Hunter strained his right hamstring while rounding first base in the Twins' 7-6 win over Cleveland on Tuesday.
SUSPENSIONS: Detroit pitcher Nate Cornejo was suspended for five games and Philadelphia pitcher Ryan Madson for three for their actions during spring training games.
Arizona manager Bob Brenly, Phillies manager Larry Bowa and Tigers manager Alan Trammell were suspended for one game each.
All five also were fined Friday by Bob Watson, vice president in charge of discipline in the commissioner's office.
Cornejo was penalized because Watson said he intentionally threw a pitch at Philadelphia's Ricky Ledee in the sixth inning on March 29 after umpires issued a warning. Both Cornejo and Trammell were ejected.
Madson was suspended because Watson concluded he intentionally threw a pitch at Toronto's Frank Catalanotto in the fourth on April 1 after a warning had been issued.
Bowa called Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, to ask about the suspensions but had not heard back Friday afternoon.