April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Major League Baseball won't discipline players linked to steroids or performance-enhancing drugs in the Mitchell report as part of a new agreement with its union on the sport's drug policy.

Baseball and the union appointed an independent administrator and increased the frequency of testing to incorporate some of the recommendations made by former Senator George Mitchell in his December report that named almost 90 players including Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens.

New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada and Washington Nationals catcher Paul Lo Duca were among the active players mentioned. Mitchell advised the sport not to penalize the players.

``It is time for the game to move forward,'' Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in a news release. ``There is little to be gained at this point in debating dated misconduct and enduring numerous disciplinary proceedings.''

Baseball opted not to penalize the players after the union said its members would participate in education programs aimed at preventing the use of banned substances by children, MLB and its union said in a joint statement. The union also will donate $200,000 toward anti-drug charities.

Mitchell Study

Baseball picked Mitchell in March 2006 to investigate steroid use in baseball under pressure from U.S. Congress following reports that linked Barry Bonds to steroids. After 20 months, Mitchell produced a 311-page report that connected seven Most Valuable Players and two Cy Young award winners to the drugs.

The report also led a House committee to hold a hearing on Clemens denying charges by his former trainer Brian McNamee that he used steroids and human growth hormone. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reviewing whether Clemens lied to congressional staffers about his drug use and is examining Tejada, a former MVP, on similar charges. Bond pleaded not guilty in December to federal charges that he lied about using steroids.

Clemens and Bonds haven't signed with any major-league teams this season. Tejada was traded to Houston from Baltimore the day before the Mitchell report was released on Dec. 13.

Representatives Henry Waxman and Tom Davis, who chair the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that has scrutinized steroids in baseball, said they were pleased that baseball altered its policy.

``We look forward to reviewing the details of the agreement,'' Waxman and Davis said in a joint statement.

This is the third time since 2005 that baseball and its union have agreed to strengthen the sport's drug policy.

Smith Is Administrator

They appointed Bryan Smith as program administrator to serve a three-year term. Smith, is a pediatrician with a doctorate in exercise physiology who served on the baseball's health policy advisory committee, which oversaw the drug program before today's changes.

The new program allows for 3,600 tests a year, up from 3,000, which is an average of three tests per player a year. Over the next three offseasons, as many as 375 tests can be given.

The top 200 high school and college prospects eligible for the first-year player draft will be subject to testing. Those who decline won't be eligible to be drafted. Those who test positive can still be selected.

The drug program will be reviewed each year to make changes or add new substances to the banned list. The administer will also issue an annual report detailing the number of tests, and the drugs involved in the positives and the number of therapeutic-use exemptions granted.

Baseball in December suspended Jose Guillen of the Kansas City Royals and Jay Gibbons, who was released by the Orioles this month, after they were linked in media reports to steroids or human growth hormone. The 15-day bans, which were set to start at the start of the season, were twice delayed on March 28 and April 9 as baseball and the union worked on a new drug agreement. Both players were also mentioned in the Mitchell report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Sessa in New York at dsessa@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 11, 2008 17:16 EDT