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Timeline: Steroids in baseball

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

December 14, 2007

October, 1988 Washington Post baseball writer Thomas Boswell claims Jose Canseco is "the most conspicuous example of a player who has made himself great with steroids." Canseco denies it. June 7, 1991 Commissioner Fay Vincent sends a memo to each team announcing that steroids have been added to the league's banned list. No testing plan is announced.

Aug. 22, 1998 A jar of androstenedione is discovered in the locker of Mark McGwire, who admits using the drug and goes on to hit a record 70 home runs. The precursor to steroids is not yet illegal in MLB.

Aug. 7, 2002 Players and owners agree to their first joint drug program since 1985, calling for anonymous testing to begin in 2003.

Feb. 17, 2003 Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler collapses during a workout in Florida and dies from heat exhaustion. Ephedra is found in his system and MLB places it on the list of banned drugs at the minor league level.

Nov. 13, 2003 MLB announces that of 1,438 anonymous tests in 2003, between five and seven percent were positive, triggering the start of random testing with penalties in 2004.

December 2003 Ten players, including Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, are called to testify in front of a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, founded by Victor Conte.

Feb. 12, 2004 Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, Conte, BALCO and two others are charged in a 42-count federal indictment for their part.

Feb. 6, 2005 The Daily News reports Canseco says in his book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big" that he injected McGwire with steroids and introduced it to others.

March 17, 2005 At a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee, McGwire evades questions about steroid use as he testifies alongside Canseco and other players.

Nov. 15, 2005 Players and owners agree to Selig's 50-game, 100-game, lifetime structure for penalties.

March 23, 2006 Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada's book Game of Shadows is released. It details a massive steroid conspiracy in baseball.

Oct. 1, 2006 Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Miguel Tejada are among the players that Jason Grimsley accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a federal agent's affidavit, the Los Angeles Times reports.

April 26, 2007 Former Mets clubhouse worker Kirk Radomski pleads guilty to selling performance-enhancing drugs to major leaguers. He cooperates with authorities, testifying before the same grand jury investigating Bonds.

Nov. 15, 2007 Bonds is indicted on five felony counts of perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying when he testified he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. If convicted, legal experts say Bonds could spend up to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Dec. 7, 2007 Bonds pleads not guilty to four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice.