MILWAUKEE — A player spends his entire winter working out and practically lives in the weight room once the season starts. He eats right, takes nutritional supplements and adds muscle. And if that player happens to bash more home runs than he did in the past, the assumption is that he’s taking more than just vitamins. “Guys that work their butts off and they’re hitting home runs, now it’s because they’re on steroids,” New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi said Monday. “Even injuries. A guy gets hurt, ‘Oh, he’s on steroids.’ “It’s a little sickening to me.” Like it or not, the steroid question is hanging over baseball. Former MVPs Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti have admitted using steroids, so now every player who has a spectacular season or bulks up is suspect. Canseco estimated that 85 percent of players use steroids. The issue dominated the All-Star game media session, with even the scrawniest of players asked if steroids are tainting the game. And it can’t help that baseball’s own ad at Miller Park shows Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Richie Sexson as puffed-up cartoon characters. “It shouldn’t be in the game,” Scott Rolen of the Philadelphia Phillies said. “What I don’t know is how you get rid of them.” While the NBA, NFL, NCAA and Olympics have random drug testing, Major League Baseball does not. But the call for testing is growing, with even the players saying it might be time. According to a USA Today survey, 79 percent of major league players would agree to independent testing for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Players weren’t that outspoken, with many preferring to withhold judgment until their union makes a decision. At a union meeting in Rosemont, Ill., players discussed the owners’ proposal to test for steroid use and said they would try to get a sense from teammates on what the union position should be. Union leader Donald Fehr said the issue has come up in the bargaining and will be dealt with. “I think the majority of players are for it,” San Francisco Giants reliever Robb Nen said. “I have no problem with it. You know what• Let’s do it.” It’s not that simple. While owners have proposed testing for steroids, the players’ association has traditionally resisted random testing, saying it would violate individual rights. Just 17 percent of the players polled back the union’s stance, USA Today said. Of 750 players polled from June 12-23, 556 responded to at least one question, the newspaper said. “We’re not against it,” said Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine, the NL player representative. “We’re just taking precautions and making sure it’s done right. … We need to be patient and make sure we do it right.” There are a lot of issues that need to be discussed, Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra said. Who would do the testing• Will results be kept private• Or will they be leaked to the media• What about false positives? “You think it’s going to be confidential• I laugh at that,” Garciaparra said. “Is there anything private in this world anymore• Especially with who we are?” But most players admit something has to be done. Steroid use might not be as widespread as Canseco claimed — “I would bet virtually everything I have that it’s not,” Glavine said — but players said they know there are some using performance-enhancing drugs. According to USA Today, 44 percent of the players said they felt pressure to take steroids. “It’s definitely there. There are guys doing it,” said Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox. Even if it’s only a few, it casts suspicion over everybody. The recent rise in home runs — Roger Maris’ single-season record stood for 37 years, but it took only three years for Bonds to pass Mark McGwire — has many wondering if it’s better hitters or simply better pharmacists. The game’s biggest sluggers are lightning rods for suspicion, no matter how many denials they issue. A Sports Illustrated columnist even gave Sosa the name of an independent laboratory and asked him to get tested. Sosa angrily refused. “That was a tough spot for Sammy to be in,” Houston Astros outfielder Lance Berkman said. “When you’re a member of a union, you have other people to think about.” Mandatory, league-wide testing might be the only way to settle the question, Kansas City Royals outfielder Mike Sweeney said. “If you’re a player that is clean and other players are out there who are not clean, it gives the other players an unfair advantage,” Sweeney said. “In Major League Baseball, they’re talking about disparity, creating a level playing surface. That’s one way to create it, among the players at least.”

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