VERO BEACH, Fla. — Last summer, Enos Cabell suggested in a Pittsburgh courtroom that cocaine helped him to be a better baseball player.
Friday, cocaine made him a poorer one when Commissioner Peter Ueberroth gave Cabell and six other players guilty of drug use the choice of being suspended for the 1986 season or of donating 10% of their salaries to a drug-abuse program or to a facility in the cities in which they play.
For Cabell, that city is Los Angeles, which became home when he was traded to the Dodgers from the Houston Astros last July 10. And to comply with the terms set by Ueberroth, Cabell must surrender $45,000, 10% of his $450,000 salary for 1986, if he intends to play baseball for the Dodgers this season.
Cabell must also agree to undergo random urinalysis drug testing for the rest of his career and to donate 100 hours of community service to a drug-related program for the next two years.
"I'm just going to do whatever he (Ueberroth) wants me to do," said Cabell, speaking at an impromptu press conference moments after listening to a special radio hookup of Ueberroth's announcement. Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, Executive Vice President Fred Claire and Vice President Al Campanis also were in attendance.
"I've always wanted to get it over with . . . and after that I don't want to talk about it anymore, because it's over," Cabell said.
Cabell, 36, is one of 22 major league players who either testified or were implicated in last summer's trial, on drug charges, of Philadelphia caterer Curtis Strong. Those players--with the exception of John Milner, who no longer is in baseball--were interviewed by Ueberroth, who then divided the players into three groups in meting out his penalties Friday.
Cabell, who testified under federal immunity that he had used cocaine "off and on" from 1978 to 1984, was among the players receiving the harshest penalties for being involved, in Ueberroth's words, "in a prolonged pattern of drug use . . . and in some fashion facilitated the distribution of drugs in baseball . . . by such means as sharing drugs with, giving drugs to, acquiring drugs from or buying drugs from other players."
Jeff Leonard, one of the seven receiving the same punishment as Cabell, had testified that he bought cocaine from the Dodger infielder. Cabell also had testified that he had used cocaine with many teammates while he was with the Astros and Giants.
Asked if Ueberroth's ruling had been fair, Cabell said: "He made up the rules and I have to abide by them. . . . Who's to say? He had the rule."
Cabell thanked the Dodgers for their support. "I want the chance to prove I'm a good person," he said. "Sometimes you make a mistake in life and have to pay for it, no matter what."
When asked during the trial what effect cocaine had had on his play, Cabell replied: "I usually got two or three hits. . . . I always performed well."
Friday, Cabell said that had drug-testing procedures been employed by baseball when he broke in 15 years ago, "I never would have had a drug thing at all."
Cabell said he had received word of Ueberroth's ruling before the commissioner's announcement. "But it was still shocking to hear him say that," he said.
He smiled when asked if Ueberroth, during their one-on-one interview in January, had sought his input on how to combat the presence of drugs in baseball. "I had more practice than anybody else," Cabell said. "He took some things I said and asked a lot of questions."
While Ueberroth said that other cities besides Pittsburgh and other players besides the ones named Friday were involved "and that information is being pursued," Cabell said that he was not asked by the commissioner to furnish names.
Ueberroth also cited three former Dodgers involved in his investigation: Lee Lacy, Dusty Baker and Derrel Thomas. Two other players cited, Leonard and Alan Wiggins, played in the Dodger organization.
Lacy, engaged in "more limited (drug) use," was given the choice of a 60-day suspension or donating 5%, or $30,000, of his $600,000 salary. Baker and Thomas, who were mentioned in the Pittsburgh testimony, were identified by Ueberroth as players for whom "little or no evidence of drug involvement exists." They will, however, be required to undergo urinalysis testing.
If Cabell had any anxiety before Ueberroth's ruling, it was not apparent. When the Dodger workout Friday was interrupted by rain, Cabell joined several teammates in a card game in the lounge opposite the Dodger clubhouse.
Later, he took part in a closed-door, players-only meeting in which baseball's drug problem was discussed at length, according to player representative Mike Scioscia.
Cabell came out of that meeting dribbling a golf ball on the floor and headed for the radio studio on the premises to listen to the commissioner. Asked if he knew what was about to happen, he said: "I heard a little something. You'll see it on TV."
