Yankees slugger Jason Giambi won't face any disciplinary actions from Major League Baseball for his comments about his own use of performance-enhancing drugs, which received wide circulation in May, Commissioner Bud Selig said on Thursday.
The decision comes a little more than a month after Giambi met with former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell and members of his law firm, DLA Piper, which has been investigating MLB's so-called steroids era for the past 17 months. Selig had demanded that Giambi meet with Mitchell before determining whether there should be any action.
"There's more to it than that," Selig told reporters after Thursday morning's owners meetings broke without a vote on any items. "He's doing a lot of public service work. He was forthright with Senator Mitchell -- at least that was Senator Mitchell's conclusion. I think with all the off-field charitable activities he's doing, this will do more good. Given everything, this is an appropriate decision."
Selig said that Giambi, who is earning $20 million this season, intends to donate $50,000 to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and make an additional $50,000 contribution in cash or equipment to the Harlem chapter of the RBI program. In addition, Giambi has agreed to make an appearance this offseason at MLB's Youth Academy in Compton, Calif.
On Aug. 7, Giambi was reinstated by the Yankees from the disabled list after a left foot injury kept him from playing since May 30. Giambi is currently batting .270 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs in 51 games.