MILWAUKEE – Baseball owners unanimously ratified tougher drug testing rules Thursday, and commissioner Bud Selig said he will now turn his attention to whether maple bats have become dangerous.

Players have until May 23 to ratify the drug agreement, which will increase the frequency of tests and the authority of the program's independent administrator.

“A lot of it can be enacted right away,” Selig said.

Milwaukee Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said a tougher drug policy is important to the spectators.

“I talk to fans and they want to see it clean,” Attanasio said. “They want to know that what they're seeing out there is legitimate. Also, especially in its historical context, the fans want to see that when they compare players of this generation to prior generations, that the performance is legitimate.”

The next frontier in drug testing may be the development of a validated, commercially available test for Human Growth Hormone.

“We're working very hard,” Selig said. “We're watching what happens in the Olympics. We're always concerned. And as I said yesterday, nobody wants a test more than I do.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency has announced it will have a blood test for HGH available at the Beijing Olympics. MLB has commissioned a joint study with the NFL to develop a test.

Selig said the executive council discussed players' use of bats made from maple wood, which seem to be shattering more frequently – and in a more dangerous fashion – than those made of ash.

Selig said the discussion was “very premature,” and baseball officials plan to discuss the issue with the players' association and the rules committee before taking any action.

Asked if baseball would consider regulating the thickness of maple bat handles or even ban them entirely, Selig said it was too early to say.

“I don't want to get into any of that, because I'm not sure,” Selig said. “We're working on a lot of things. But it's been a source of concern for me.”

Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach Don Long was injured when he was hit by the shattered fragments of a bat used by Pittsburgh's Nate McLouth during an April 15 game in Los Angeles.

Selig believes it's a trend.

“I watch a lot of games, and I'm concerned,” he said.

In other developments:

 Selig said the Milwaukee Brewers' signing of young star Ryan Braun to a $45 million, eight-year contract was a good sign for the economic health of the sport. It followed long-terms deals for Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria and Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki.

“I think it's a function of our economic system in some circumstances, yes. I do,” Selig said. “And there's been quite a few of them and I think it's productive. I'm sure clubs will continue that.”

 Selig was pleased with ticket sales. “We're running ahead of last year, which was our all-time record,” Selig said. “And we've had really horrendous weather, I must say. Now, we say that every spring, but I really think, particularly in the Midwest, it's been really difficult.”

 Selig is taking a wait-and-see approach to the Tribune Co.'s apparent decision to sell the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field as a package instead of separately. “I want to see what they do,” Selig said. “I think they're coupled, but we've had a lot of stops and starts.”

 Owners heard yet another report on the pace of the game. “We do have concerns on the pace of the game, and a lot of ideas,” Selig said.