NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball calls Alex Rodriguez's lawsuit against the sport a "clear violation" of the confidentiality provisions of the league's drug program.

The New York Yankees third baseman sued MLB and baseball Commissioner Bud Selig on Thursday in state court in Manhattan, accusing them of a "witch hunt" to smear his reputation and cost him tens of millions of dollars.

In a statement Friday, MLB denied the allegations and called the lawsuit a "desperate attempt" to go around confidentiality rules of the league's drug agreement with the players' union.

In a statement of his own, Rodriguez said his legal team is doing what is necessary to vindicate him.

The union filed a grievance appealing Rodriguez's 211-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement and labor contract.