The Mitchell Report: who juiced?
Now that the hot stove has cooled, it’s time for Major League Baseball’s steroid bombshell to drop: the Mitchel Report was released today (PDF). The four-hundred-page report implicates several top players, including Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch (sensing a trend here?), Barry Bonds (obviously), Mark McGuire (ditto), Gary Sheffield, Paul Lo Duca, Eric Gagne (sorry, Brewers), Miguel Tejada, Lenny Dykstra, and Jose Canseco (who admitted to juicing in his most recent book, titled–wait for it… Juiced). Click here for the New York Times summary. About Rocket:
In the report, McNamee said he had personally injected Clemens four or five times since August 2001. Clemens had previously been suspected of steroid usage, but denied it. The report was the first confirmation that McNamee provided testimony to Mitchell.
(…)
Clemens had a 40-39 record from 1993 through 1996 and was not re-signed by the Boston Red Sox. The next year, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and began working out with McNamee.
Clemens had two of the best years in pitching history in 1997 and 1998, winning the Cy Young Award in both seasons and also led the league in wins, earned run average and strikeouts. He then went on to pitch for the Yankees from 1999 through 2003.
After Clemens declined to 14-10 with a 4.60 ERA in 1999, New York hired McNamee as assistant strength coach. During one stretch after that, Clemens won 27 games against three losses for the Yankees.
Clemens, who retired last season, has been considered one of the best pitchers in baseball history. Information and evidence from McNamee could raise questions about whether Clemens should be elected to the Hall of Fame.
You think? But it isn’t just players who come off poorly in the report.
Mitchell’s report was highly critical of the commissioner’s office and the players’ union for tolerating performance-enhancing drugs in major league baseball.
Mitchell has been battling the union during his 20-month investigation, but his criticism of Commissioner Bud Selig, who hired Mitchell and is paying for his investigation, was more unexpected and supported Mitchell’s claim that baseball officials did not interfere with his investigation.
“Everybody in baseball — commissioners, club officials, the players’ association, players — shares responsbility,” Mitchell said. “I can’t be any clearer than that.”
Mitchell should run for president so we could really have a great choice. He is a singular person. Obviously too much integrity to run for president. Clemons should not get into the Hall and one wonders if Petitt will retire. Mitchell should be hired by the bishops to investigate each dioceses finance. That would be a block buster. Wishful thinking.
However a certain Chicagoan might want to improve his objectivity as he forgot to mention that 11 former Chicago players were on Michell’s list. Ahem.
The list of players to whom a small boy might plead (as in the famous Shoeless Joe Jackson story): “Say it isn’t so …” is now too long even for sorrow or sentiment. it’s just plain pathetic.
Is that the best you can do, Bill? Whom are you talking about? Sosa? Do you remember what he looked like and how he played before the Sox traded him to the Cubs? Who else? Parque? Schoeneweis? Please.
As long as Ellsbury, Papelbon and Pedroia are clean, I’m happy. Who ever liked Mo Vaugh and Eric Gagne anyway? http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2007/12/cursory_search.html
Clearly, the Yankees should be stripped of every World Series won during the Steroid Era. I’d say the same about the Cubs, if there were anything to strip.
As John Feinstein noted on NPR today, many of those named were named because of the informants available.
I think the numbers reported here just scratches the surface of the problem.
Of course Mitchell wants Selig/Fehr et al to put this behind them so the game can proceed (but with tougher testing standards.) No accountability for what’s happened – sounds familiar to those of us interested in the Church swex abuse scandal – move on is the name of the game.
Of course, the proces is mired in the greed (if you’ll pardon a John Edwards word) of the economics as morality that dominates our society,
The steroid problem is symptomatic of the hypocrisy that rules much of the sports scene and is now leaching down to the High school level, (If you watched ESPN last night, you could see a nationally televised HS basketball game. SI now has a weekly feature on inside High Schol sports,)
Of course, we’ll say that we’re worries about how our youth will react to the Mitchell report, but we’re all to ready to glamorize big names at lower and lower levls of athletics – with enormous sports salaries dazling our youth.
Yes there’s plenty of guilt to go around for the steroid problem. But I suspect that gulit involves all of us as well.
Once last note: NPR interviewed fans for reaction – not one said he’d stop going to or watching the games.