Baseball Strikes Out on Drugs
To no one’s surprise, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell released a report this afternoon on drug use in Major League Baseball that identifies a slew of current and former players as dopers, including seven Most Valuable Players and star pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
Pettitte just signed a one-year deal to return to the New York Yankees next season. Clemens pitched for the Yankees last season and is unsigned.
Other juicers identified in the report as taking steroids, stimulants and human growth hormone include Cy Young Award winners and All-Stars. All 30 Major League clubs had at least one player named.
In addition to Clemens and Pettitte, the present and former players include Larry Bigbie, Barry Bonds, Ken Caminiti, Jose Canseco, Lenny Dykstra, Bobby Estalella, Jason Giambi, Jason Grimsley, Jose Guillen, Todd Hundley, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmiero, Benito Santiago, David Segui, Gary Sheffield, Mo Vaughn and Rondell White.
Bonds, McGwire and Palmiero are three of the top 10 home run hitters of all time.
The 300-page report gets to the heart of the problem – that the office of Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and the players union tolerated the presence of drugs throughout years of abuse. To which I would add a sporting press that was well aware of rampant drug use but has looked the other way.
Will the report hurt baseball?
Of course it will, but that won’t necessarily translate into smaller crowds. The drug scandal has been an open secret for years and there is no indication that it has affected attendance while tarnishing America’s pastime.
