Sometime tomorrow George Mitchell is releasing results from his investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball. Fans of the game all around the nation are sitting on the edge of their seats nervously awaiting "the list" that will name 50-60 players (current and non-current).
After reading Bruce's post, I started to think...
Oh no! What if players I actually respect and admire wound up on this list???
Of course- I consulted Ari.
me: when does the Mitchell report come out have you heard?
me: im blogging this btw
The headquarters for George J. Mitchell’s investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball has been the DLA Piper law offices in Midtown Manhattan, right next to Rockefeller Center and only blocks from the Park Avenue offices of Major League Baseball. On Tuesday, as Mitchell’s 20-month investigation drew to a conclusion, it was Major League Baseball that was on the move, as officials from the sport went to the DLA Piper offices to get a look at the report.
What it contains will be officially revealed Thursday, when Mitchell holds a 2 p.m. news conference in Manhattan. Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will hold a separate news conference across town at 4:30 p.m. to discuss the report's findings. But two people who are familiar with Mitchell’s investigation, and his findings, said that the report would contain the names of more than 50 active and former major league players who are linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the details of the inquiry. Both said many of the names in the report are directly tied to information provided to Mitchell’s investigators by Kirk Radomski, a former bat boy and clubhouse attendant for the Mets who pleaded guilty to steroid distribution in April.
In Radomski’s plea agreement, he stated that he provided dozens of players with steroids, human growth hormone and stimulants from 1995 through 2005. As part of the plea agreement, he also agreed to cooperate with Mitchell’s investigation. At the time, it was seen as a big break for Mitchell, who had been unable to get current major league players to cooperate with his investigation. That perception appears to have been borne out.
Radomski, who mailed shipments of drugs from his home in Manorville, N.Y., is scheduled to be sentenced in February.
Mitchell, a former federal prosecutor and United States senator, was appointed by Selig in March 2006, but Tuesday was believed to be the first time that officials who work under Selig were given the opportunity to review Mitchell’s final product. The players union, which has essentially declined to cooperate with Mitchell, was not invited to the DLA Piper offices.
One of the two individuals familiar with report said baseball officials, upon reviewing it Tuesday, felt it was harsh. The other individual said the union was aware of at least portions of the report, and was upset by what it had seen.
“We are not in a position to comment on any aspect of the Mitchell investigation until it is delivered,” Richard Levin, a spokesman for Major League Baseball, said by telephone.
A spokesman for Mitchell did not answer an e-mail message seeking comment on the contents of the report and an official for the players association declined to comment.
Although the report is expected to provide a tough critique of how baseball allowed steroids, H.G.H. and amphetamines to become a significant part of the sport’s culture in recent decades, it is the names that the report will provide that has everyone within the sport on edge.
Until now, several high-profile players — Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, José Canseco, Rafael Palmiero — have been directly linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs while others have found themselves the subject of continuing speculation. With the report’s release, speculation will be replaced by an actual list.
Hank Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ senior vice president, was asked Tuesday night if he or the club had been made aware of any of the Mitchell report’s contents.
“No, we really haven’t,” he said. “I think we’re speculating about it as much as everybody else. We really have no idea. I’m sure every team, every owner and every general manager is wondering the same things.”
The evidence that Mitchell will use to cite players is expected to be documentary in nature — canceled checks, shipping slips, phone records — and not based on positive drug tests.
The only active player known to have spoken with investigators is the Yankees’ Jason Giambi. He met with Mitchell investigators in July, after Selig threatened to discipline him after he tacitly admitted in a published report to having used steroids. Giambi is believed to have talked to Mitchell’s investigators only about his own activities.
Active players named in the report are likely to face discipline that will be less severe than the 50-game suspensions now in place for first-time positive tests for steroids. The discipline imposed will probably be based on the penalties in place in baseball when the player’s violations occurred. Baseball did not have penalty testing for steroids until 2004 and did not ban H.G.H. until before to the 2005 season.
2 comments:
After the video evidence of Tim's "I fixed the door" celebration came to light, I had no doubt that he was totally on drugs.
I wish Selig would hurry up and hand out the suspensions so that we can start to move on!
Post a Comment