So far, I have been strangely quiet about the Mitchell report. Perhaps there is a good reason for that. The more I think about it, the more I wish the Mitchell report never came to light, that baseball never commissioned this report and that money wasn’t wasted on it.
I will admit this was not how I felt at the time that Mitchell was first brought on board. I thought it would be good for baseball and for the fans. Hindsight being 20-20, I was wrong, it was a mistake.
What really has changed now? We know steroids and HGH have been around for a while and that some of the premier players in the game were using them. Is that a new revelation? Is baseball going to come up with new standards for testing? Probably not as they already employ one of the toughest standards. We know players who want an edge will probably find a way to stay ahead of the testing. This is not a reason to do away with it, but it is a reason to carefully consider how we want to move forward.
I have heard it suggested that the Mitchell report smacks of McCarthyism. I am not sure I agree with that, but I am not sure I disagree with it either. Is there anyone who is clean? How many? What about the hall of fame? Well, as I see it, players who are the best in the steroids generation should still get in.
First off, with so many people indulging, the field is more level than we would like to admit. Second, while steroids are illegal, dangerous and should not be used (and that must be stated), players have always looked for ways to get an advantage over the competition. Should a player who has undergone hypnosis to see the ball better be ban from the Hall of Fame because he had an edge over other players? Should a pitcher who threw a spitball be removed from the Hall because he used an illegal pitch?
The more I look at it, the more I think we would have been better off if the Mitchell report never saw the light of day. Baseball needs to address the steroids issue, they have been addressing the issue and to go back now and try and identify everyone who has indulged seems ridiculous.
Let’s keep steroids out of baseball (or do the best we can) and let’s move on and play baseball (in another 4 months)
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2 comments:
The Mitchell report is fatally flawed because of the way evidence was obtained and utilized. "Do you know anyone who did steroids" smacks of "Have you ever been a member of the communist party or know anybody that has been". All that is missing is someone standing up asking where is the sense of decency.
Getting a bunch of questionable characters to name names is not the best way to prove a case but hey, it was never his intent to prove the case, just putting a name in the report taints that person for all history. And I just love these other affidavits that are coming out from under seal and naming more names. Just because someone signed an affidavit saying I heard someone did something doesn't mean it is true. Sid Fernandez? the 250 lb pitcher is now named? Yeah, he was a tribute to physical fitness. Who's next? John Kruk, of the famous "I'm not an athlete I'm a baseball player" comment?
No, baseball was stupid to go down this road and now they'll have to deal with the taint on the game. The funny part is they knew, the players knew, we all knew. How did outfielders go from 190 lbs thirty years ago to 240 lbs? No, it wasn't baseball started attracting more football players. And why stop at steroids? Uppers, speed, beenies, have been part of baseball lore for at least thirty years I can recall.
I'll leave you with this query. Before the last 10-15 years there were a lot of ballplayers that couldn't make the jump from the minors to majors because their eyes weren't good enough. Now they get Lasik and can tell you what kind of thread was used on the seams. They are in the majors because of medical advances. Is the only difference the illegality of the substances or is there blurred lines?
Wow, this really strikes a nerve with you, doesn't it?
Your point about the laser surgery was in effect the same point I was making about hypnosis, and gaining and edge over other competitors. Of course the major difference being steroids was and is illegal.
Still, I am not sure it is the same thing as McCarthyism as at least here there is someone naming names (all be it quite flawed and as you correctly point out, just because someone says 'he did it', doesn't mean he actually did). Still, with McCarthyism, anyone McCarthy didn't like suddendly was on the list. I don't beleive Mitchell put people on the list, just reported what he was able to find out (and of course there are a hell of a lot more guilty people than those on his list).
So, I come back to what I said in the post (and what you also point out), Bud Selig has to bear the burden for this mess. First, he did not address it when it was helping rebuild the interest in the game (of course they knew what was going on) and second, he commissioned this stupid thing and hindsight 20-20, it was a mistake, a BIG MISTAKE!
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