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March 30, 2006
George Mitchell to Lead MLB Investigation Into Alleged Steroid Use by Bonds, Others
Today Bud Selig announced that former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell will head a Major League Baseball investigation into the allegations of steroid use by Barry Bonds and other players as detailed in the book, "Game of Shadows." That MLB has decided to conduct an investigation is a good thing but what took them so long? Selig said,
"Nothing is more important to me than the integrity of the game of baseball."
and
"The unique circumstances surrounding BALCO and the evidence revealed in a recently published book have convinced me that Major League Baseball must undertake this investigation."
Um, did he just hear about BALCO when the book was published? Allegations that BALCO provided steriods to Bonds, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi have been around for years. Yes, the evidence was based mostly on leaked grand jury testimony published in the San Francisco Chronicle but guess what? That's exactly what some of the evidence in the book is! If the integrity of the game was so important to Selig it seems to me he might have launched an investigation when BALCO first became an issue or when Jose Canseco's book was published, when Congress held hearings on the steroids issue or even earlier when the FBI went to MLB with information that players might be using steroids.
What's really disappointing is that the focus of the investigation is not the overall issue of the use of performance enhancers it's BALCO, Barry Bonds and to a lesser degree Giambi and Sheffield. Most of the details regarding BALCO and which players were implicated in that mess are well-known to all. I have to wonder if MLB is reluctant to conduct a wider investigation because they are afraid of what they might find out. It's bad enough that some big names have already been connected to the use of performance enhancers but it would be even worse for MLB if they uncovered evidence that even more prominent players used performance enhancers and personally I think there are likely other well-known players who have used.
I'm wondering how long the investigation is going to take. I doubt this is something that can be wrapped up in a couple of months. So it's possible that it will get dragged out for months, maybe even until the end of the season and by that time Bonds might be on the verge of retiring. Of course MLB is in a bit of a sticky situation as it relates to any celebrations if Bonds passes Hank Aaron as all-time homerun leader but for now they are planning on celebrating the accomplishment. If the investigation hasn't concluded by then they can say that they don't have definitive proof that Bonds was a steroid user until the final report from the investigation and use that as an excuse for proceeding. But some of MLB's sponsors have no such qualms about not celebrating the accomplishment - Bank of America and Home Depot have both indicated that they will not be part of any celebration.
I'd also like to know what exactly will happen once MLB's investigation concludes and the final report is released? Will Bonds, Giambi, Sheffield and others face penalties? And if so what will they be? MLB may have a hard time penalizing players for past use of performance enhancers so they may face nothing more than being branded as steriod-users publically... oh, wait that's already happened. Could they be suspended or expelled from baseball? Would MLB be willing to send that harsh of a message? I'm kind of doubting it, particularly since Bonds will be retiring sooner rather than later.
Posted by silverdsl at March 30, 2006 03:07 PM