Why the Mitchell Report Hurts
“Any time you think you have the game conquered; the game will turn around and punch you right in the nose.”
- Mike Schmidt
The darkest day in baseball history might have greeted our grandparents 80+ years ago when the heroes of the Chicago White Sox (later referred to as the “Black Sox”) were found guilty of intentionally losing games and were banned from the game forever.
Or it might have been Thursday.
In an atmosphere best described by ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap as “surreal,” some of the greatest names in baseball were toppled Thursday in New York City by a scathing, 409-page document written and investigated by former Senator George Mitchell. The legal tome outlined, supported, asserted and alleged that at least 75 players knowingly used steroids and/or other performance-enhancing drugs while active members of the game we love.
Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte, Brian Roberts, Eric Gagne, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Lo Duca, Rick Ankiel and Jay Gibbons were among those named in the report and all indications are there are more names on the way.
Former players weren’t immune to the findings of the investigative panel either. David Justice, Mike Stanton, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Mo Vaughn, Glenallen Hill, Rondell White, Lenny Dykstra, Kevin Brown and Wally Joyner were also named.
So do me a favor, if you will. Go into your child’s room (if you don’t have a child, then simply be happy you’re not one of parents of the roughly 75 million children in America). Look around the walls. Tell me what you see. Do you see a poster of a baseball player? Do you see a stray baseball card on the floor? How about a sports jersey?
Tell me what you are going to tell your kid about the day you saw Roger Clemens strike out 20 Mariners in a 9-inning game. Or how about the time Eric Gagne pitched his 55th consecutive save in the 2003 season to set a modern-day record? What about when Andy Pettitte broke the record for most career postseason starts? What about when Gary Matthews Jr. made one of the greatest catches ever as he climbed the wall like a comic book hero?
You get the picture.
Well, I was one of those kids. I’m not going to be naïve and say my childhood, innocence and love for the game are lost because of some report—but I will say this: it’s tarnished.
Does one now have to doubt every shred of fact and feat that has been accomplished in baseball? I think that is your call. I say yes.
Former Yankees Executive Gabe Paul once said about the beautiful game, “The great thing about baseball is that there's a crisis every day.” I wonder how great Gabe would think our game is on this darkest of days.
Comments? Matt Perl can be reached at mperl@masnsports.com
Matt Perl is an Associate Producer/Producer with MASN. Prior to his time with MASN, Matt spent 4 years with ESPN in Bristol, CT. He is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University.
I think this was unfair. Well just the report focused on other coaches,trainers,owners,etc. Jack Cust said 2or3 players did these pills when he also did them. I do not know about you but that is just unfair. I am not saying players did not do it. In fact I do think most players do. But the report was unfair in my mind. They need to test and then blam. Not dembend on people seeing it. I do belive some players did and some did not.
-Austin G. Age:12 LaPlata,MD
Mr. Henry,
The responses you were awaiting from Clemens did eventually come in the form of his attorney's statement:
"I have great respect for Senator Mitchell. I think an overall look at this problem in baseball was an excellent idea...But I respectfully suggest it is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report. He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong...There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today."
Personally, I wonder how much Roger anticipated having to make this statement when the idea of a steroid investigation surfaced. Did he really think he was gonna have to answer questions or defend himself?
this is a dark day indeed.... but at least it's out in the open and MLB can move on.
How much do you think Barry Bonds is enjoying this right now? I can't wait to hear Clemens' actual response.
Well done Mr. Perl. I couldn't agree with you more. The article is, dare I say, delicious!
Good stuff. I cant get over how ridiculous the report is. Only a few teams seem to be getting attacked. Thanks for your thoughts though.
I loved when Bud said that he will go case by case and dole out punishment where he sees fit for anyone named in the report who used illegal substances and then five minutes later he said he was very disappointed that the players did not cooperate more with Mitchell. Is he serious?
I agree this is indeed a very dark day for baseball, but the key question is what "Bud" Selig and the owners will do to redeem the game, if they can. Their actions will speak very loudly in the days ahead.