Friday, December 14, 2007
'Roid Rage: Fallout From Mitchell Report
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From San Francisco to Santo Domingo, from St. Paul to Sapporo, keyboards, classrooms, barrooms, and water coolers are abuzz with the news that the names of 80-odd major league players, among them Eric Gagne, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, and Kevin Brown, were mentioned in the report on performance-enhancing drug usage filed by (former) Senator George Mitchell.
Many were quick to point out that players such as Gagne, Jose Guillen, and Miguel Tejada found new teams right before the release of the report. A few columnists asked why media had not scrutinized Clemens with the same suspicion of his 40-something feats as Bonds (to which some message board posters replied: Bonds perjured himself before a grand jury, Clemens was not subpoenaed). After all the sturm und drang, several realties emerge. There will be no drop in attendance due to the cloud of suspicion, or bitterness toward past cheaters.
Washington, which just signed Mitchell-mentioned catcher Paul LoDuca, moves into a new ballpark in April. Boston, where Brendan Donnelly and Mo Vaughn used to play, is defending a world championship. All those former Yankees and Mets named? New York tickets will still be tough to acquire when the better teams visit. In the long haul, Americans demand no more integrity from the national pastime than they do their political leadership or their mayors (a few of whom have been re-elected amidst scandals).
In addition, Commissioner Bud Selig, who brushed off a reporter's question yesterday about Mitchell's statement that there was enough blame to spread equally amongst owners, GMs, players, and the commissioner's office, is not claiming accountability. The Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa chase of Roger Maris' single-season home run mark filled seats. So did Barry Bonds' assault on McGwire's new standard. The owners will not punish their non-commissioner, a former Brewers proprietor, for enabling the runaway statistics and health risks that resulted from the use of anabolic steroids and HGH. "The Rocket" may have lost some of his red glare in the public eye, but there will be no asterisks placed next to his last three Cy Young awards, or his strikeouts since 1998.
Who would have ever thought a document heavy enough to be used as a doorstop (or a bicep curl) would make Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Dan Duquette, and the late Ken Caminiti look better? Duquettte, the former Red Sox GM, was right — Clemens was damaged goods when the Sox let him go. He was revived by the wonders of science. The Mitchell Report isn't going to reinstate Hank Aaron as the all-time home run king, however.
Northern fans will flock to spring training in two months. Tigers fans will buy tickets to see whether Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera can bring them a pennant. Dodger faithful will welcome center fielder Andruw Jones. L.A.'s Angels are not pumped by steroids, but by the acquisitions of CF Torii Hunter and P Jon Garland. If one doubts this, when was the last time we heard basketball announcers or fans during this current NBA season express concern about "the integrity of the game" in the wake of the Tim Donaghy referee scandal? Fan memories are short, and so are those of sports talk hosts and journalists.
Much has been made of the fact that the presence of names such as Clemens, Pettitte, Rondell White, Chuck Knoblauch, Mike Stanton, and Kevin Brown cast aspersions and illegitimacy on the late-1990s and early-2000s Yankee juggernaut. That the hated Bronx Bombers had an unfair advantage on the rest of the baseball world, particularly on the mound. Yet there are plenty of Orioles listed by the Mitchell Report, and performance-enhancing drugs didn't ensure them a Word Series berth. The Mets are pretty well-represented, too.
An interesting aspect of the list (which is all 99% percent of us have seen from the report — even the Commish admitted he hasn't had time to read it all) is the number of names who bowed out of the game at relatively-young ages due to nagging injuries — Todd Hundley, Andy Pettitte (recently unretired), Mo Vaughn, Denny Neagle, Chuck Knoblauch (who lost his ability to throw accurately from second to first), Kent Mercker, Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Rick Ankiel (lost the ability to throw accurately from the pitcher's mound), and Ken Caminiti. While we cannot know if steroid or HGH usage led to tendon damage in each or any of the cases, quite a few of the aforementioned experienced sudden statistical dives.
For sure, the era of 1996-2003 will be clouded. Perhaps a few players who were shoo-in Hall of Famers before they used will be kept out of Cooperstown when eligible. Neither of those things will affect baseball ticket sales or TV revenue in 2008.
Mitchell and Selig had one thing right: baseball has put this chapter behind itself. That was the whole point of having an investigation and producing a report, to at once pat one's self on the back and move forward. Not so much to bury Barry, but to silence critics. Not so much to save lives, but fans. Guess what club will probably experience the largest dip in attendance?
The San Francisco Giants, because drawing card Bonds is no longer on the roster.