Punctuation * In the Hall of Fame ?

George Mitchell released his report today on the use of steroids and human growth hormones in Major League Baseball. To nobody's surprise, Mitchell condemned MLB for ignoring the problem: 'The use of steroids in Major League Baseball was widespread. There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on.'

Among the baseball stars implicated in Mitchell's report are Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi. Both have previously been accused of steroid use in The BALCO Affair.

Mitchell's report points to steroid use by future hall-of-famer Roger Clemens. Clemens denied using steroids when his name surfaced in other investigations, but Mitchell dedicates 8 pages to Clemens.

Clemens always struck me as a guy with integrity. A 7-time Cy Young winner, he's been called 'the world's best living pitcher' and named to the All-Century Team. He was a shoo-in to baseball's Hall of Fame on the first try. His Foundation supports athletics for youth in Houston.

According to Mitchell's report, every MLB team has had at least one player involved with performance enhancing drugs during the decades he investigated. The list of players includes as many superstars as average players.
Forget about marking Bonds' home run record with an asterisk...hall of fame nominations of any player who was active from, say 1987-2004, might have to be marked with a question mark.

Except Cal Ripken Jr.

Tags: [Mitchell Report]  [Baseball's Steroid Era]  [BALCO]
[George Mitchell]  [Bud Selig]
[Roger Clemens]  [Barry Bonds]  [Cal Ripken Jr.]  [Jose Canseco]

Interesting: Jose Canseco was denied entrance to the press conference where Mitchell's report was unveiled. In his autobiography, Juiced, Canseco admits using steroids. He has reportedly inked a deal for a follow-up book, Vindicated.