Earlier this afternoon, former Senator George Mitchell released his report on the use of steroids in baseball and, as expected, the report names some pretty big names:
Some of Major League Baseball’s greatest stars, including pitcher Roger Clemens and outfielder Barry Bonds, are linked to the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in a report released today by former Senate Majority leader George J. Mitchell.
The report also names pitcher Andy Pettitte, outfielder Gary Sheffield, shortstop Miguel Tejada, who was traded Wednesday by the Baltimore Orioles to the Houston Astros, and dozens of other current and former players, many of them All-Stars.
“For more than a decade there has been widespread illegal use of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances by players in Major League Baseball, in violation of federal law and baseball policy,” the report says. “Club officials routinely have discussed the possibility of such substance use when evaluating players. Those who have illegally used these substances range from players whose major league careers were brief to potential members of the baseball Hall of Fame. They include both pitchers and position players, and their backgrounds are as diverse as those of all major league players.”
(…)
The naming of Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner who is one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game, was among the most startling revelations in the report. Clemens previously has denied allegations of steroid use.
The information about Clemens reportedly was provided to Mitchell by McNamee, a former trainer. The trainer reportedly also provided information about Pettitte and first baseman David Segui. McNamee is a former strength coach for the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, two of Clemens’s teams, and served as a personal trainer for Clemens and Pettitte.
And it’s not just Clemens, Bonds, and Pettite who are named, the list includes some of the best players of the last decade.
Gary Sheffield, Randy Velarde, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Denny Neagle, Miguel Tejada, Kevin Brown, Jose Canseco
And those are just the superstar names I picked out of the list. More to come, I’m sure.
