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The sports radio dials are juiced. Even non-sports radio is hopping with talk about steroids in baseball.

While waiting for the 6,000 mile checkup on our car today, I learned of Senator Mitchell’s report to Major League Baseball detailing the list of athletes linked positively to steroids and human growth hormones (HGH). I’ve been fascinated and disturbed in an accident scene way since reading Jose Canseco’s book Juiced. I wasted no time downloading the PDF from ESPN and searched through for our local Seattle Mariners and on other names.

The biggest surprise to me was the rocket, Roger Clemens (Update 3:20pm PST: Roger has hired attorney Rusty Hardin and vehemently denies the information in the report), but there were a few other names that raised my eyebrows, particularly other pitchers like Andy Petitte. When Ryan Franklin in Seattle was suspended for steroids, I realized it wasn’t only for homerun hitters, but why would solid pitchers like Clemens need the juice? Really, it was that important for him to stay in the game longer? It couldn’t be about the money with him … or could it?

10 Seattle Mariners juicing
A search for ‘mariners’ revealed 15 results including the following former or current (Update 4:17pm PST: a check of the Mariners active roster doesn’t show any current Mariners players in the 10 below so struck the “or current” part) Seattle Mariners players:

1. David Segui
2. Josias Manzanillo
3. Glenallen Hill
4. Ron Villone (pitcher)
5. Ryan Franklin (pitcher)
6. Todd Williams (pitcher)
7. Fernando Vina
8. David Bell
9. Jose Guillen
10. Ismael Valdez (pitcher)

Wow, 40% pitchers?

Selig responds
On my way back to the office MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was giving a press conference and detailing the three things he announced MLB would be doing right away in response to the Mitchell Report:

1. eliminate the 24 hour notice given to clubs prior to testing/screening.
2. mete out appropriate punishment for each of the players named in the report on a case by case basis
3. work with the player’s union to try and come to agreements on many of the other 20 recommendations made in the Mitchell report.

How will this impact future Hall of Famers?
If they are going to continue to keep Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame (HOF) for gambling, then I don’t think any of these players named should be in the HOF either. It will be interesting to see if that happens.

I continue to be disgusted by this whole issue. A sport I love is being ruined by performance enhancing drugs. This shouldn’t be an issue that is in dispute by the player’s union. They should want the game kept clean. If they do anything differently, I may have to become an MLS fan instead.

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