NEW YORK — Seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars — one for every position — and that still wasn’t the worst of it for the long-awaited Mitchell Report. That infamy belonged to Roger Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era. The Steroids Era.
Seven-time Cy Young Award winner, eighth on the all-time list with 354 victories, an MVP and All-Star himself and once a lock for the Hall of Fame, Clemens now has another distinction: the biggest name linked by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
In all, Thursday’s 409-page report identified 85 names to differing degrees.
Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up in the game’s most infamous lineup since the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
Eric Gagne, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Byrd, Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players in the report. Some were linked to human growth hormone, others to steroids. Mitchell did not delve into stimulants.
Jose Canseco, whose book, “Juice,” was cited throughout, was mentioned the most often — 105 times. Bonds was next at 103.
Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn and Todd Hundley.
Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified.
The report mentioned how major league abuse of steroids could tempt aspiring high-school age ballplayers to use — and local high school coaches hoped that the report would send a firm message to young players looking for an extra edge.
“Some of these kids think they have to (use steroids) in order to compete,” said Tracy coach Vic Alkire, about to enter his 16th season as Bulldog head coach. “They think they’ve got to do something other than old-fashioned hard work.”
“If you’ve got a good work ethic, you don’t need to cheat to achieve your goals,” added West coach Jim Rice, who said neither he nor his teammates ever encountered steroids while a college player at San Joaquin Delta College and California State University, Hayward. “I think (the report) is a step in the right direction.”
Sports Editor Chris Roberts contributed to this report.
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