SportProjections.com

Dec

16

Mitchell Report: Complete Waste of Time

Filed Under Major League Baseball | 

Many of us were excited to read the report George Mitchell and his staff have been working on for years. We hoped the report would give us an in-depth look at the problem of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball as well as a long list of those who violated the policies recently and in the past. Instead, we received a longwinded report.

The highlights of the report:

  • The name you’ve heard for years was finally revealed: Roger Clemens.
  • The biggest surprise name on the list: Andy Pettitte.
  • Pettitte was the only surprising name on the whole list.
  • Mark McGwire wasn’t named in the report.
  • Mitchell and crew were desperate for any type of information. The lack of participation by anyone in baseball was evident.
  • The investigating team clearly thought naming names would change baseball: Chad Allen, Mike Bell, Gary Bennett, Larry Bigbie, Ricky Bones, Mark Carreon, Jason Christiansen, Howie Clark, Paxton Crawford, Jack Cust, Chris Donnels, Matt Franco, Jerry Hairston, etc.
  • Mitchell reprimanded baseball for not doing enough. Who cares? Why are people making a big deal of this?

This investigation became the “witch hunt” many predicted as it dragged on for years. The way the investigation was conducted was a real mistake.

The players union should have known this was the best opportunity for baseball to clean up the sport. Too many baseball players have lost their jobs to competitors who are using performance-enhancing drugs. The players should have realized this investigation could have benefited them more than any other interested party. The players could have finally put a stop to the cheating by coming clean in this investigation. Players would no longer have to look behind their backs, wondering if their competitors are using something illegal to take their jobs and get the next big paycheck.

This is how the investigation should have been conducted:

  • Mitchell’s team should have guaranteed no player’s name would be revealed if he came forward to explain his purchase or use of drugs as well as those used by other players.
  • Players coming forward should have received no penalty from coming forward and trying to clean up the mess.
  • Each player found to have used performance-enhancing drugs should have been contacted and given the opportunity to discuss and reveal his information to the investigation without penalty.
  • Players that were caught and didn’t come forward should have received a significant penalty.
  • Retired players who were revealed and didn’t come forward should have received a penalty in terms of their pensions.

These types of opportunities would guarantee anonymity and may have cleaned baseball for the future. Instead, we received very little new information, 409 pages justifying the investigation, and Mitchell on his soapbox.

The Mitchell Report will merely become the downfall of Roger Clemens reaching the Hall of Fame. Baseball strikes out again in the steroid era.

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