The Steroids List

QueEx · Dec 14, 2007

List of players, ex-players in Mitchell report

MSNBC
December 14, 2007

The following players were connected to steroids, either use or possession, in the report:

Chad Allen
2007 team: Played in Japan
An outfielder who played with four teams in Major League Baseball between 1999 and 2005, the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, and Texas Rangers.

In the report: Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski believed he made between three and five sales to Allen involving Winstrol, testosterone, and Deca-Durabolin. According to Radomski, Allen could not afford human growth hormone. Allen met with investigators after his return from Japan, and has been cooperating with federal authorities.

Mike Bell

Gary Bennett
2007 team: St. Louis Cardinals
A catcher who since 1995 has played with seven teams in Major League Baseball, Bennett Jr. played for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, and St. Louis Cardinals. Radomski said that Denny Neagle referred Bennett to him. Neagle and Bennett were teammates in 2001 and 2002 with the Colorado Rockies.

In the report: Radomski said that Denny Neagle referred Bennett to him. Radomski recalled one transaction with Bennett in July 2003 for two kits of human growth hormone. Radomski produced one check from Bennett payable to Radomski in the amount of $3,200 dated July 13, 2003. Bennett declined to meet with Mitchell.

Larry Bigbie
2007 team: Minor leagues
An outfielder who played from 2001-06 for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals.

In the report: Radomski sold a variety of performance enhancing substances to Bigbie on a number of occasions. Bigbie consistently paid by check. Because Bigbie was young and "not making that much money,'' Radomski said he charged Bigbie no more than his cost for the substances. Radomski retrieved from his banks three checks written by Bigbie.

Ricky Bones

Kevin Brown

Ken Caminiti

Mark Carreon

Jason Christiansen

Howie Clark

Roger Clemens

Paxton Crawford

Jack Cust

Brendan Donnelly

Chris Donnels

Lenny Dykstra

Matt Franco

Ryan Franklin

Eric Gagne

Jason Grimsley

Jerry Hairston

Phil Hiatt

Matt Herges

Glenallen Hill

Todd Hundley

Ryan Jorgensen

Wally Joyner

Mike Judd

David Justice

Chuck Knoblauch

Tim Laker

Mike Lansing

Paul Lo Duca

Exavier “Nook” Logan

Josias Manzanillo

Cody McKay

Kent Mercker

Bart Miadich

Hal Morris

Daniel Naulty

Denny Neagle

Rafael Palmeiro
2007 team: Out of baseball
A four-time All-Star, Palmeiro batted .288 with 569 homers and 1,835 RBIs over 20 seasons in the majors. He dramatically pointed his finger and told Congress in 2005 that he had never used steroids, then tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol about six weeks later, leading to a 10-day ban from Major League Baseball. He denied intentionally taking steroids, saying teammate Miguel Tejada gave him vitamin B-12 that might have been tainted with performance-enhancing drugs. Tejada denied any wrongdoing.

Jim Parque

Luis Perez

Andy Pettitte
2007 team: New York Yankees
Went 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA this year, and has 201 career wins in 13 seasons in the majors. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2006 that Pettitte was among the players former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a federal agent's affidavit. Pettitte denied the allegations, and a federal prosecutor said the newspaper report contained "significant inaccuracies.''

In the report: According to McNamee, he recalled injecting Pettitte in 2002 with human growth hormone that McNamee obtained from Radomski on two to four occasions. Pettitte was rehabilitating an injury at the time.

Adam Piatt

Todd Pratt
2007 team: out of baseball
Catcher played for four teams from 1992 to 2006, spending eight years in two separate stints with Philadelphia, five with the New York Mets from 1997-2001 as well as a season each with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta. Best known for a series-winning homer in the 10th inning of the Mets' division series clincher over Arizona in 1999.

In the report: Radomski became acquainted with Pratt after he joined the Mets in 1997. Radomski said Pratt told him that he had previously bought Deca-Durabolin from another source. Sometime in 2000 or 2001, while he was still with the Mets, Pratt asked to buy anabolic steroids. Radomski made one or two sales of small amounts of steroids to Pratt. Radomski also recalled having a few discussions with Pratt regarding their use.

Stephen Randolph

Adam Riggs

Brian Roberts
2007 team: Baltimore Orioles
A two-time All-Star, Roberts batted .290 with 12 homers and 57 RBIs this year. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2006 that Roberts was among the players former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a federal agent's affidavit. Roberts derided the accusations as "ridiculous,'' and a federal prosecutor said the newspaper report contained "significant inaccuracies.''

In the report: According to former teammate Larry Bigbie, in 2004 Roberts admitted to him that he had injected himself once or twice with steroids in 2003.

F.P. Santangelo

David Segui
2007 team: Out of baseball
Slick-fielding first baseman played 15 seasons, finishing with Baltimore in 2004.

In the report: Acknowledged he used HGH and said he was among the players mentioned by ex-teammate Jason Grimsley to federal investigators. Segui told ESPN's "Outside the Lines'' he used HGH with a doctor's prescription because of a growth hormone deficiency. This week, he told the Baltimore Sun that he bought steroids and drugs from former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. Segui said he refused to talk to the Mitchell investigation.

Mike Stanton
2007 team: Cincinnati Reds
Played with eight teams since coming into the league in 1989, including seven each with the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees. Selected to the All-Star team once and played in the World Series six times with the Braves and Yankees.

In the report: Radomski recalled making two sales of human growth hormone to Stanton. The first occurred in 2003, during Stanton's first season with the Mets. Radomski mailed two kits of human growth hormone to Stanton at his residence. Stanton paid Radomski $3,200 by money order. Radomski stated that he dropped off one kit of human growth hormone at Stanton's locker in the Mets clubhouse later in 2003. Stanton paid $1,600 in cash for that order.

Ricky Stone

Miguel Tejada
2007 team: Baltimore Orioles
Four-time All-Star shortstop and former AL MVP. In 2005, then-teammate Rafael Palmeiro implied his positive test for steroids might have come from an injection of B-12 vitamin provided by Tejada. Earlier that year, Tejada denied taking steroids. "I know I'm clean. I know who I am, and I know everything that I do is right,'' he said.

In the report: Tejada's former Oakland teammate Adam Piatt said Tejada asked specifically if he had any steroids. Piatt admitted he had access to steroids and human growth hormone and agreed to obtain them for Tejada. Piatt recalled that he provided Tejada with testosterone or Deca-Durabolin, as well as human growth hormone. Piatt emphasized that he did not know whether Tejada actually used the substances.

Derrick Turnbow

Mo Vaughn
2007 team: Out of baseball
Plump slugger was a three-time All-Star and AL MVP before finishing up with the Mets in 2003. In his last season, Vaughn told The New York Times he used supplements that contained ephedra. Vaughn said he did it for energy, not to lose weight.

In the report: Radomski said he sold human growth hormone to Vaughn. Radomski said that he delivered the substances to Vaughn personally. Radomski produced three checks drawn on Vaughn's checking account.

Ron Villone

Fernando Vina
2007 team: Out of baseball
Light-hitting infielder who played with five teams 1993-2004. He was an All-Star for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1998 and won two Gold Gloves as a second baseman. During the 2007 baseball season, he was a commentator for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight.''

In the report: While Radomski was working for the Mets as a clubhouse attendant in 1993, he met Vina, who was then in the Mets' minor league system. Radomski stated that he sold anabolic steroids or human growth hormone to Vina six to eight times during 2000 to 2005. Radomski produced three checks from Vina.

Rondell White
2007 team: Minnesota Twins
Outfielder who has played with seven teams since 1993. Has hit more than 20 homers in a season four times and never more than 28.

In the report: According to Radomski, White started buying performance enhancing substances from him in 2000. White bought both human growth hormone and Deca-Durabolin and Radomski was able to produce seven checks that he deposited drawn on White's checking account.

Jeff Williams

Todd Williams

Kevin Young

Gregg Zaun

The following players were cited under “Alleged Internet Purchases of Performance Enhancing Substances By Players in Major League Baseball” in the report:

Rick Ankiel
2007 team: St. Louis Cardinals
Left-hander was a rookie phenom on the mound in 2000, but wildness and injuries derailed his pitching career. So he switched to the outfield a few years later and began long climb back to the big leagues. Called up in August, he batted .358 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in first 23 games after being brought up from minors. Just as his unique comeback was making Ankiel the feel-good story of the season, the New York Daily News reported he received eight shipments of prescription human growth hormone in 2004. Ankiel admitted he used HGH, saying any drugs he took were prescribed by a doctor as part of his recovery from elbow surgery. Baseball recently concluded there was "insufficient evidence'' to determine he committed a doping violation.

In the report: Ankiel reportedly had been issued prescriptions for the drugs that were signed by Dr. William Gogan, a physician that the Daily News reported was affiliated with The Health and Rejuvenation Center of Palm Beach Gardens. Ankiel's orders were shipped from Signature Pharmacy to the clinic.

David Bell
2007 team: Out of baseball
Steady third baseman played very well for San Francisco in 2002 NLCS and World Series. Spent 12 years in the majors, batting .257 with 123 homers. Hampered by chronic back problems, Bell made his last big league appearance in 2006 with Milwaukee.

In the report: According to the Sports Illustrated article, Bell reportedly purchased six packages of human chorionic gonadatropin ("HCG'') from Applied Pharmacy Services of Mobile, Ala., in April 2005. The SI article reported that Bell acknowledged to reporters that he received the drugs but explained that he had received a prescription for them.

Paul Byrd

Jose Canseco

Jay Gibbons

Troy Glaus

Jose Guillen

Darren Holmes

Gary Matthews Jr.
2007 team: Los Angeles Angels
After signing a $50 million, five-year contract with the Angels, was slowed by injuries this year and batted .252 with 18 homers and 72 RBIs. Was sent HGH by Applied Pharmacy in August 2004, SI.com reported in February 2007. "I have never taken HGH - during the 2004 season or any other time,'' Matthews said in a statement. On Dec. 6, MLB said there was insufficient evidence to discipline Matthews.

In the report: The Times Union reported that Matthews appeared on a customer list of Applied Pharmacy Services. Syringes were found by Chad Allen, Matthews' teammate, in a drawer in an apartment the two shared while

John Rocker
2007 team: Out of baseball
Rocker went 13-22 with 88 saves and a 3.42 ERA in six seasons in the majors, last appearing with Tampa Bay in 2003. Jeopardized his career by making disparaging remarks against several groups while pitching for Atlanta.

In the report: SI.com reported in March that Rocker received two prescriptions for somatropin, a form of human growth hormone, between April and July 2003. In an interview on ESPN Radio, Rocker denied ever having an HGH prescription.

Scott Schoeneweis
2007 team: New York Mets
Lefty was 0-2 with a 5.03 ERA in 70 games this season. Durable reliever helped the Angels win the 2002 World Series.

In the report: He received six shipments of steroids in 2003 and 2004 from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Fla., ESPN.com reported. Baseball recently concluded there was "insufficient evidence'' to determine he committed a doping violation. Schoeneweis, who survived testicular cancer, told the New York Daily News he had never received shipments from Florida or even heard of Signature Pharmacy.

Ismael Valdez
2007 team: Out of baseball
Went 104-105 in a 12-year career that ended in 2005.

In the report: Valdez bought $11,300 worth of growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs in 2002 from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center after he was traded from Texas to Seattle, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Matt Williams
2007 team: Out of baseball
Five-time All-Star won four Gold Gloves at third base. Retired after playing in 2003 with Arizona, now a Diamondbacks broadcaster.

In the report: Williams bought $11,600 worth of growth hormone, steroids and other drugs in 2002, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. He said a doctor advised him to try growth hormone to heal an injured ankle.

Steve Woodard

The following players were linked through BALCO in the report:

Marvin Benard
2007 team: Out of baseball
Quick outfielder played for San Francisco with Barry Bonds from 1995-2003, hitting .271 with 54 homers and 105 stolen bases. Had career-best 16 home runs and 27 steals with .290 average in '99. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in March 2004 that federal investigators were told by BALCO that Benard received performance-enhancing drugs.

Barry Bonds

Bobby Estalella

Jason Giambi

Jeremy Giambi

Benito Santiago
2007 team: Out of baseball
Five-time All-Star catcher won three Gold Gloves and was the 1987 NL Rookie of the Year. Spent 20 seasons in the majors, finishing in 2005.

In the report: Santiago told the BALCO grand jury he got HGH and an injectable steroid from Greg Anderson, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Gary Sheffield
2007 team: Detroit Tigers
Hit 25 homers this season. Nine-time All-Star has 480 career HRs after 20 years. Told HBO he took the "clear'' and the "cream,'' two designer steroids distributed by BALCO, but said he didn't know they were steroids. "Steroids is something you shoot in your butt,'' he said. Once worked out with Barry Bonds, then had a falling-out with the star.

In the report: The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Sheffield testified when he was training with Barry Bonds before the 2002 season, Bonds had "arranged for him to receive 'the cream, 'the clear' and red beans,' which prosecutors identified as steroid pills manufactured in Mexico. Sheffield reportedly was never told that the substances he was given were steroids. In his book, Sheffield claimed he did not know the cream he received was a steroid and asserted he "never touched a strength-building steroid in (his) life - and never will.''

Randy Velarde
2007 team: Out of baseball
Solid infielder for 16 years, turned an unassisted triple play for Oakland. Got 200 hits in 1999 - never had more than 151 in any other season.

In the report: Velarde received steroids and human growth hormone from BALCO, according to information given to federal investigators, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2004.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22244549/

QueEx · Dec 14, 2007

Mitchell Report hits Clemens, other stars hard

Associated Press
December 14, 2007

NEW YORK - Page after page, Roger Clemens’ name was all over the Mitchell Report.

Count them, 82 times.

Barry Bonds showed up more often. So did Jose Canseco. Andy Pettitte, Eric Gagne and Miguel Tejada also became part of baseball’s most infamous lineup since the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

But they didn’t get the worst of it Thursday. That infamy belonged to Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era.

The Steroids Era.

“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,” former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell wrote in his much-anticipated report on performance-enhancing drugs.

“They include both pitchers and position players, and their backgrounds are as diverse as those of all major league players.”

Seven MVPs, two Cy Young Award winners and 31 All-Stars — one for every position. In all, the 409-page report identified 85 names to differing degrees, putting question marks if not asterisks in the record book and threatening the integrity of the game itself.

“If there are problems, I wanted them revealed,” commissioner Bud Selig said. “His report is a call to action, and I will act.”

President Bush said Friday that baseball players and owners must take seriously the report, but cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the individuals named.

“My hope is that this report is a part of putting the steroid era of baseball behind us,” he said, surrounded by Cabinet members in the Rose Garden.

Bush, who once owned the Texas Rangers, said, “I’ve been troubled by the steroid allegations.”

The Mitchell Report, he said, means that “we can jump to this conclusion: that steroids have sullied the game.”

“The players and the owners must take the Mitchell Report seriously,” Bush said. “I’m convinced they will.”

On Friday, Mitchell insisted he provided opportunities for the players identified in his report to respond to the allegations.

Almost without exception, he said on CNN’s “American Morning,” they declined. So Mitchell turned to union head Donald Fehr.

“I wrote a letter to Don Fehr’s office setting forth the names and the dates and I wanted to tell them, here is what happened, come in and explain it to me,” Mitchell said. “They refused to do so.”

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 cited. Some were linked to human growth hormone, others to steroids. Mitchell did not delve into stimulants in his 20-month investigation.

While he vehemently denied it through his lawyer, Clemens was the symbol.

Considered a lock for the Hall of Fame earlier this week, Clemens’ path to Cooperstown was thrown in doubt after he was singled out on nearly nine pages.

Seven-time Cy Young Award winner, eighth on the career list with 354 victories, an MVP and All-Star himself, Clemens suddenly had more to worry about than simply whether to play next season.

“It is very unfair to include Roger’s name in this report,” said Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin. “He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong.”

Much of the information about Clemens came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee.

According to the report, McNamee also told investigators that “during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin.”

The report was unlikely to trigger a wave of discipline. While a few players, such as Bonds, are subjects of ongoing legal proceedings, many of the instances cited by Mitchell were before drug testing began in 2003.

Mitchell said punishment was inappropriate in all but the most egregious cases, and Selig said decisions on any action would come “swiftly” on a case-by-case basis.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said Friday he doesn’t know whether President Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, had time to look at the report, but the president believes it is important Major League Baseball is taking on the issue.

“The use and abuse of steroids sends the wrong message to our children,” Stanzel said. “The president is very interested in the subject, as a baseball fan and a former team owner.”

Mitchell said the problems didn’t develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around.

“Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades — commissioners, club officials, the players’ association and players — shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era,” Mitchell said. “There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on.”

Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be issued periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable.

“The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game,” the report said. “Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records.”

Canseco, whose book “Juiced” was cited throughout, was mentioned the most often — 105 times. Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, was next at 103.

A total of 20 Yankees, past and present, were identified. Players were linked to doping in various ways — some were identified as users, some as buyers and some by media reports and other investigations.

Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski also provided information as part of his plea agreement in a federal steroids case.

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, Wally Joyner and Todd Hundley.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22189702/

QueEx · Dec 14, 2007

The Big names in the Mitchell baseball steroids probe

Barry Bonds

7 MVPs

762 home runs

Started playing in 1986

Has played for: Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco

Jose Canseco

Played 1985-2001

462 home runs

Has played for: Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Yankees

Ken Caminiti (1963-2004)

Played 1987-2001

239 home runs

Has played for: Houston Astros, San Diego Padres

Roger Clemens

Started pitching in 1984

1986: American League Most Valuable Player

1986: American League Cy Young Award

1987: American League Cy Young Award

1991: American League Cy Young Award

1997: American League Cy Young Award

1998: American League Cy Young Award

1999: Named to All-Century Team (P)

2001: American League Cy Young Award

2004: National League Cy Young Award

Has played for: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros

Eric Gagne

Started playing in 1999

Won a Cy Young in 2003

2004 NL Rolaids Relief Winner

Has played for: Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox

Jason Giambi

Started playing in 1995

364 home runs

Has played for: Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees

Juan Gonzalez

Started playing in 1989

34 home runs

Has played for: Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox

Miguel Tejada

Started playing in 1997

258 home runs

Has played for: Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles

Mo Vaughn

Started playing in 1991

328 home runs

Has played for: Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, New York Mets

thoughtone · Dec 15, 2007

This is just a diversion from the more important issues of the day. The basis for not using steroids, which I think is wrong, is that that today’s athletes have an unfair advantage over the athletes of the past. The athletes of the past didn’t have micro ACL surgery, scientific nutritional diets, scientific workout regimes and before Jackie Robinson, some of the best athletes were not even allow to compete. I think we should remove the antitrust exemption from sports and allow the billionaires to compete in a truly free market place. They are the biggest complainers about government intrusiveness in business.

source: http://www.swlearning.com/economics/policy_debates/baseball.html

Policy Debate: Should the antitrust exemption for baseball be eliminated?

In 1901, Napoleon Lajoie attempted to leave his National League team to join a new American League team. This was in violation of a National League contract that required him to either play for his original team or not play baseball. This dispute, and others of this sort, were settled in 1903 with the creation of the National Agreement between the two leagues. This agreement held that the two leagues of major league baseball constituted a shared monopoly that is jointly operated by all of the owners. Under this agreement, the owners established rules concerning player contracts and salaries.
This monopoly arrangement was challenged in the Federal Baseball case in 1922. This case was brought by owners of teams in the Federal League (created in 1913 in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to provide a third league that would compete with the National and American Leagues). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that baseball is a sport subject to state regulations and not a business subject to Federal antitrust laws. While the Supreme Court ruled in Toolson (1953) that the decision in the Federal Baseball case was in error, they held that since the situation had not been altered by Congress during the intervening 30 years, that it was an issue to be addressed by Congress and not the courts.

In 1972, the player's union challenged baseball's antitrust exemption in the case of Flood v. Kuhn. Once again, the Supreme Court held that the elimination of baseball's antitrust exemption should be decided by Congress and not the courts. Since Congress had addressed this issue on many occasions without taking action, it was held that longstanding Congressional inaction on this issue was a sign that Congress does not intend for baseball to be subject to the antitrust laws.

One of the issues that most troubled baseball player advocates is the use of the reserve system. Under this system, used since the early years of baseball, a player can only play for the team that initially signed the player. While that contract could be traded to other teams, players were restricted to negotiating over salary with only one team. This system was weakened substantially as a result of an arbitrator's decision in 1975. This decision allowed players to become free agents after one year of involuntary play for a team. In response to this decision, collective bargaining agreements created a system in which contracts allow players to become "free agents" after a specified number of years. Player salaries rose substantially with the introduction of free agency.

In 1998, Congress passed the Curt Flood Act which revoked baseball's exemption from the antitrust laws in matters dealing with labor relations. The remainder of the exemption was left intact.

Opponents of the antitrust exemption for baseball argue that this exemption results in higher ticket prices and provides individual teams with the ability to extort public funding for the construction (or reconstruction) of baseball stadiums. (For more information on this topic, you may wish to visit the related debate on public funding of municipal sports stadiums.) It is suggested that, in the absence of the antitrust exemption, cities in which baseball is highly valued would be able to attract additional teams. In this situation, cities would not be as subject to a threat that a team will leave if the city does not provide a new or rebuilt stadium.

Those who advocate baseball's antitrust exemption, however, argue that major league baseball is able to exert pressure on teams to stay in their current location. Other leagues are unable to do this because of the threat of antitrust violations. As evidence of this, they note that no Major League Baseball team located in a U.S. city has relocated since 1971 when the Washington Senators moved to Texas. (In 2005, Major League Baseball returned to Washington when the Montreal Expos relocated and became the Washington Nationals.)

Proponents of the antitrust exemption also argue that the antitrust exemption allows professional baseball to maintain a high quality of play by restricting the number of teams allowed to compete in the major leagues. They often suggest that baseball's monopoly power is significantly limited by competition for fans with other professional sports and other forms of entertainment. This competition, it is suggested, helps keep prices relatively low.

At the end of the 2001 baseball season, Major League Baseball announced plans to eliminate two unprofitable baseball franchises. It was widely believed that the Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins were likely candidates for elimination. This proposal resulted in substantial criticism of baseball's antitrust exemption. "The Fairness in Antitrust in National Sports (FANS) Act" was proposed in late 2001 in response to this announced contraction. This Act would have eliminated the antitrust exemption in cases dealing with team relocation or elimination. This Act may have helped prevent the elimination of these franchises.

The debate on the antitrust exemption for baseball is now nearly 80 years old. It is likely to continue to be a source of contention for some time to come.

thoughtone · Feb 9, 2009

source: ESPN

A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDs

His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.

When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an exclusive interview in Miami Beach, Fla. An extended interview will air on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET.

"Back then, [baseball] was a different culture," Rodriguez said. "It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

"I did take a banned substance. And for that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful."

Rodriguez's admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.

Sources who know about the testing results told SI that Rodriguez tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan, an anabolic steroid. In his ESPN interview, which his ex-wife Cynthia attended, Rodriguez said he did not know exactly which substance or substances he had taken. In 2003, there were no penalties for a positive result.

"Again, it was such a loosey-goosey era," Rodriguez said. "I'm guilty for a lot of things. I'm guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest, I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using."

A three-time AL Most Valuable Player, Rodriguez blamed himself and his $252 million contract he signed with the Rangers in 2001 for his decision to use PEDs.

"Overall, I felt a tremendous pressure to play, and play really well" in Texas, the New York Yankees third baseman said. "I had just signed this enormous contract I felt like I needed something, a push, without over-investigating what I was taking, to get me to the next level."

Rodriguez added: "I am sorry for my Texas years. I apologize to the fans of Texas."

Rodriguez, who joined the Yankees for the 2004 season after a trade from Texas, said his years as a Yankee "have been clean."

"I've played the best baseball of my career since," he said. "I've won two MVPs since and I've never felt better in my career. Of that I'm very proud of.

He also described the last days' turn of events as the biggest challenge of his life but added it felt good to be honest about what he's done in the past.

"It's been a rough 15 months here for me," Rodriguez said. "I was stupid for three years. I was very, very stupid."

He also said: "The more honest we can all be, the quicker we can get baseball [back] to where it needs to be."

"When you take this gorilla and this monkey off your back, you realize that honesty is the only way," Rodriguez said. "I'm finally beginning to grow up. I'm pretty tired of being stupid and selfish, you know, about myself. The truth needed to come out a long time ago. I'm glad it's coming out today."

Rodriguez said he stopped taking substances after injuring himself at spring training in 2003 with the Rangers.

"It wasn't a real dramatic day. I started experimenting with things that, today, are not legal," he said, "that today are not accepted ... ever since that incident happened, I realized that I don't need any of it."

He said the culture earlier this decade of taking performance-enhancing substances was "prevalent." "There were a lot of people doing a lot of different things," Rodriguez said, noting that he wasn't specifically pointing out the Rangers.

Rodriguez said he was told by Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the MLB Players' Association, that he might, or might not, have tested positive in the 2003 survey. That conversation happened during the 2004 season. A source told ESPN on Saturday that Rodriguez knew he had failed the test.

According to the Mitchell report, all players who failed the test in 2003 were notified by September 2004.

Rodriguez said he didn't know for sure he had failed a test until Sports Illustrated contacted him last week.

Orza told The New York Times he did not tip off Rodriguez to a test at the conclusion of the '04 season. "It's not true. Simple as that," he told the newspaper on Monday via e-mail.

Rodriguez also told ESPN's Gammons of his 2007 interview with Katie Couric on "60 Minutes," when he denied ever using steroids, that "at the time, Peter I wasn't even being truthful with myself. How am I going to be truthful with Katie or CBS?"

In his 2008 book, "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and The Battle to Save Baseball," Jose Canseco claimed he introduced Rodriguez to a steroids dealer. Canseco, who has admitted using steroids, subsequently said he had no knowledge of any drug use by Rodriguez.

"They are looking in the wrong places," Canseco said in a text message to The Associated Press. "This is a 25-year cover-up. The true criminals are Gene Orza, [union head] Donald Fehr and [commissioner] Bud [Selig]. Investigate them, and you will have all the answers."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

thoughtone · Feb 10, 2009

A-Rod denies using steroids

2007
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source: ESPN

A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDs

2009

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His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.

When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an exclusive interview in Miami Beach, Fla. An extended interview will air on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET.

"Back then, [baseball] was a different culture," Rodriguez said. "It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

"I did take a banned substance. And for that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful."

Rodriguez's admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.

Sources who know about the testing results told SI that Rodriguez tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan, an anabolic steroid. In his ESPN interview, which his ex-wife Cynthia attended, Rodriguez said he did not know exactly which substance or substances he had taken. In 2003, there were no penalties for a positive result.

"Again, it was such a loosey-goosey era," Rodriguez said. "I'm guilty for a lot of things. I'm guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest, I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using."

A three-time AL Most Valuable Player, Rodriguez blamed himself and his $252 million contract he signed with the Rangers in 2001 for his decision to use PEDs.

"Overall, I felt a tremendous pressure to play, and play really well" in Texas, the New York Yankees third baseman said. "I had just signed this enormous contract I felt like I needed something, a push, without over-investigating what I was taking, to get me to the next level."

Rodriguez added: "I am sorry for my Texas years. I apologize to the fans of Texas."

Rodriguez, who joined the Yankees for the 2004 season after a trade from Texas, said his years as a Yankee "have been clean."

"I've played the best baseball of my career since," he said. "I've won two MVPs since and I've never felt better in my career. Of that I'm very proud of.

He also described the last days' turn of events as the biggest challenge of his life but added it felt good to be honest about what he's done in the past.

"It's been a rough 15 months here for me," Rodriguez said. "I was stupid for three years. I was very, very stupid."

He also said: "The more honest we can all be, the quicker we can get baseball [back] to where it needs to be."

"When you take this gorilla and this monkey off your back, you realize that honesty is the only way," Rodriguez said. "I'm finally beginning to grow up. I'm pretty tired of being stupid and selfish, you know, about myself. The truth needed to come out a long time ago. I'm glad it's coming out today."

Rodriguez said he stopped taking substances after injuring himself at spring training in 2003 with the Rangers.

"It wasn't a real dramatic day. I started experimenting with things that, today, are not legal," he said, "that today are not accepted ... ever since that incident happened, I realized that I don't need any of it."

He said the culture earlier this decade of taking performance-enhancing substances was "prevalent." "There were a lot of people doing a lot of different things," Rodriguez said, noting that he wasn't specifically pointing out the Rangers.

Rodriguez said he was told by Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the MLB Players' Association, that he might, or might not, have tested positive in the 2003 survey. That conversation happened during the 2004 season. A source told ESPN on Saturday that Rodriguez knew he had failed the test.

According to the Mitchell report, all players who failed the test in 2003 were notified by September 2004.

Rodriguez said he didn't know for sure he had failed a test until Sports Illustrated contacted him last week.

Orza told The New York Times he did not tip off Rodriguez to a test at the conclusion of the '04 season. "It's not true. Simple as that," he told the newspaper on Monday via e-mail.

Rodriguez also told ESPN's Gammons of his 2007 interview with Katie Couric on "60 Minutes," when he denied ever using steroids, that "at the time, Peter I wasn't even being truthful with myself. How am I going to be truthful with Katie or CBS?"

In his 2008 book, "Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and The Battle to Save Baseball," Jose Canseco claimed he introduced Rodriguez to a steroids dealer. Canseco, who has admitted using steroids, subsequently said he had no knowledge of any drug use by Rodriguez.

"They are looking in the wrong places," Canseco said in a text message to The Associated Press. "This is a 25-year cover-up. The true criminals are Gene Orza, [union head] Donald Fehr and [commissioner] Bud [Selig]. Investigate them, and you will have all the answers."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

thoughtone · Jun 17, 2009

source: ESPN

Report: Sosa tested positive in 2003

NEW YORK -- Sammy Sosa tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003, The New York Times reported Tuesday on its Web site, the latest in a string of baseball stars implicated in the sport's steroids scandal of the past decade.

The Times said Sosa is one of 104 players who tested positive in baseball's anonymous 2003 survey, which has been the subject of a protracted court fight. The paper did not identify the drug.

It cited lawyers with knowledge of the 2003 drug-testing results and reported they spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to publicly discuss material under court seal.

The New York Daily News reported Sosa worked out with trainer Angel Presinal from 2001-03 in the Dominican Republic. Presinal, who also worked with Alex Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez, has been banned by MLB from ballparks and clubhouses. He is still under investigation for his role in A-Rod's steroid admission.

Sosa is sixth on baseball's career home run list with 609, all but 64 for the Chicago Cubs. He has not played in the majors since 2007 with Texas.

In 2003, baseball did not have penalties for the first-time use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, told The Associated Press he had no comment on the report. Commissioner's office spokesman Rich Levin also had no comment, saying Major League Baseball didn't have a copy of the test results.

Michael Weiner, the union general counsel, also declined comment. The union, while fighting to get the list back from the government, has mostly refused to discuss reports about the list because it does not want to confirm or deny who is on it.

Several of the game's biggest stars, including home-run king Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, have been implicated in steroids use.

Miguel Tejada was sentenced to one year of probation for misleading Congress after he pleaded guilty and admitted he withheld information about an ex-teammate's use of performance-enhancing drugs.

"I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything," he told the House Government Reform Committee on March 17, 2005. "I have not broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic. I have been tested as recently as 2004, and I am clean."

That left open the possibility he used a substance legally in the Dominican Republic that would have been illegal to use in the United States without a prescription.

Former Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican who was chairman of the committee at the time of the 2005 hearing, said he wasn't surprised about the Sosa report.

"In his testimony before us, he was very careful," Davis told the AP in a telephone interview Wednesday. "He said he never did illegal drugs. Steroids were legal in the Dominican Republican."

Davis added that the goal of the hearing was not to put people behind bars.

"We were just trying to change policy, which we did," he said. "It was rampant during those times. These players -- they were going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone, and nobody was stopping them. We came in and started enforcing the speed limit."

Rep. Henry Waxman, who co-chaired the hearing, declined comment, spokeswoman Karen Lightfoot said.

Palmeiro, like Sosa, denied ever using PEDs but not even two months later he tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, leading to a 10-day ban from MLB.

Bonds is under federal indictment, and Clemens is being investigated by a federal grand jury to determine whether he lied when he told Congress he never used steroids or human growth hormone.

Canseco has written two books discussing his use of drugs.

"To just speculate from an era of how many years it was of who did and didn't do what, it's impossible," Cubs general Jim Hendry said before Tuesday night's game against the Chicago White Sox was rained out. "It's just time to put that whole era behind us and move on."

Hendry, who has been the Cubs' general manager since 2002, said that Sosa does belong in the Hall of Fame.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was angrier.

"It's really sad. Really sad," Guillen said. "We all should be embarrassed. No matter how you put it, you're not going to win. Every other week or every two weeks or whatever we have to talk about this or somebody out or another player. I think whoever's name is out there just bring it up and deal with it for one day and we don't have to sit here every day.

"We need to get it over with. Get those names out there. Whoever is guilty is guilty, whoever is not is not. Let baseball deal with it once and then move on. Every month we seem to talk about somebody and it's not a good thing. It's not healthy for the game."

Cubs manager Lou Piniella concurred that the names should be released but said it would "create a lot of havoc."

The entire thing is a mystery to Piniella.

"In the era I played, [performance-enhancing drug use] wasn't a problem. I wouldn't know a steroid from a reefer," Piniella said.

Former pitcher Pedro Martinez played against Sosa for many years.

"This news would make me feel terrible if it is proven that Sammy tested positive," Martinez said in the Dominican Republic.

"This is a problem of all of baseball, not just Dominican baseball. But in reality, this is a problem of education that has to be attacked," he said.

Sosa, now 40, and McGwire engaged in a race in 1998 to break Roger Maris' season record of 61 home runs, a chase that captivated the country. McGwire set the mark while Sosa, with a big smile and a trademark hip-hop out of the batter's box, finished with 66.

Sosa followed up by hitting 63, 50, 64 and 49 homers in his next four seasons. He hit 40 more in 2003, a season in which he was caught using a corked bat in front of his home crowd at Wrigley Field.

Baseball management's drug policy prohibited the use of steroids without a valid prescription since 1991, but the enforceability of those rules was repeatedly questioned by the union, which did not reach a drug agreement until August 2002. There were no penalties for a positive test in 2003 -- those tests were conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

As part of the drug agreement, the results of the testing of 1,198 players in 2003 were meant to be anonymous. Penalties began in 2004, and suspensions for a first positive test started in 2005.

Government agents initially obtained search warrants in 2004 for the drug-testing records of 10 players as part of the BALCO investigation that led to Bonds' indictment but they found the more expansive list on a spreadsheet, obtained additional warrants and seized the larger group of records.

The union went to court, arguing the search was illegal, and three U.S. District Judges agreed. The government appealed, and a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the government, but the entire 9th Circuit threw out the reversal and decided to hear the case itself. The hearing was in December, and the decision is pending. The losing side could then appeal to the Supreme Court.

ESPNdeportes.com reported in early June that Sosa was planning on announcing his formal retirement from baseball soon and would not address allegations of steroid use.

"I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don't I have the numbers to be inducted?" said Sosa, who presently serves the Dominican government as special ambassador for investment opportunities.

Cubs pitching great Ferguson Jenkins, himself a Hall of Fame player, thinks otherwise.

"I don't think they [proven users of performance-enhancing drugs] belong in the Hall of Fame," Jenkins said. "The drugs probably enhanced their performances about 20-30 percent. Sammy was in his 30s when he was apparently using and it gave him an edge in homers and RBIs."

The Steroids List

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