Ames Progressive

On Thursday the 13th of December, I awoke to hear the wormy, pencil-pushing commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig, assure everyone that peace had been preserved for our time. Wait, I’m confusing a contemporary bureaucrat’s misleading claim with one of the most damning statements of the 20th century – the one made by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain when he proclaimed that, by conceding Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler after the Munich Conference in 1938, he had satiated the German tyrant and prevented further global disaster.

But despite holding a minor in European history, and even with my focus on Germany in the 20th century, I initially did not draw comparisons between last week’s Mitchell Report and the policy of appeasement. Instead, I found the whole ordeal that emerged – and which will plague baseball for a long time – akin to another attack on a foreign ideology, a political system so insidious and alien that I tense up in even typing the word. Fortunately, former Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy weeded out those anti-patriots festering in Hollywood and in our forbearers’ work environments by naming names, a move taken straight from the forests of Salem, Massachusetts.

Let me place the historical parody in the bullpen for a moment and elaborate on the report and its ramifications. Selig dodged most questions during the aforementioned press conference with a grinning rhetoric that suggested he had cleansed the league of steroids and other banned substances, and that the report had officially ended the deceitful stories that have detracted from the action on the field. Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Sorry, but I cannot overlook the moronic parallels between this black stain on an individual player’s rights and the precedent set by McCarthy.

I wonder what powerful endorphins were coursing through Selig’s system prior to the press conference that could have convinced his mind that he had resolved the accelerating steroids story in baseball. Selig prefaced his statements at the conference by admitting he did not read the entire report of 409 pages featuring 86 names of current and former professional baseball players. By listing retired players, most of whom will not merit Hall of Fame consideration, Selig only tarnished their legacies.

The President of the MLBPA, Donald Fehr, struck back later in the day and stood up for the players’ union by stating that the cited players were never contacted during Mitchell’s investigation. In fact, an article from the December 15 edition of The New York Times revealed that an anonymous player had cooperated with the former Senator’s specious investigation and his name, in turn, was left out of the final edition of the report.

The accusations listed in the report will not hold up in a court of law. Selig did not enact a testing policy until 2004. All the accusations, therefore, lack admissible evidence because the alleged events occurred before mandatory steroids testing was implemented. The hearsay from former trainers and the others who disingenuously cooperated with Senator Mitchell opens up the possibility of player lawsuits on the grounds of slander.

Undoubtedly, many fans demand answers concerning who took anabolic steroids, human growth hormone or any performance-enhancing drug. But the report lacks substantial evidence, infringes on personal rights and was a hair-brained, counterproductive scheme hatched by people far removed from the playing field. And it follows a season in which attendance records were set across the country. Selig has announced his intention to confront each individual named in the report, but this will only further erode his credibility. The 1-13 Dolphins have a better chance of beating the 14-0 Patriots this weekend than Selig has of speaking individually with all the alleged “cheaters” named in the document.

In the days following the release of the report, former player David Justice revealed that HGH had been placed in his locker on the advice of a trainer but maintained that he had never taken the drug. Justice spoke with unrestrained defensiveness concerning the false accusations and implored other players on the list to fight back.

Curt Schilling, always desperate for attention, chided his brethren, saying that players operate in a protected world where they are immune from the consequences of consuming steroids. Schilling bemoaned the fact that his Hall of Fame numbers might have been even better if he had not been facing batters who broke the rules of baseball.

The Yankees’ Andy Pettitte shared the spotlight with Roger Clemens in the report, where a former team trainer stated he injected both with HGH during 2002. Pettitte admitted to the accuracy of the report but said he only took the legal substance on two occasions in hopes of healing an injured pitching elbow.

These personal accounts represent the aftermath of the bowel-shaking earthquake induced by the Mitchell Report. The real story here is the absurdity of the report. To blacklist these players without reasonable suspicion or legal consultation not only harkens back to ignominious episodes over the past 70 years but also reflects the approach of the Bush administration toward the accused: Assume guilt first, find evidence later. Maybe Selig and his sellout crony George Mitchell should round these vile beings up and imprison them without due process. Maybe we should restore the supposed American Pastime with the true American tradition of protecting the health of the state by condemning any suspected dissidents. Peace comes at a price. Whether it be Czechoslovakia or habeas corpus.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a communist.

Then they came for the professional baseball players, and I did not speak out – because I was not a professional baseball player.

Then they the came for me – and there was no one left to speak out for me.