By: TJ Gill

In yet another damaging blow to the reputation and purity of baseball, the long-awaited Mitchell Report was released to MLB officials today. The report was a detailed finding of baseball’s steroid problems dating back to the late 1990’s to the present-day. Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell dove head-first into a world of HGH, anabolic steroids, and other illegal substances used by professional baseball players in efforts to gain edge in their sport.

The final result was a 409-page documentation that implicates such superstars as Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Miguel Tejada. In addition, over 80 players were named in the report, stirring a bigger wave of controversy for Major League Baseball. Barry Bonds has been the recent poster-child for steroids, recently coming under fire after being found guilty of perjury and lying under oath about not knowingly taking steroids during his career in San Francisco. However, these recent findings may temporarily ease the burden of proof against Bonds and focus it more on the future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, as well as the dozens of other high-profile players the report named as being guilty of taking steroids.

The 20-month, $60 billion investigation was put into motion to find out just how big a problem steroids was in baseball. The conclusion brings into question the moral integrity of the game, and puts a cloud of uncertainty over a sport that is considered “America’s pastime.”

Regardless of the findings in the Mitchell Report, the man who headed the investigation, George Mitchell, has asked Bud Selig and MLB officials to be lenient on those who were named in the report, and suggested not even punishing the guilty. Instead he hopes that the final details will help baseball move forward and put this dark side of its past behind them, and move towards a cleaner future.


- 2007-12-13