Was it former Senator George Mitchell stepping up to the podium to speak at the Grand Hyatt in New York, or was it the Grim Reaper?
It was hard to tell at first. But it turns out, Mitchell didn't come to condemn. He came to forgive.
Read the complete report here.
Bottom line: Mitchell said he urges Selig to forego disciplining players named in the report for using performance-enhancing drugs.
He said the report is meant to close the chapter on baseball's steroid era, not drag it out.
Mitchell is recommending that Bud Selig grant a pardon to all named in the report. In other words, Selig is supposed to be Gerald Ford. Put an end to it.
Our long national pastime nightmare is over.
I find that very difficult to swallow.
He says, "Letting go of the past and looking to the future is a very hard but necessary" thing to do. It's his opinion that this is best for baseball.
However, Mitchell says that there should be strong discipline for future violations.
Mitchell summarized:
Performance-enhancing drug use was widespread.
MLB's reaction was slow to develop.
But now things are improving since testing began.
He said steroid use was wrong and in violation of the law.
He said the players are responsible for their actions but they didn't act in a vacuum.
He said "there was a collective failure" to deal with the problem over the past two decades, including commissioners and owners.
Mitchell stated that the report is meant to bring closure, to get past the tainted era.
He said that history is important to establish a context for current matters.
But, in effect, he said don't look back when it comes to punishment.
No asterisks.
Never mind.
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WTMJ reports: Among the names in the report is recent Brewers addition Eric Gagne.
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Mitchell Report List
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According to MLB.com:
Commissioner Bud Selig will hold a 4:30 p.m. ET news conference today at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in midtown Manhattan to respond to a report generated by former Sen. George Mitchell, whose committee has spent the past 20 months investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Major League players.
Selig's news conference will be delivered after a 2 p.m. ET news conference at the Grand Hyatt in New York, where Mitchell is scheduled to release the results of his committee's investigation.
[T]he MLB Players Association has scheduled a 6:00 p.m. (EST) press conference from the InterContinental Hotel in New York.
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