Black Eye for Baseball: The Mitchell Report (Updated) [J. Mark English]

Here is the actually PDF file of the Mitchell Report.

Senator George Mitchell's press conference can be seen here.

And Commissioner Bud Selig's response can be found here.

Soon to come is the Players Union head, Donald Fehr.

Here comes the list of names that are to be heavily scrutinized.

Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Larry Bigbie, Brian Roberts, Jack Cust, Tim Laker, Josias Manzanillo, Todd Hundley, Mark Carreon, Hal Morris, Matt Franco, Rondell White, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Gregg Zaun, David Justice, F.P. Santangelo, Glenallen Hill, Mo Vaughnm Denny Neagle, Ron Villone, Ryan Franklin, Chris Donnels, Todd Williams, Phil Hiatt, Todd Pratt, Kevin Young, Mike Lansing, Cody McKay, Kent Mercker, Adam Piatt, Miguel Tejada, Jason Christiansen, Mike Stanton, Stephen Randolph, Jerry Hairston, Paul Lo Duca, Adam Riggs, Bart Miadich, Fernando Vina, Kevin Brown Eric Gagne, Mike Bell, Matt Herges, Gary Bennett, Jim Parque, Brendan Donnelly, Chad Allen, Jeff Williams, Exavier "Nook" Logan, Howie Clark, Paxton Crawford, Ken Caminiti, Rafael Palmeiro, Luis Perez, Derrick Turnbow, Ricky Bones, Ricky Stone

The following players were cited under "Alleged Internet Purchases of Performance Enhancing Substances By Players in Major League Baseball."

Rick Ankiel, David Bell, Paul Byrd, Jose Canseco, Jay Gibbons, Troy Glaus, Jason Grimsley, Jose Guillen, Darren Holmes, Gary Matthews Jr., John Rocker, Scott Schoeneweis, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams, Steve Woodard

The following players were linked through BALCO:

Benito Santiago, Gary Sheffield, Randy Velarde, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Bobby Estalella, Barry Bonds, Marvin Benard

Earlier I had made comments about some of the players that came out on a previously incorrect list. This is the actual list that came officially from the Mitchell Report. Not to many surprises, and not that many shockers in this list.

Here is more from Michael S. Schmidt and Duff Wilson of the New York Times:

Roger Clemens, who won the Cy Young award a record seven times, and seven players who won baseball’s most valuable player award were among dozens of players named Thursday in the former Senator George J. Mitchell’s report on his investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the sport.

“For more than a decade there has been widespread anabolic steroid use,” Mr. Mitchell said in a news conference announcing the results of a 20-month investigation he led at the behest of Major League Baseball. He said the use of performance-enhancing substances “poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game.”

Clemens was the most prominent name in the report, along with the Most Valuable Player award-winners Barry Bonds, Ken Caminiti, José Canseco, Jason Giambi, Juan Gonzalez, Mo Vaughn and Miguel Tejada.

The report also includes the names of three of the top 10 home-run leaders of all time: Bonds, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmiero.

Mr. Clemens was among several players named in the report from the Yankees championship teams of the late 1990s, which put together one of the most dominant performances in baseball, winning three consecutive World Series from 1998 to 2000. Others from those teams included Andy Pettitte, David Justice and Chuck Knoblauch. Other players named included Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, Lenny Dykstra, Denny Neagle, Todd Hundley, Mike Stanton, Paul Lo Duca and Eric Gagné.

“Each of the 30 clubs had a player or players involved in taking illegal substances,” at one time or another, Mr. Mitchell said. He called the years on which he focused his investigation “the Steroids Era.” “If there are problems, I wanted them revealed,” said Bud Selig, baseball’s commissioner since 1992. “His report is a call to action, and I will act.”

The evidence against the players includes receipts, checks and e-mail, much of it provided by Kirk Radomski, a former New York Mets clubhouse attendant who has pleaded guilty to federal charges for selling steroids from 1995 through 2005. Mr. Radomski cooperated with Mr. Mitchell as part of his plea bargain. Other evidence came from Brian McNamee, a former trainer for Mr. Clemens and Mr. Pettitte and from an investigation led by the Albany County district attorney into Signature Pharmacy.

Don Hooton, who became an outspoken critic of steroid use after his son Taylor committed suicide after using the drugs, attended the news conference Thursday and said of the Mitchell report: “This is more than about asterisks and cheating; it’s about the lives and health of our kids.”

Mr. Canseco, the former slugger who was named in the report and wrote a book about steroids use in baseball, also was in attendance.

In his report, Mr. Mitchell called for tougher testing and an independent body to investigate and judge players who do not test positive for drugs but for whom there was evidence they purchased or used them, known as “non-analytical positives.”

Mr. Selig noted that he had the authority to implement several of the recommendations, but that the majority — including any changes to the sport’s drug testing policies — would first have to be agreed to by the players’ association under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Mr. Mitchell’s report did not address the use of amphetamines in sports, nor did it call for blood testing, the only way to detect human growth hormone.

He did say that baseball should not punish players for their past misdeeds, noting that it was time for baseball to look forward. Mr. Selig did not rule out possibly punishing players.

The report was littered with juicy details including Mr. Radomski telling investigators that he once found a wet delivery package filled with $8,000 in cash from Mr. Brown on his porch; Mr. Justice denying that he used steroids but providing the names of players that he suspected of using them; and Mr. McNamee injecting Mr. Clemens in the buttocks with steroids approximately four times in 1998.