WASHINGTON - Major League Baseball plans Thursday to announce the start of a formal investigation into allegations of steroids use by San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds and other former and current players, according to a source with knowledge of those plans.
The investigation is expected to be headed by former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, 72, a longtime friend and associate of Commissioner Bud Selig. Mitchell, a Maine Democrat, served on baseball's Blue Ribbon Panel that studied the sport's economic structure in 2000.
The launching of the investigation, which has been widely anticipated, comes a week after publication of “Game of Shadows,” a book by two investigative reporters from the San Fransisco Chronicle, which details Bonds' alleged steroid use between 1998 and 2002. Another book, “Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Anti-Hero,” is scheduled for publication in May and also alleges steroid use by Bonds.
Selig did not return telephone messages Wednesday, and messages left for Mitchell at his Washington office also were not returned.
Bonds, 41, will begin his 21st season in the majors next week, with a home run total of 708, which ranks third behind Babe Ruth (714) and Henry Aaron (755). Bonds, who is nursing a sore left elbow, left the team earlier this week in Scottsdale, Ariz., to return to San Francisco. He has said he hopes to play in the Giants' exhibition game Thursday night in San Francisco and be in the lineup for Monday's season opener. Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Selig has wrestled throughout the spring over how to approach the matter of Bonds, who has never tested positive in MLB's testing program, which began in 2003. As recently as two weeks ago, during the World Baseball Classic, Selig acknowledged feeling conflicted over how best to proceed, but vowed to do “what is clearly necessary in the best interests of the sport.”
“I think it's a good idea” to investigate, said former Commissioner Fay Vincent. “I think (baseball officials) have an enormous problem.”
In part because of widespread criticism over the singling out of Bonds, baseball's investigation is expected to include other current and former players linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, according to the source with knowledge of the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans had not officially been made public.
Those players could include New York Yankees stars Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, both of whom have been linked to an alleged steroids ring at the center of a grand jury investigation in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Still, the investigation is expected to focus primarily on Bonds, whose mere presence on the field this season represents a quandary for the sport as he takes aim at Aaron's hallowed record.
One major question is how baseball might proceed should the investigation find enough evidence of steroids use to consider taking punitive action. Because Bonds has never violated baseball's drug-testing policy, it could be difficult for Selig to punish Bonds, and any attempt to do so could be met with stiff resistance from the players union.
Earlier this week, union chief Donald Fehr met privately with Bonds for about 20 minutes at the Giants' spring training camp. Asked by reporters about the possibility of disciplinary action against Bonds as a result of an investigation, Fehr said, “You're way down the road when you say that. The most that's being talked about is whether there ought to be an inquiry. I hope nobody is making judgments about the results of the inquiry before it is done.”
Another question that Selig may have to deal with is Mitchell's involvement in the management of the Boston Red Sox, whose Web site lists him as director, under the heading of “Officers.” Mitchell is also the chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Company.
“I think Mitchell will be good,” Vincent said. “He's been around baseball. He's a strong person, and people can have confidence in him that he'll do a good job.”
The launching of the investigation, which has been widely anticipated, comes a week after publication of “Game of Shadows,” a book by two investigative reporters from the San Fransisco Chronicle, which details Bonds' alleged steroid use between 1998 and 2002. Another book, “Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Anti-Hero,” is scheduled for publication in May and also alleges steroid use by Bonds.
Selig did not return telephone messages Wednesday, and messages left for Mitchell at his Washington office also were not returned.
Bonds, 41, will begin his 21st season in the majors next week, with a home run total of 708, which ranks third behind Babe Ruth (714) and Henry Aaron (755). Bonds, who is nursing a sore left elbow, left the team earlier this week in Scottsdale, Ariz., to return to San Francisco. He has said he hopes to play in the Giants' exhibition game Thursday night in San Francisco and be in the lineup for Monday's season opener. Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Selig has wrestled throughout the spring over how to approach the matter of Bonds, who has never tested positive in MLB's testing program, which began in 2003. As recently as two weeks ago, during the World Baseball Classic, Selig acknowledged feeling conflicted over how best to proceed, but vowed to do “what is clearly necessary in the best interests of the sport.”
“I think it's a good idea” to investigate, said former Commissioner Fay Vincent. “I think (baseball officials) have an enormous problem.”
In part because of widespread criticism over the singling out of Bonds, baseball's investigation is expected to include other current and former players linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, according to the source with knowledge of the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans had not officially been made public.
Those players could include New York Yankees stars Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, both of whom have been linked to an alleged steroids ring at the center of a grand jury investigation in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Still, the investigation is expected to focus primarily on Bonds, whose mere presence on the field this season represents a quandary for the sport as he takes aim at Aaron's hallowed record.
One major question is how baseball might proceed should the investigation find enough evidence of steroids use to consider taking punitive action. Because Bonds has never violated baseball's drug-testing policy, it could be difficult for Selig to punish Bonds, and any attempt to do so could be met with stiff resistance from the players union.
Earlier this week, union chief Donald Fehr met privately with Bonds for about 20 minutes at the Giants' spring training camp. Asked by reporters about the possibility of disciplinary action against Bonds as a result of an investigation, Fehr said, “You're way down the road when you say that. The most that's being talked about is whether there ought to be an inquiry. I hope nobody is making judgments about the results of the inquiry before it is done.”
Another question that Selig may have to deal with is Mitchell's involvement in the management of the Boston Red Sox, whose Web site lists him as director, under the heading of “Officers.” Mitchell is also the chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Company.
“I think Mitchell will be good,” Vincent said. “He's been around baseball. He's a strong person, and people can have confidence in him that he'll do a good job.”
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