Disappointed baseball couldn’t solve its steroids problem earlier, Drayton McLane and several Astros withheld judgment after the House Oversight Committee asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether shortstop Miguel Tejada lied to federal investigators in 2005.
Although area players Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch aren’t due to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing until next month, the hearings with former Senator George Mitchell, commissioner Bud Selig and union chief Don Fehr quickly had Houston importance when Tejada was mentioned in the opening statement by Congressman Henry Waxman.
The Astros acquired Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles on Dec. 12, a day before he and former Astros Clemens and Pettitte were among the three highest-profile players implicated in the use of performance-enhancing drugs when Mitchell released his report for baseball.
“It’s disappointing that we couldn’t have solved the problem a long time ago,” McLane said via phone from his office in Temple. “We were not allowed to have testing by the union. That was something that they didn’t want to bargain about for many years and, I feel, would have struck over it if we had tried to enforce it.
“It’s just disappointing that this has occurred because of the confusion that it brings to the public about our great sport.”
Tejada's older brother, Freddy, was killed today in a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic, said the Aguilas Cibaenas, the shortstop's winter league team in an Associated Press report.
Tejada, who had been scheduled to play tonight, wasn't at the ballpark and could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Astros landed Tejada by giving the Orioles five players - Luke Scott, righthander Matt Albers, lefthander Troy Patton, third base prospect Mike Costanzo and reliever Dennis Sarfate. A little more than a month before the Astros’ position players are expected to report for spring training in Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla., the four-time All-Star and former American League Most Valuable Player is facing a federal investigation.
“I’m not really worried about that,” Brad Ausmus said of possibly missing Tejada. “I’m assuming he’ll be there to play baseball.”
During congressional hearings held on March 17, 2005, Rafael Palmeiro testified and vehemently denied ever using steroids. Later that year, while playing with Tejada on the Orioles Palmeiro tested positive for using steroids, prompting the Committee to investigate whether he committed perjury at the hearings.
While investigating Palmeiro, committee staffers interviewed Tejada after Palmeiro claimed he likely tested positive because Tejada gave him a steroids-tainted B-12 vitamins. On Tuesday, Waxman and ranking member Tom Davis asked the Attorney General to investigate Tejada because the Mitchell Report implicated Tejada in the use of steroids.
“Tejada told the committee that he never used illegal performance-enhancing drugs and that he had no knowledge of other players using or even talking about steroids,” Waxman said. “The Mitchell report, however, directly contradicts key elements of Mr. Tejada’s testimony.”
Tejada’s agent, Fernando Cuza, didn’t return calls seeking comment on Tuesday, just as he had not returned multiple calls left at his office since the Mitchell Report was released. Regardless, his boss is concerned while trying to keep an open mind.
“It certainly concerns me,” McLane said. “Before we can respond or form an opinion we need to know specifically about the charges and give an opportunity for him to respond to those things. So for us to comment or form an opinion, you certainly regret that it occurred.
“I regret for him personally. I have talked to him on the phone, the day that we traded for him and a time after that just before Christmas. And he is such a positive, upbeat person. I really enjoyed our conversation. So you feel sorry for him and his family because you need to defend yourself on these charges.”
Although McLane didn’t watch the hearings, he received a report on them from general manager Ed Wade. And the hearings weren’t full of compliments for baseball as a whole.
“Every fan who has (bought) a ticket to see a game for the past 20 years has been witness to a fraud,” said Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum. “Baseball is sold as America’s game, hometown, apple pie. But in fact it appears that it has been rooted in cheating for profit.
“The more home runs hit, the more fans in the seat, the more money for owners’ pocket and bigger salaries for players. Major League Baseball is filled with law breakers and co-conspirators who ignored the problem and actively fuel the problem.”
McLane, Brad Ausmus and All-Star righthander Roy Oswalt denied that baseball fans have been defrauded at a time that is now being referred to by some as baseball’s steroids era.
“I think that’s kind of a reach,” Ausmus said of McCollum’s remarks. “I think there has to be some type of intent to defraud. I think there’s no intent on the part of the individual players to defraud baseball fans or the American public. I think the Congressman is making a little bit of a reach.”
Whatever the case, McCollum, a 53-year-old fan of the Twins, definitely leveled some heavy charges against baseball.
“If players using these drugs constitutes cheating, and owners and league officials knew about these illegal drugs, as it is clear from the report, then it would appear for more than a decade millions of baseball fans were subject to fraud - fixed games played by drug users that illegitimately altered the outcome of the games,” McCollum said. “It’s my opinion that we’re in the middle of a criminal conspiracy that defrauded millions of baseball fans of billions of dollars over the past 15 years.
“If baseball is simply another form of entertainment like going to a concert or attending a professional wrestling match in which an audience attends solely for pleasure and they do not attend under the presumption of some form of fair athletic competition then there would be no difference between Barry Bonds and Britney Spears.
“But in fact Major League Baseball is sold as a legitimate competition in which the outcome of the game is dedicated in a field of transparency in where every fan can watch it. The fact that league officials, owners, players and players’ union all knew of the massive illegal drug abuse problem that existed and continues to exist with the use of Human Growth Hormones, this demonstrates to me fraud to millions of baseball fans.”
McLane was stunned by McCollum’s charges.
“That’s not true,” McLane said. “I’ve been in the game 15 years. I have never seen one shred of evidence of steroids use. Nobody’s even mentioned it to me. …
“Their cars are parked on our parking lot when they’re gone on eight- 10-day road trips. You’ve never seen any evidence around cars. I’ve never seen any evidence or any discussion by anybody in 16 years. So the fact that we had evidence of it or we knew about is not true. I’m only speaking for myself.”
While making it clear he sees it as unfair to punish a few players on the words on one or two informants while many others may have gotten a pass, Oswalt is willing to believe players who are denying accusations made in the Mitchell Report.
Clemens has vigorously denied the claims in the Mitchell Report, and Tejada has never publicly admitted to using steroids.
“I don’t think it’s fair to signal out certain people from one or two guys that were suppliers or whatever when you don’t have the whole group,” Oswalt said. “If three people got murdered by three different people and we caught only one of the murderers, we’re not solving anything by catching only one third of them.
“I don’t know all that’s going on. And I don’t know if everything I hear is just hearsay. If they said they haven’t done it, I’ll believe them until they find out the truth (is otherwise). I hope all this goes by and we start playing the real brand of baseball with natural talent on the field.”
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