Clemens Biggest Fish Caught in Mitchell Report

The long awaited Mitchell Report has been released, and the biggest name by far on the list is Roger Clemens. The news of Clemens using steroids is the biggest bombshell baseball could have had outside ARod if he was on the list.

In my opinion, Roger Clemens using steroids is as big a story as the long assumed use of Barry Bonds. Clemens is one of the top 5, 10 pitchers of all time according to many experts, and even ranked #1 by some. Clemens has won 354 games, seven Cy Youngs, and a rare MVP award for a pitcher. Like Bonds, Clemens played at a very high level into his mid-40s, including a season with a 1.87 ERA at 42 years of age. So, while a big story, the fact Clemens used steroids is hardly shocking.

According to the Mitchell Report, Clemens's steroid use is tied to a first hand witness, Brian McNamee. Mitchell was led to McNamee by Kirk Radomski, whose information helped Mitchell form a big chunk of his report. McNamee was Clemens's trainer from 1998 through May of this year. McNamee says he injected Clemens first hand with steroids during their time in Toronto and then acquired steroids for him through 2001. That is when McNamee claims he stopped acquiring steroids for Clemens, but was unsure if he kept using. There is no paper trail or anything on Clemens, so clearly he did a good job hiding his dealings. So, what it boils down to for Clemens is that McNamee simply turned on him. We probably never would have found out about Clemens unless McNamee decided to talk. Expect Clemens when he talks or releases a comment to call McNamee a liar and ask where anyother proof is.

This is pretty damning evidence though, and it is going to be really hard to Clemens to proof to the court of public opinion that he did not use steroids. Even Barry Bonds's former trainer, Greg Anderson, won't turn on him. Clemens's career actually mirrors Bonds in many ways. He was already a Hall of Famer, but the steroids allowed him to extend his career and have tremendous seasons well into his 40s. I think it's obvious Clemens continued to take steroids after 2001 too. We don't have proof on that, but look at his years in Houston. I know ERAs drop in the NL, but not to 1.78.

The question now is whether or not Roger Clemens will still make the Hall of Fame. I have to give the same answer I give for Bonds. Just because you were a Hall of Famer before you used does not excuse the fact that you cheated the game later in your career. Your actions that significantly hurt the game should weigh more than what you accomplished as a clean player. Look at Pete Rose as an example. His whole career was clearly Hall of Fame level, but he fell out because of actions after he left the game. I think Clemens should be kept out of the Hall of Fame for at least the 15-years he would be eligible on the writers' ballot. Obviously it comes down to the voters, not MLB, to decide, but I hope they feel the same way. I am for forgiveness though as everyone makes mistakes, so if in 20, 30 years and the Veteran's Committee feels he should be in the hall, then I will have no problem with it. I like the idea of baseball veterans ruling on this matter over biased writers.

Other than Clemens and the obvious ones in Bonds and Sheffield, there were only a few notable names. The ones that stood out to me were Andy Pettitte and Miguel Tejada. I expected Tejada to be on the list due to his rapid power decline and ties to the Oakland Athletics. Pettitte would have been surprising if he wasn't Clemens's best friend (and maybe more). It wasn't as big as list as some thought, but it clearly has a epic name to lead it.

Pat Morgan