Manny Ramirez Suspended for 50 Games

May 7, 2009:
Manny Ramirez Suspendedfor 50 Games
Statistics
Born 30 May 1972 in Dominican Republic, grew up in New York City.
Baseball career: 1993 – 2000: Cleveland Indians (jersey #24)
2001 – 2008: Boston Red Sox (jersey #24)
2008 – 2009: Los Angeles Dodgers (jersey #99)
Manny Ramirez was suspended on May 7, 2009, by MLB for 50 games for violating baseball’s rules regarding drugs. May 7, 2009, was a Thursday and therefore ruled by Jupiter, and it was at the beginning of a Mercury retrograde period.
Manny was born on 30 May 1972. He was 37 when the suspension was announced, and will complete his 37th year of life on Planet Earth when he turns 38 at the end of May 2009. His date of birth resonates with Jupiter (the 30th day) and Mercury energy (the 5th month, during the period of Gemini, also ruled by Mercury). The approach of his 38th year, which will be ruled by the Moon (38 is a variety of Moon energy), has already begun to work against him with this suspension. His entire 38th year is likely to be difficult, since the Moon and Jupiter do not flow well together.
However, just as the approach of his 38th year brings difficulty, Spring 2010 should bring renewed energy back to Manny Ramirez. He’ll be approaching his 39th year (ruled by Jupiter, completely in accord with his date of birth), and the AstroNumerological energies will be much more in his favor. He should expect a peak year (barring a repeat of his knee problems), and might leave baseball at the very top of his game.
His jersey number has never helped him, either. #24 and #99 both conflict with his personal Mercury energy. #24 is a Venus number; #99 is a double Mars! Gemini always clashes with Mars, and Mercury + Venus creates conflict as well. #28, which was in consideration briefly when Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers, would also not be a helpful number for him.
Barry Bonds, Left Field, Pittsburgh Pirates #24 and San Francisco Giants #25; July 24, 1964
Barry Bonds has Venus + Neptune energy on his date of birth. His name, Barry Bonds, has Saturn + Jupiter energy; this gives the name the energy of a master. Number 25 is completely in sync with Bonds’ basic energy and carries support from the Other Side. This number will always bring him good luck. The 24 number in Pittsburgh carried Venus energy, to the benefit of his relationships on and off the field.
Bonds set the MLB career home run record in September 2007. Many fans made remarks that his record should be preceded by an asterisk (*) due to allegations of Bonds’ steroid use in the latter stage of his career and chase for the home-run record. However, he was far from the only player implicated in steroid use.
Mark McGwire, First Base, Oakland Athletics & St. Louis Cardinals #25; October 1, 1963
Mark McGwire’s basic energy vibrates with the Moon + Neptune. This makes him very psychic and intuitive. His name has the power of Mars + Venus energies, which are very powerful for a sports player. Jersey #25 is in complete sync with McGwire’s date of birth.
McGwire broke Roger Maris’s single-season home-run record in September 1998. He and Sammy Sosa had both been chasing the record, but McGwire got there first. McGwire was also implicated in using steroids during his career as a major-league slugger, and the validity of his records and statistics has come into question on the part of many fans.
Sammy Sosa, Right Field, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles #21 (in honor of his childhood hero, Roberto Clemente); November 12, 1968.
Sammy Sosa’s basic energy is that of Moon + Neptune, like McGwire’s. His name has very strong Mars energy, but jersey #21 is not in sync with his basic energy. For maximum performance, I would say a jersey #25 or #34 would benefit Sosa. He has succeeded on the basis of his name energy.
Sosa also chased the home-run record with McGwire during the 1998 season. Unfortunately for Sosa, McGwire got there first. Sosa’s seasons after “The Chase” were marked by odd instances: corked bat, sneezing himself into back spasms which put him on the DL until the end of the 2003 season.
Dennis Eckersley, Pitcher, Oakland Athletics #43; October 3, 1954
Dennis Eckersley has a very “mysterious” name, vibrating with the energies of Mercury + the Moon. His number was completely in sync with his name, and the psychic power of Neptune gave him dominance on the field, carrying him into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2004. (The A’s retired his number on August 13, 2005.)
Derek Jeter, Short Stop, New York Yankees #2; June 26, 1974
Derek Jeter has a very powerful name, with Mars + Saturn. His basic energy vibrates with the Moon + Mercury, and his jersey also carries the power of the Moon. These are awesome energies; Jeter will be in the Hall of Fame, no question!
Well-known Major League Baseball players (and others) not in the HOF. Some may be, in the future.
Dave Dravecky, Pitcher, San Francisco Giants #43; 14 February 1956. Dravecky’s MLB career was cut short at the age of 33 by cancer. He debuted in MLB for the San Diego Padres on 15 June 1982 and was traded to the S.F. Giants in late ’87. Dravecky was on the All-Star team his second season. He had his first surgery on his (left) throwing arm 7 October 1988 to remove a tumor. The surgeon also removed half of the deltoid muscle and froze the humerus in an effort to ensure that all the cancer cells were removed or killed.
After surgery, Dravecky pitched in the minors in July 1989 and returned to the Giants on 10 August. He pitched 8 innings vs. the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants won, 4-3. His second game back, 5 days later, began well. He pitched 3 no-hit innings. At the beginning of the 5th, he felt “a tingling sensation” in his pitching arm. The lead-off hitter in the 6th inning homered off of Dravecky; Dravecky hit the next hitter with a pitch—which was not his style at all; and on the third hitter, Dravecky’s humerus snapped. The arm had broken.
(Jesse, I was on summer break from teaching in Hayward when this happened, and because of the probability of the Athletics facing the Giants in the World Series had the TV on in those days. The film of Dravecky falling to the ground in his second game back, after such an agonizing rehab as he had had, was itself horrible to watch. It played countless times, as sportscasters and fans spoke about Dravecky’s already-demonstrated courage and speculated about whether this meant the return of the cancer. Six or so weeks later, the fateful X-ray…. /ckh 8/5/08)
The Giants won the NL pennant that season. During the locker-room celebration, two teammates crushed Dravecky in an embrace and broke his arm a second time. During the examination of X-rays of the now-twice-broken arm, a physician observed a mass in the X-ray. The cancer had returned. Two years later, after life-threatening infections and many cancer treatments, Dravecky’s left arm had to be amputated to save his life (18 July 1991). He wrote two books about his ordeal and developed a second career as a motivational speaker.
Curt Flood, Fielder, Reds, St. Louis Cardinals #21, Washington Senators. 18 January 1938 through 20 January 1997 (pneumonia, complication of throat cancer). Raised in Oakland. 3X All Star, 2X World Series champion, 7X Gold Glove winner. Fought a trade all the way to the US Supreme Court (1970-1972). Three years after Flood lost at the Supreme Court, baseball’s “reserve clause” was struck down. It was too late for Flood’s career, but baseball players’ salaries—and those of players in the other professional leagues—have soared astronomically since 1975.
Flood has not been enshrined in MLB’s Hall of Fame, but former MLB Player Association representative Marvin Miller said, “There is no Hall of Fame for someone like Curt Flood.” Perhaps in response to this, an organization called The Baseball Reliquary developed its own “Shrine of the Eternals” and inducted Flood (posthumously) in its inaugural class of 1999 due to his legal efforts to force Major League Baseball to treat players as men, not chattel.
Pete Rose
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris (born Roger Maras); Cleveland Indians #32 (1957) and #5 (1958); Kansas City Athletics #3 (1959); New York Yankees #9; St. Louis Cardinals #9; born September 10, 1934, in Hibbing, Minnesota; died December 14, 1985, in Houston, Texas. Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home-run record in 1961 by recording 61 home runs. At the time, Maris’s record was controversial because there were 8 more games (a total of 162) in the regular season than there had been previously (154), when Ruth set the record, but the fans accorded Maris the respect due such a hitter, and MLB eventually came around.

Dave Stewart. Pitcher.
Ricky Henderson
Tony Conigliaro
Pete Rose.
Rickey Henderson.
Current commissioner: Bud Selig (generally viewed as spineless)
Current player representative: Donald Fehr (generally viewed as condoning steroid use due to his opposition of spontaneous steroid testing during the season and off-season)
Here are some names from the MLB Hall of Fame with their only (or most well known) jersey number.
Henry L. “Hank” Aaron. #44, Right Field. 5 February 1934. First man to beat Babe Ruth’s career home-run record, Aaron hit 755 career HRs.
Gehrig, H. Louis “Lou.” #4. First Baseman. 19 June 1903 through 2 June 1941 (died of ALS, now also called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”). Played for NY Yankees 1929-39; 13 consecutive seasons with 100 runs and 10 RBI; a record 23 Grand Slams.
Richard “Goose” Gossage. #54. Pitcher. 5 July 1951. A relief/closing pitcher before that position was accorded the respect it has today, Gossage waited a long time for his induction into the HOF (Class of 2008). Known for using fastball almost exclusively.
Phil Niekro. #35. Pitcher. 1 April 1939.
Leroy R. “Satchel” Paige. #26. Pitcher. 7 July 1906 through 8 June 1982. Played in the Negro Leagues from 1927-47 and 1950. Debuted in Major League Baseball at age of 42; played MLB 1948, 1949, 1951, and 1965. Perhaps the greatest pitcher of his time, but we’ll never know because of the enforced segregation of that era. Also known for some advice he gave in an interview in 1953: “Don’t look back—something may be gaining on you.”
“Yogi” Berra. #8. Catcher (and, later, Manager). 12 May 1925. Almost his entire career w/New York Yankees; one season w/Mets. Famous for “Yogi”-isms.
From WikiPedia: As a general comment on baseball: "Ninety percent of this game is half mental."
On why he no longer went to a popular St. Louis restaurant: "Nobody goes there no more, it's too crowded!"
"It ain't over till it's over." - After Berra's 1973 Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East; the Mets rallied to win the division title on the next-to-last day of the season.
When giving directions to his New Jersey home, which was equally accessible via two different routes: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
On being the guest of honor at an awards banquet: "I'd like to thank all those who made this night necessary."
"It's like déjà vu all over again"
"It's tough making predictions, especially about the future"
"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours."
On a trip to Cooperstown, to attend a dinner, Phil Rizzuto commented to Yogi, "I think we're lost." To which Yogi responded "Yeah, but we're making great time."
James A.“Catfish” Hunter. #27. Pitcher. 8 April 1946 through 30 August 1999 (died of ALS, “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”). Pitched a perfect game in 1968; 5 World Series wins. Played for the A’s 1965 through 1974; Yankees 1975-79. Left professional baseball when he began to have trouble controlling his pitches; several years later, it developed that this had been an early symptom of his ALS.
Calvin E. “Cal” Ripken (Jr.). #8. Short Stop. Baltimore Orioles #8; born August 24, 1960, Havre de Grace, Maryland
Cal Ripken, Jr., baseball’s “Iron Man,” was so nicknamed due to his consistent appearance on the field and his consistent play, even through injuries. He appeared in a record 2,632 consecutive games over 16 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, his only professional team (1981 through 2001). He played short stop and third base for the Orioles, and was elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, garnering 537 votes out of a possible 545. His jersey number has been retired by the Orioles. Two MVPs
Jackie Robinson #42, 2nd Base. 31 January 1919 through 24 October 1972. Jackie Robinson was the first Black player to play in Major League Baseball. The usual phrase is that he “broke the color barrier” on July 5, 1947, when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He played on six World Series teams, was a six-time All Star, and set many other records. In 1997, 25 years after Robinson’s death and in honor of the 50th anniversary of baseball’s racial integration, MLB barred the number 42 from being used by any team ever again, as a permanent honor to Robinson.
Frank Robinson, #20, Right Field. 31 August 1935. 1st Black manager in MLB (1975, Cleveland Indians). Played for Reds, Orioles, LA Dodgers, Angels, Indians.
George H. “Babe” Ruth. #3, Right Field. 6 February 1895 through 16 August 1948. Long-time holder of the career home-run title (714), “Babe” Ruth was a legendary figure in pre-war baseball. He played for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Boston Braves, but was best-recognized in a Yankees jersey.
Lynn Nolan Ryan. #30 (Angels, ret.) #34 (Astros and Rangers, ret.), Pitcher. 31 January 1947. Nolan Ryan was the epitome of an “unhittable” pitcher, recording 5,714 career strikeouts. As of July 26, 2008, Ryan was 999 strikeouts ahead of Randy Johnson, the second-place pitcher. Ryan also holds the all-time record for no-hitters ( seven). He is the only player to have had his jersey number retired by three different teams (except for the league-wide retirement of #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson). A player for the Mets, Angles, Astros and Rangers, Ryan was elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame with 491 votes out of a possible 497 in his first year of eligibility.
Orlando Cepeda, #30, First Base. 17 September 1937. First Puerto Rican to be named as an All-Star; he was named as an All-Star seven times during his career. The first Designated Hitter in the American League (1973, when the rule was instituted). Only the second Puerto Rican in the Baseball HOF (Roberto Clemente is the other). Cepeda’s #30 jersey was retired by the San Francisco Giants. Cepeda experienced legal troubles in the mid- to late ’70s involving marijuana and alleged failure to support his ex-wife and two children. In the early ‘’80s, he was hired by the White Sox as a scout and, later, by the Giants. Cepeda’s humanitarian efforts have won him worldwide regard.
Roberto Clemente. #21, Right Field. 18 August 1934 through 31 December 1972 (died in airplane crash while delivering relief supplies to victims of Nicaraguan earthquake). Played with Pittsburgh Pirates 1955 through 1972; a member of the 3,000-career-hit club. Elected to HOF 1973, immediately after his tragic death.
Tyrus R. “Ty” Cobb. (no jersey number; numbers not used in his playing era). Center Field. 18 December 1886 through 17 July 1961. Played for Detroit Tigers (1905-26) and Philadelphia Athletics (1927-28). The “Georgia Peach.” 23 consecutive seasons with a batting average over .300; stole 892 bases—still a MLB record. He received the most votes of any player in the first class to the Baseball Hall of Fame (98.2%). He set many baseball records, and some of them still stand: highest career batting average (.367) and 54 steals of home, a number even Rickey Henderson didn’t achieve.
Reginald M. “Reggie” Jackson. #44, Right Field. 18 May 1946. New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics. “Mr. October,” Jackson was known as a power hitter who delivered power performances in World Series games. In 27 World Series games for both the Yankees and A’s, he hit 10 home runs, 24 RBIs, and compiled a .357 hitting average. He was the American League MVP in 1973.
Sanford “Sandy” Koufax. #32, Pitcher. 30 December 1935. Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers 1955-66. Career ended prematurely by arthritis. Pitched a perfect game in 1965 (the first perfect game by a left-handed pitcher since 1880). 6-time All Star; 3 World Series championships; 3-time Cy Young Award winner. #32 was retired by the LA Dodgers in his honor. Holder of many career records, a large number of which were broken by Nolan Ryan.
Joseph P. “Joe” DiMaggio. #5, Center Field. 25 November 1914 through 8 March 1999. “Joltin’ Joe” and “The Yankee Clipper.” Played for New York Yankees (1936-42; 1946-51). 56-game hitting streak in 1941; 13-time All Star (only player to be an All Star in each of his professional seasons); 9-time World Series champion; 3-time MVP. Great player, but romantic fulfillment eluded him. Married, but never forever (including the Marilyn Monroe connection).
Charles D. “Casey” Stengel. #37, Manager. 30 July 1890 through 29 September 1975. Although Stengel had a career as a professional baseball player, he was best known for his managing skills. He managed four MLB teams: Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves, New York Yankees, New York Mets. Stewarded the New York Yankees to 10 American League pennants and 7 World Series wins in a 12-year period.
Donald S. “Don” Drysdale. #53, Pitcher. 23 July 1936 through 3 July 1993. Played for Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1956-69). In 1968 he pitched 58 consecutive hitless innings; in 1965 he himself had a 0.300 batting average.
Leo E. Durocher. #7 as a Yankees player when uniform numbers were first adopted; changed to #2 when he went to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933 and kept #2 as a Manager. 27 July 1905 through 7 October 1991. Managed New York Dodgers, New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros. His teams captured three pennants and one World Series title. He compiled 2,009 career wins as a manager (and 95 ejections). Those ejections might be explained by the quote for which he was most famous outside of baseball circles: “Nice guys finish last.”
Dennis Eckersley. #43, Pitcher. 3 October 1954. Eckersley’s career as a pitcher had two distinct phases: 1) a starting pitcher and 2) a closer who left very little “air” for hitters. “Eck’s” legacy was etched in stone during his stint with the Oakland A’s during the 1988 through 1993 seasons, when he struck out 458 batters and walked only 51. Eckersley pitched over 100 complete games and, later, saved 390 games, the only pitcher in the history of MLB to go over 100 in each category. The A’s retired his number in 2005.
Mickey C. Mantle. #7, Center Field. 20 October 1931 through 13 August 1995. New York Yankees; 16-time All Star; 3-time American League MVP; 12 pennants, 7 World series titles. Mantle was known as a hitter, notching 536 career home runs, and was a threat to all pitchers, because he could bat both left- and right-handed (that rarest of baseball creatures, the “switch hitter”). He set many MLB records, several of which still stand.
Juan Marichal. #27, Pitcher. 20 October 1937. Played for San Francisco Giants 1960-73, Boston Red Sox 1 season, L.A. Dodgers 1975. Marichal pitched six 20-win seasons. Although he won 191 games during the 1960s—more than any other pitcher of the time—Marichal never was voted on for the Cy Young Award. 9-time All Star; 1965 All-Star Game MVP; struck out 2,303 hitters. His number was retired by the Giants.
Willie H. Mays. #24, Center Field. 6 May 1931. Played for the Negro League from 1948 through 1950 and then joined the newly integrated National League in 1951. He played for the New York and San Francisco Giants (1951-72; the New York Mets (1972-73). Known as the “Say Hey Kid.” 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, 1 World Series title; 2 National League MVP awards; 21 All-Star Game appearances (tied for the record). A universal good-will ambassador for the game of baseball. His number #24 was retired by the San Francisco Giants, but when Barry Bonds signed with the Giants in the early ‘’90s, Mays offered Bonds the #24. Bonds declined, preferring to wear #25 in honor of the number his father (Bobby Bonds) had worn in the Big Leagues. The Giants’ baseball stadium street address is #24.
Willie L. McCovey. #44, 1st Base. 10 January 1938.
Theodore S. “Ted” Williams. #9, Left Fielder. 30 August 1918 through 5 July 2002. Boston Red Sox; 0.344 lifetime. Holder of single-season highest batting average: 0.4xx.
Names to come:
Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner.
Tommy Lasorda, Manager
Stan Musial, player.
David M. Winfield, player.
Carl M. Yastrzemski, “Yaz,” player.
Denton T. “Cy” Young.

A Brief History of Major League Baseball
(Jesse, I’ve gone into detail on the years of establishment of teams with the thought that the name, city, and “birth year” might have some relationship to the success or lack thereof that given teams have experienced. ckh 12/13/07)
The National League (NL) was established in 1876 in the United States. “Major League” franchises were largely confined to the north-eastern United States and were unchanged from 1903 to 1952.
The American League (AL), originally the Midwest minor league, declared itself a Major League in 1901, much to the dismay of the NL. Its teams expanded the boundaries of “Major League” baseball as far west as Wisconsin, as far south as Washington, D.C., and as far south-west as St. Louis.
For the first half-century or so of Major League Baseball, teams stayed in the town or city where they were founded. But, beginning in 1953, an era of “the grass is greener in the other town” began:
1953: The former Boston Braves become the Milwaukee Braves and, in 1966, become the Atlanta Braves.
1954: The former St. Louis Browns become the Baltimore Orioles.
1955: The former Philadelphia Athletics become the Kansas City Athletics, only to move again in 1968 and become the Oakland Athletics.
1957: The New York Giants become the San Francisco Giants.
1957: The Brooklyn Dodgers become the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Giants and Dodgers were moved as a pair to maintain their traditional rivalry. This was part of MLB’s campaign to eliminate the old Pacific Coast League, founded in 1903 and very strong in the ‘50s due to the lack of MLB teams west of the Mississippi River [source Steve Bitker??? KCBS morning Sports anchor and author of book on SF Giants]. But as a result of the Giants/Dodgers moves in 1957, the very next year, most PCL teams, including the San Francisco Seals, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Hollywood Stars, were forced to relocate to smaller markets. They eventually became regarded as extremely minor league teams.
1961 was a bit more complicated than, but not nearly as sinister as, 1957. The MLB Los Angeles Angels (name changed in 1965 to California Angels) were an expansion team in the AL. The original Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins, and a second new AL expansion team named the Washington Senators was established. In 1972, the new expansion Senators became the Texas Rangers.
Television increased the market for baseball, making it possible for people who couldn’t get to a game to see it on the small screen, and thus the 1960s saw four more expansion teams added to MLB:
In 1962, the Houston Colt .45s and the New York Mets were added to the NL. (In 1965, the Colts were renamed the Astros.)
In 1969, the Kansas City Royals were added to the AL (replacing the Kansas City Athletics, who had just moved to Oakland), as were the Montreal Expos.
Two former Pacific Coast League teams, the Seattle Pilots and the San Diego Padres, joined the AL and the NL, respectively, also in 1969. The Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970.
The roster of teams was stable until 1977, when MLB added two AL teams, the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Then came 16 quiet years with no expansions to or removals of MLB teams. This period of calm ended in 1993, when both the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins were added to the NL.
Five years later, in 1998, the NL and AL added one team each: the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
There were no team moves from 1972 (Texas Rangers) until 2004, when the Montreal Expos were shuttered, re-opening as the Washing-ton Nationals. Now only one MLB team remains in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Major League Baseball Structure
The original NL and “more recent” AL are still the two camps into which MLB teams are organized. The primary distinction in playing rules between the two is that, in the AL, a “designated hitter” (DH) can play in the line-up as a substitute for the game’s pitcher. Pitchers them-selves must take their at-bats in the NL.
There are 16 teams in the NL and 14 teams in the AL. Each league is divided into three “divisions.” As of writing this book, the divisions are as follows:
National League
East Division
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
Central Division
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
West Division
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
American League
East Division
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Central Division
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
West Division
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (renamed “Anaheim Angels” in 1997; name changed in 2005 to current Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
The “Steroids Era” & Mitchell Report
Jesse, here are the names of many of the players mentioned in Sen. George Mitchell’s “Report to The Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into The Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball” (released 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Thursday, December 13, 2007). Washington Post/AP story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301076.html?hpid=topnews and pdf at http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/mlb/longterm/2007/pdf/mitchellreport.pdf?hpid=topnews
There are a few players’ names early on in the Mitchell Report, but around p. 163, the report starts providing short summaries of the evidence from Radomski and/or McNamee regarding many different players. Sample text from Mitchell Report:
“Radomski knew McNamee was acting as personal trainer for Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Chuck Knoblauch (among others), and he suspected McNamee was giving the performance enhancing substances to some of his clients. Occasionally, McNamee acknowledged good performances by Knoblauch or Clemens by “dropping hints,” such as “[h]e’s on the program now.” McNamee never explicitly told Radomski that either Clemens or Pettitte was using steroids or human growth hormone. According to Radomski, however, McNamee asked Radomski what types of substances Radomski was providing to pitchers.
“Radomski delivered the substances to McNamee personally. Radomski recalled numerous performance enhancing substance transactions with McNamee. Radomski also sometimes trained some of McNamee’s non-professional athlete clients.”
Mark McGwire (approx. 1988)
Ken Caminiti 2002 NL MVP who estimated that “half” of MLB players were users
Jose Canseco (allegedly covered for by [his?] assistant David Valdez approx. 1988, Canseco’s book Juiced published 2005)
Lenny Dykstra (Phillies)
Wally Joyner (Padres)
Derrick Turnbow (Angels) Jan 2004
Rafael Palmeiro (possible perjured testimony before Congress on March 17, 2005; see news stories about his positive results and subsequent denials in his Congressional testimony)
Jason Grimsley (Diamondbacks, 4/19/06)
Manny Alexander (Red Sox)
Rickey Bones (June 2000, Marlins)
Alex Cabrera (Diamondbacks, Sept 2000)
Juan Gonzalez (Indians, Oct 2001)
Angel Presinal (personal trainer for Gonzalez)
Luis Perez (Expos, Sept 2002)
Miguel Tejada, SS (Orioles, 2005; previous with Oakland A’s 7 seasons)
David Segui (KC Royals 1999 or 2000) (Orioles 2004)
Paxton Crawford (Red Sox pitcher, 2000, 2001)
BALCO “bunch”: Barry Bonds, Jason & Jeremy Giambi, Armando Rios, Gary Sheffield, Benito Santiago, Marvin Benard, Randy Velarde
(BALCO contaminated not only MLB but Olympic track and field; see Chapter 14, “Track and Field,” for other affected athletes)
Clients of Greg Anderson: Marvin Benard, Bobby Estalella, Jason Giambi, Armando Rios, Benito Santiago, Gary Sheffield
Chad Allen (“former client of” Kirk Radomski)
Roger Clemens (Radomski connection)
Brian McNamee, major connection of many players
Andy Pettitte (Yankees, Astros)
Larry Bigbie
Brian Roberts (Orioles; Radomski)
Jack Cust (Oakland)
Gregg Zaun, Catcher
Mo Vaughn, Infielder and DH; BoSox, Mets, Angels
Ryan Franklin, Pitcher (4 teams) excerpt from Mitchell Report: “On August 2, 2005, Ryan Franklin was suspended for ten games for a positive test for anabolic steroids that was conducted in May 2005.402 Upon the announcement of Franklin’s suspension, he is reported to have said he had no idea how he tested positive.”
David Justice, Fielder, 1989-2002
Tim Laker
Josias Manzanillo
Todd Hundley
Mark Carreon
Again from the Mitchell Report:
“Eric Gagné is a relief pitcher who began his career in Major League Baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999 and played with the Dodgers through 2006. In 2007, he played for the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox, and in December he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2002 and 2003, Gagné was the Los Angeles Dodgers Player of the Year. In 2003, he saved 55 games and won the Cy Young Award and the National League Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year. In 2004, he saved 45 games and again won the National League Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year. He has played in three All-Star games.”
John Rocker, Pitcher (and “mouth at large”)
Why was investigation of steroids so important to players and fans of Major League Baseball? The Mitchell Report states:
In 1987, Bart Giamatti, the former president of Yale University who served as president of the National League and later as Commissioner of Baseball, observed that:
“. . . acts of cheating are intended to alter the very conditions of play to
favor one person. They are secretive, covert acts that strike at and seek to undermine the basic foundation of any contest declaring the winner – that all participants play under identical rules and conditions. Acts of cheating destroy that necessary foundation and thus strike at the essence of a contest. They destroy faith in the games’ integrity and fairness; if participants and spectators alike cannot assume integrity and fairness, and proceed from there, the contest cannot in its essence exist.41”
The illegal use of performance enhancing substances fits Giamatti’s definition of cheating precisely. Users of these substances act in secret, in violation of federal law, baseball policy and, since 2002, its collective bargaining agreement. It is the intention of these players to gain an advantage over other players, whether or not such an advantage actually is obtained as a result. The problem of performance enhancing substance use in baseball has shaken the faith of many baseball fans in the integrity and fairness of the contest before them and in the records that have been achieved during what has come to be known as baseball’s “steroids era.”
The well-known commentator George Will recently observed:
“Drugs enhance performance by devaluing it when they unfairly alter the conditions of competition. Lifting weights and eating spinach enhance the body’s normal functioning; many chemical intrusions into the body can jeopardize the health of the body and mind, while causing both to behave abnormally.
Athletes who are chemically propelled to victory do not merely overvalue winning, they misunderstand why winning is properly valued.
Professional athletes stand at an apex of achievement, but their
40 See Major League Rules, Rule 21.
41 A. Bartlett Giamatti, Decision in the Appeal of Kevin Gross, in A Great and Glorious
Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti 66, 72-73 (Kenneth Robson, ed., 1998).
13
achievements are admirable primarily because they are the products of a lonely submission to a sustained discipline of exertion. Such submission is a manifestation of good character. . . . Drugs that make sport exotic, by radical intrusions into the body, drain sport of its exemplary power by making it a display of chemistry rather than character. [where does quote from George Will end?] In fact, it becomes a display of some chemists’ virtuosity and some athletes’ bad character. Former Commissioner Fay Vincent told me that the problem of performance enhancing substances may be the most serious challenge that baseball has faced since the 191 Black Sox scandal. The illegal use of anabolic steroids and similar substances, in Vincent’ view, is “cheating of the worst sort.” He believes that it is imperative for Major League Baseball to “capture the moral high ground” on the issue and, by words and deeds, make it clear that baseball will not tolerate the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.” (end quote from Mitchell Report, pp. 12-13)

Thus the accuracy of records, individual statistics and numbers, and overall energies in the game are skewed by the use of performance-enhancing substances. And the truly sad aspect is that the onlooker doesn’t know who is clean and performing to his utmost, and who is dirty and out-performing Nature.