BobK

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in the wake of the Mitchell report that, “Those recommendations that I can implement independently, I will do immediately.”

Unfortunately the one action that would do more good than anything else, and which he could implement independently, isn’t going to happen.

He should resign in shame.

Of course, Selig is hugely popular with baseball’s team owners, and during his tenure, the sport has grown immensely more profitable. The players are making more money than ever. Tickets cost more than ever, and attendance is greater than ever. So he’s not going anywhere. And baseball will continue to pay the price.

This is because the real shame of “the steroids era” is not that some of baseball’s hallowed records are suddenly tainted. The shame of it is that the use of performance enhancing drugs was allowed to become so widespread that even honest players were tempted to use them in order to protect their careers.

Bud Selig congratulated Mark McGwire on his 62nd home run, gave him an award, and merchandised the event to its full potential.

Barry Bonds saw McGwire being deified and got the message loud and clear. Roger Clemens started transforming the twilight of his career into the endless summer. Numerous marginal players started to suspect that if they wanted to keep their jobs, they might have to start juicing up. Minor leaguers who earned no more than cubicle workers and hoped for a chance to play in “the show” got the message, too.

Focusing on the players who fell victim to MLB’s negligence, while allowing the authors of that negligence to keep their jobs and repair their reputations sends the worst message possible.

So Bud Selig is going to fix his mistakes by “independently” flexing his muscles. Perhaps he’ll punish some of the players who gave in to the temptation that he helped nurture. Perhaps he’ll crack down, suspend some players, and implement stricter testing. Not that stricter testing has ever cleaned up any sport. Just ask Floyd Landis or Marion Jones.

The people at the top keep their jobs, while the people who need to compete in order to keep their own jobs are written out of the record books, their testimony is leaked, and flimsy accusations tarnish their reputations forever. Many who never made it to the big leagues are suffering the health effects of having tried.

And, Bud Selig is going to make amends for this by punishing others?

Barry Bonds can not go back and undo his mistakes.

Roger Clemens can not go back and undo his mistakes.

The many anonymous minor leaguers who damaged their health trying to earn a living can not go back and undo their mistakes.

In a better world, Bud Selig would not have an opportunity to undo his.