At the age of 75 and 33 years into retirement, Hank Aaron, whom I prefer calling Henry, has earned the designation of elder statesman of the game. But being an elder statesman doesn’t mean thinking and saying anything you want.
Aaron has been guilty of thinking and saying some things recently that he would have been better off not thinking and saying. The subjects upon which Aaron remarked were Pete Rose and the list of 100 or so players who tested positive in 2003 for use of illegal performance-enhancing substances.
Following the disclosure of the names of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, Aaron advocated the release of the entire list.
“I wish for once and forever that we could come out and say we have 100 and some names, name them all and get it over and let baseball go on,” Aaron said in an interview with an Associated Press reporter. “I don’t know how they keep leaking out. I just wish that they would name them all and get it over with.”
With that view, Aaron fits in with so many others who have said disclose all of the names. But Aaron should know better. He’s not just a fan. As an elder statesman, he has a responsibility to know better.
For Aaron and all of the others whose knee-jerk reaction has been to call for release of all of the names, very simply the names cannot be released, whether you like it or not. Two reasons:
¶ When the drug-testing agreement was negotiated in 2002, the players and the owners agreed that the 2003 survey testing would be anonymous and confidential. They cannot now go back and say never mind, just fooling; we’re going to release the names.
Just because the news media and fans have a prurient curiosity to know which players tested positive is no reason for the names to be released. Just because a few names have been published is no reason for all of the names to be released.
¶ And just in case anyone is tempted to do that, the union, the commissioner’s office and the government are barred legally from doing that because the court case has been placed under court seal.
That is, anyone who disclosed information, names or anything else, would be in contempt of court and subject to disciplinary action, including jail time. A defense lawyer in the Balco case in San Francisco is in jail for giving transcripts of grand jury testimony to reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle.
There is disagreement on what constitutes illegal action in the ongoing court fight over the 2003 list. Donald Fehr, head of the players union, says anyone who pursues information from anyone involved in the case is guilty of a crime. The New York Times, whose reporter has done exactly that, says it is not illegal for reporters to ask questions.
Whoever is right, the bottom line is the same. No one connected to the case may violate the court seal without facing judicial action.
Though I haven’t had the opportunity to ask him – Aaron did not respond to an interview request – I doubt that Aaron would want to see someone go to jail just to get the list released.
Nor would Aaron likely want to see the membership of the Hall of Fame torn asunder just to see Pete Rose enshrined in the Hall. But that is the other development the home run slugger has advocated.
“How long does a person have to die?” Aaron said in the AP interview. “I think the thing that bothers me is that he is missing out on a lot of things. He made a mistake. I don’t know what else can be done, or what else can be said. I just think at some point he needs to start enjoying being a Hall of Famer.”
Aaron initially talked about Rose and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown during induction weekend. A resulting column suggested that because Aaron spoke positively about Rose it was a signal that Commissioner Bud Selig was reconsidering his stance on Rose’s possible reinstatement to baseball, a step that has to occur before he can gain eligibility for the Hall.
But word quickly spread that Selig had no intention of changing his official position of continuing to reevaluate Rose. Selig’s reevaluation will most likely continue as long as he is commissioner. If Selig ever seriously considered reinstating Rose, he would know that he faced the wrath of the ghost of Bart Giamatti, the commissioner who suspended Rose in 1989 and for whom Selig had great respect and admiration.
Let us, however, look at Aaron’s comments about Rose. They demonstrate a naivete that no one of Aaron’s experience and stature could possibly possess.
¶ “How long does a person have to die?”
How long did Rose lie and deny that he bet on baseball? It was 15 years, from the time he was suspended until the publication of his book, in which he finally admitted the truth, though he continued to lie about certain aspects of his betting even then.
¶ “I think the thing that bothers me is that he is missing out on a lot of things.”
If Rose is missing out on anything, it’s a result of his denials and lies. No one else is to blame. If Rose is missing out on things and Aaron is bothered by it, maybe Aaron should have spoken to Rose 20 years ago and counseled him to admit all and throw himself on the mercy of the court.
¶ “I just think at some point he needs to start enjoying being a Hall of Famer.”
No, he does not. Being a Hall of Famer is a privilege, not a right. Rose’s playing career deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but Rose doesn’t. He forfeited his place in the Hall by committing the cardinal sin of baseball and then lying about it.
Why should Rose get to enjoy being a Hall of Famer generally and specifically at the expense of members who feel their status in the Hall would be tainted if Rose were elected? Many members have said they would not return to Cooperstown if Rose were elected.
Aaron would have done himself a huge favor if he had spoken to his good friend Selig before putting his foot squarely in his mouth.
WHAT ROSE SHOULD HAVE DONE
Not that Pete Rose would have followed the advice anyway, but it’s too bad for his Hall of Fame quest that he didn’t do in 1989 what Jason Giambi would do in 2005.
Giambi apologized for having used steroids, though he didn’t say that was what he was apologizing for. It was nevertheless understood. His name had come out in leaked grand jury transcripts, and he faced the reality of his situation. As a result of his public acknowledgement that he did something he shouldn’t have, he was quickly forgiven and went on with his career.
That career now appears to be over. The Oakland Athletics released the 38-year-old Giambi last Friday, sending him off from his second term with them by noting that when he was put on the disabled list July 20 with a strained quad he had the lowest batting average in the majors (.193) and the fourth lowest slugging percentage in the American League (.364).
When Giambi issued his apology in 2005 in a news conference at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees denied having had any knowledge of Giambi’s steroids use. However, it became known that when they were negotiating the 7-year, $120 million contract before the 2002 season, Giambi’s agent asked the Yankees to remove any mention of steroids from the guarantee language in the contract, and they did.
NOT THE SCRIPT SMOLTZ WROTE
It’s likely that we have seen the last of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, the premier trio of teammates, whose presence in the same starting rotation has been unmatched in the last two decades. Pause for a moment and salute them because it’s unlikely that their equal will come our way again.
It would have been fitting had they all gone into the Hall of Fame together. Maddux retired before this season. Glavine tried to make a comeback with the Braves but was released without pitching for them. Smoltz, 42, made his comeback with Boston but was designated for assignment last week after struggling to a 2-5 record and 8.33 earned run average, giving up five or more earned runs in six of his eight starts, including the last four.
LEE FOLLOWS CC
It’s still early, but the similarity is striking: CC Sabathia last season, Cliff Lee this season.
Sabathia won the American League Cy Young award in 2007 with a 19-7 record for the Cleveland Indians. He had a 6-8 record in 18 starts for the Indians last season when they traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers. In 17 starts for the Brewers, he had an 11-2 record and a 1.65 earned run average.
Lee won the A.L. Cy Young award in 2008 with a 22-3 record for the Indians. He had a 7-9 record in 22 starts this season when they traded him to Philadelphia. He emerged from his first two starts for the Phillies with two wins and a 1.13 e.r.a.
HIDDEN TREASURE
Talking last week about trades made on or near the nonwaiver trading deadline, I focused on the impact of some of the trades on the outcome of division races. In the course of reviewing those trades, I came across another side to the practice, the acquisition in those trades of young players who actually develop into worthwhile major leaguers.
Two players of that type changed teams in July 2006. The Milwaukee Brewers included Nelson Cruz in the trade that sent Carlos Lee to Texas and Francisco Cordero to the Brewers, and Tampa Bay obtained Ben Zobrist from Houston for Aubrey Huff.
It took each player three years to make it, but here they are.
Zobrist, 28, has primarily been the Rays’ second baseman and at the start of the weekend was hitting .293 with 19 home runs and 56 runs batted in plus .406 on-base and .562 slugging percentages.
Cruz, the Rangers’ regular right fielder, was hitting .269 with 25 homers, 58 r.b.i. and .337 on-base and .547 slugging percentages.
ALL-STAR GAME FOR ANAHEIM, NOT L.A.
This is getting downright silly. Major League Baseball had a joint announcement last week with the city of Anaheim and the team that plays there. They unveiled the logo for the 2010 All-Star game. That’s right. The 2010 All-Star game will be played in Anaheim. Not in Los Angeles, mind you, but Anaheim.
You know, of course, that the baseball name of the major league team that plays in Anaheim is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That cockamamie name is the concoction of Arte Moreno, the team’s owner, who hijacked the name from the Dodgers, the team that actually plays in Los Angeles, to use for his own marketing purposes.
Now Selig and Major League Baseball are slathering salve on Anaheim’s wounds by playing the 2010 All-Star game there even though the 1967 and 1989 games were played in Anaheim.
In the news release announcing the official logo, the team is refered to as the Angels, as in Angels Baseball. Los Angeles is not mentioned.
OSCAR AND BUD
Hollywood has its Oscar; Milwaukee is getting its Bud.
Commissioner Bud Selig and his family have donated $200,000 to their city’s film festival, and festival officials have said they will express their appreciation by naming their two audience awards after the family.
What would be more obvious than naming the awards the Buds? Then when they are presented to the winning films, the presenter can proclaim, “This Bud’s for you.”
Oh right. That’s already taken by a beer from another city.
