Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
February 11, 2009
Wise Joe

Here's another reason to like Joe Maddon, he makes sense on the steroids issue.

Maddon suggested Wednesday that MLB implement an amnesty program for the reported 103 other players who tested positive then take strong measures to make sure there are no future violations.

"I'm just looking forward to the day that we move beyond it," Maddon said upon arrival at the new spring training complex. "For me, it really needs to come to the point where I'd like to see like an amnesty, basically, and move forward, and then create a situation where the penalties are so severe, nobody would ever even consider doing it again.

I suggested something similar in a BP article a couple of years ago (subscription required). Let people come forward to confess. Find out why they did it, how they acquired the drugs, and in general get a better understanding of the whole steroid era. I doubt that will happen now.


Posted by David Pinto at 11:23 PM | Cheating | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Amnesty from what? It's not like MLB can do so much as fine A-Rod, or any of the 103 $100. The punishment for this comes from the part of the media and fan base that likes to crow on about asterisks and how pure the game was when players were taking speed and snorting coke.

Posted by: Jason at February 12, 2009 12:37 AM

Jason has it right. What is it amnesty from?

The penalty for failing the 2003 tests was to have the player informed he failed and to be counted as a fail.

Perhaps Joe Maddon doesn't know what the definition of the word amnesty is.

Posted by: Rich at February 12, 2009 02:38 AM

What's interesting is that as more and more stars are shown to be users, the value in being clean increases. Just think how great it would be if you were a star player who could say (truthfully or not) that you were one of the ONLY clean athletes. There is just as much of an incentive now to not be found out. What player in their right mind would give that up in order to "get a better understanding of the whole steroid era."

Posted by: Rumit at February 12, 2009 02:38 AM

Amnesty from prosecution.

Posted by: David PInto at February 12, 2009 07:42 AM

But MLB can't give them immunity from prosecution. Will we have Bud dictating legal policy to the government?

I feel conflicted enough about him dictating *baseball* policy.

Posted by: Andrew C. at February 12, 2009 09:38 AM

To be fair, I read something today about Selig "considering" the possibility of disciplining A-Rod. While the article said this was not likely to happen, you never know these days, as Selig tends to cave in to pressure when his actions in the steroids arena aren't deemed sufficiently decisive. So there's an example of where amnesty would work: no caving in to screams for sanctions against A-Rod for failing a supposedly confidential drug test 6 years ago.

Also, MLB could make some up-front guarantees that no ballplayer will be penalized for any self-incriminating admission he makes about past steroid use the next time Congress (or some other body) holds one of its dog-and-pony-show hearings.

Posted by: Luke Gofannon at February 12, 2009 11:30 AM

There are no reasons to like Joe Maddon. Last year during the game when Crisp went at Shields someone from Boston should have pile driven his head 6 feet in the ground for instigating.

Posted by: Barnut at February 12, 2009 08:42 PM
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