The Mitchell Report and The Cubs

Part 2 in a 3 Part Series About the Mitchell Report. 

The Players Named

There were no current Cubs players on the list, but ten former Cubs were named in the report.  Most were former customers of former Mets clubhouse attendent Kirk Radomski;

Sammy Sosa

The "Steroid Era" began before Sammy, mainly with Jose Conseco from the bash brothers, but it was the famous (or infamous) 1998 chase of the single season home run record that really helped increase the popularity of performance enhancing drugs.  Baseball attendence and revenues were very down after the strike of 1994.  It was that magical race in 1998, between Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr. that brought fans back to the ballpark.  While Griffey's name isn't mentioned much in connection with steroids, it is believed that McGwire and Sosa were both juiced up.  McGwire was mentioned in Jose Canseco's book "Juiced" and there was an incident where Sosa had $20,000 stolen from him when he left  the cash in a plastic bag wrapped inside a towel in the lobby of the Caracas Hilton.  But you didn't need proof, just look at their numbers.  From 1989 to 1992, his first four season, the most home runs Sammy ever hit was 15.  He hit 8 in 1992, but in 1993, he hit 33 home runs, in 1995 he hit 36 home runs, 1996 he hit 40 home runs, 1997 he hit 37 home runs, and then things really got crazy.  Although McGwire became the single season home run record holder in 1998, Sosa also broke Maris' 37 year old record by hitting 66.  He hit 63 in 1999, 50 in 200, and 64 in 2001.  Not only was Sosa hitting home runs, he was crushing the ball.  The most famous display was the 2002 All Star Game in Milwaukee.  Sosa hit seven 500-foot homers in the first two rounds, including three that left Miller Park on the fly (ironically, he lost the competition to fellow juicer Jason Giambi).  I admit that I cheered Sammy even though anyone could see the obvious physical transformation that happened before our eyes.  The face that Sosa and McGwire were barely mentioned in the Mitchell Report just shows what a waste of time and money that report was. 

Glenallen Hill
Hill, who played for the Cubs in 1993 and 1994 and again from 1998-2000, admitted he bought steroids and HGH from Radomski but never used them. Right, and Clinton never inhaled.  Hill was famous for hitting a home run on May 11, 2000 that landed on top of the rooftop on 1032 Waveland, over the left field bleachers.

Rondell White
A photo copy of a check for $3,500 from Rondell White, who played for the Cubs for two years in 2000 and 2001, appears in the report. White really only played one full season with the Cubs, playing in 95 games and hitting .307.  According to Radomski, White started buying performance-enhancing substances from him in 2000.

Todd Hundley
According to the report, "Radomski stated that, beginning in 1996, he sold Deca-Durabolin and testosterone to Hundley on three or four occasions." The son of legendary Cubs Randy Hundley and a graduate of Fremd High School here in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Todd was one of the biggest jerks and hated by  most Cubs fans.  Hundley started his career with the Mets, where he was hated by most New York fans.  Hundley struggled with the Mets, and was criticized by then Mets manager Bobby Valentine for his late nights, smoking, and drinking.  In his first four full seasons with the Mets, Hundley never hit more than 16 home runs.  Then, in 1996, the year he started by 'roids from Radomski, Hundley broke the single-season home run record for catchers by hitting 41.  He hit 36 the next season and was named to the All Star team in 1996 and 97.  He came to the Cubs in 2001 and hit .187 with 12 home runs.  He did only slightly better in 2002.  Somehow GM Jim Hendry convinced the Dodgers to take Hundley and they gave us Mark Grudzielanek and Eric Karros, both important in the Cubs 2003 playoff run.

Benito Santiago
The former Cubs catcher is mentioned in the portion of the report dedicated to the BALCO investigation. He stunk while he played for the Cubs, hitting .249 with seven home runs.  He had a resurgence later in his career with the San Fran Giants, courtesy of Victor Conte and Barry Bonds.

Kent Mercker
Lefty reliever who played for the Cubs from 2004-05, is named but didn't respond to Mitchell's questions. According to the report, Radomski said he sold one kit of HGH to Mercker in October 2002. The pitcher had recently undergone surgery and, according to Radomski, was seeking HGH because "he believed it might accelerate his recovery."  Mercker, like Hundley, was hated by the fans while he was in Chicago.  The guy was a total jerk.  On August 28, 2004 he called the broadcast to complain about the way Steve Stone and Chip Carey were calling the game, especially Chip praising Houston's Roy Oswalt.  He also had an incident on a charter plane during a road trip where he cussed out Carey and Stone.  After the 2004 season, Merker was gone, as were Carey and Stone.

Jerry Hairston Jr.
According to the report, he was referred to Radomski by David Segui, a teammate of his on the Baltimore Orioles, and Radomski said he sold HGH to Hairston on two or three occasions during 2003 and 2004. Jerry's father played for the White Sox and he was born in Naperville, another Northwest suburb of Chicago.  Hairston came to the Cubs in the Sammy Sosa trade.  The Cubs sent Sosa to Baltimore and the Cubs got Hairston, David Crouthers, and current Cub Mike Fontenot.  He didn't play much in the 1 and a half season as a Cub, playing behind Todd Walker and Neifi Perez.  He was traded for Phil Nevin in mid-2006.

Gary Matthews Jr.
The former Cubs outfield's name has surfaced in the past linked to the Signature Pharmacy investigation.  Matthews came to the Cubs in 2000 from the San Diego Padres.  He was the son of former Cubs Gary Matthews, known as "The Sarge".  He only hit .190 in 2000, and hitting .217 in 2001 before the Cubs put him on waivers.  Pittsburgh picked him up for the rest of the season.  He bounce around for the next few years before finally landing in Texas. He had a "breakout season" in 2006, batting .313 with 19 HRs, 79 RBIs, and 194 hits.  Matthews Jr always played great defense, but he couldn't hit.  2006 was also his free agency year, and he signed a 5 year 50 million dollar contract with the Anaheim Angels.  On February 27, 2007, his name was mentioned in the the Signature Pharmacy investigation.

Matt Franco
A former Cubs draft pick who played who played 16 games for the Cubs in 1995, is alleged to have bought steroids once in 2000. Franco spoke by telephone to investigators and denied the accusations and evening knowing Radomski.

Matt Karchner

For years, Matt Karchner was known as the guy the Cubs got for Jon Garland.  Now, he will be known for much more.  Karchner's story was the most interesting as far as Cubs' fans are concerned.  Karchner alleges that while as a member of the Cubs he witnessed two teammates inject steroids in an apartment the three shared during spring training before the 1999 season. According to the report;

"Karchner declined to identify the players. He said that one of the players brought the steroids to the apartment but was afraid of needles and therefore asked the second player to administer the shot. The second player injected the first player with steroids in the buttocks and then injected himself. "

"Later that season, Karchner was offered steroids by certain of his Cubs teammates. Karchner would not disclose the names of players who offered him steroids, but he said that the conversations he had with them involved the general cost of steroids and discussions of "stacking" to build lean muscle necessary for pitchers. Karchner did not report either of these incidents to anyone at the time."

Who were these players?  Who did Karchner share the apartment with.  I have heard that it was Kyle Farnsworth and Rod Beck.  I'm sure someone will dig up the info.  Speaking of Farnsworth;

The CNBC List

One of the big controversies about the Mitchell Report is the belief in the existence of a second list,  one that MLB did not want to come out.  CNBC "leaked" the list of players more than an hour before the Mitchell Report was released on Thursday, and soon pulled it from its Web site. Here was the list that CNBC had put up {disclaimer:CNBC later retracted the list} ;

Brady Anderson
Manny Alexander
Rick Ankiel
Jeff Bagwell
Barry Bonds
Aaron Boone
Rafael Bettancourt
Bret Boone
Milton Bradley
David Bell
Dante Bichette
Albert Belle
Paul Byrd
Wil Cordero
Ken Caminiti
Mike Cameron
Ramon Castro
Jose and Ozzie Canseco
Roger Clemens
Paxton Crawford
Wilson Delgado
Lenny Dykstra
Johnny Damon
Carl Everett
Kyle Farnsworth
Ryan Franklin
Troy Glaus
Rich Garces
Jason Grimsley
Troy Glaus
Juan Gonzalez
Eric Gagne
Nomar Garciaparra
Jason Giambi
Jeremy Giambi
Jose Guillen
Jay Gibbons
Juan Gonzalez
Clay Hensley
Jerry Hairston
Felix Heredia, Jr.
Darren Holmes
Wally Joyner
Darryl Kile
Matt Lawton
Raul Mondesi
Mark McGwire
Guillermo Mota
Robert Machado
Damian Moss
Abraham Nunez
Trot Nixon
Jose Offerman
Andy Pettitte
Mark Prior
Neifi Perez
Rafael Palmiero
Albert Pujols
Brian Roberts
Juan Rincon
John Rocker
Pudge Rodriguez
Sammy Sosa
Scott Schoenweiis
David Segui
Alex Sanchez
Gary Sheffield
Miguel Tejada
Julian Tavarez
Fernando Tatis
Mo Vaughn
Jason Varitek
Ismael Valdes
Matt Williams
Kerry Wood.

Among the current/former Cubs that were on the "leaked list", but didn't make the "Official list" were Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Nomar Garicaparra, Farnsworth, Matt Lawton, and Julian Tavarez.  Where did this leaked list come from?  How was it so similar to the "Official List" except with some glaring omissions?  Anyone that saw Kerry Wood this last year at the Cubs Convention saw a huge size difference.  The Mitchell Report has given us more questions then answers.