2008 Calendar of Events for Ninor Leagues

2008 Calendar of Events for Minor Leauges

The 2008 All-Star Futures game will take place on All-Star Sunday at Yankee Stadium. (Getty)
Opening Day: April 3 (all leauges)

Florida State All-Star Game: Brevard County, Fla., June 14

Midwest League All-Star Game: Midland, Mich., June 17

South Atlantic League All-Star Game: Greensboro, N.C., June 17

California/Carolina League All-Star Game: Myrtle Beach, S.C., June 24

Texas League All-Star Game: Springfield, Mo., June 25

All-Star Futures Game: Bronx, N.Y., July 13

Southern League All-Star Game: Zebulon, N.C., July 14

Triple-A All-Star Game: Louisville, Ky., July 16

Eastern League All-Star Game: Manchester, N.H., July 16

NY-Penn League All-Star Game: Troy, N.Y., Date TBD

Last day to bring player up for "full trial": Aug. 15

Minor League Playoffs: September TBD

Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar: Round Rock, Texas, Sept. 30-Oct. 3

Arizona Fall League: October, Dates TBD

Baseball Winter Meetings: Las Vegas, Nev., December 8

Major League Rule 5 Draft: Las Vegas, Nev., December 11

HAPPY HOLLIDAYS

MERRY X-MASS AND HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR!

FROM FROSTY KENNEDY'S FAMILY

NAMES ON MITCHELL REPORT

Rick Ankiel
Mark McGwire
Berry Bonds

SHOULD BONDS AND MCGWIRE BE ON 60 HOMERS LIST AFTER MITCHELL REPORT HAS BEEN RELEASED?

Early indications of Steroid Use in Baseball (1988 to August 1998) - Section IV, pages 60-76

Three of the four players named in Section IV admitted steroid use: Ken Caminiti, Jose Canseco and Wally Joyner.
Player Location in Mitchell Report
Ken Caminiti pages 71-73
Jose Canseco pages 61-66
Lenny Dykstra pages 66-67
Wally Joyner page 73




Androstenedione and Baseball's Broadening Awareness of the Use of Performance Enhancing Substances - Section V, pages 77-85
A bottle of androstenedione, a steroid hormone legally sold as a dietary supplement in the U.S. at the time and not prohibited by baseball, was discovered in Mark McGwire's locker in St. Louis. He was also accused of using steroids in Oakland by former teammate Jose Canseco. In 2004, it was announced Derrick Turnbow tested positive for steroids during training camp for the U.S. Olumpic team.

Player Location in Mitchell Report
Mark McGwire pages 77-85
Derrick Turnbow page 130




Incidents Providing Evidence to Baseball Officials of Players' Possession or Use of Performance Enhancing Substances, Section VI, pages 86-111
A number of incidents, beginning in 2000, were reported to the Commissioner's Office. According to the Mitchell Report, many incidents were not investigated thoroughly or at all.

Player Location in Mitchell Report
Manny Alexander pages 91-92
Ricky Bones pages 92-94
Alex Cabrera pages 94-95
Paxton Crawford pages 111
Juan Gonzalez pages 95-99
Jason Grimsley pages 106-108
Rafael Palmeiro pages 103-106
David Segui pages 110




Major League Baseball and the BALCO Investigation, Section VII, pages 112-137
Several players were implicated in testimony leaked in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) investigation and the subsequent book "Game of Shadows" written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters studying the case.

Player Location in Mitchell Report
Marvin Bernard pages 127-128
Barry Bonds pages 128-130
Bobby Estalella page 130
Jason Giambi pages 131-133
Jeremy Giambi pages 133-134
Armando Rios pages 113
Benito Santiago pages 134-135
Gary Sheffield pages 135-137
Randy Velarde pages 137




Information Obtained Regarding Other Players' Possession or Use of Steroids and Human Growth Hormone, Section VIII, pages 138-233
Kirk Radomski, a bat boy, equipment manager and clubhouse attendant for the New York Mets from 1985-95, provided Mitchell's committee with players' names as part of his plea bargain with the federal government in the case against the BALCO. In addition, Radomski provided mailing receipts of shipments as well as checks and money orders from players, all included in the report. New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee provided extensive context as well.

Player Location in Mitchell Report
Chad Allen pages 225-227
Mark Bell pages 219-220
Gary Bennett pages 222-223
Larry Bigbie pages 152-158
Kevin Brown pages 214-217
Mike Carreon pages 163-164
Jason Christiansen page 205
Howie Clark pages 228-229
Roger Clemens pages 167-175
Jack Cust page 159
Brendan Donnelly pages 224-225
Chris Donnells pages 190-194
Lenny Dykstra pages 149-150
Matt Franco page 165
Ryan Franklin page 190
Eric Gagne pages 217-219
Jason Grimsley pages 177-179
Jerry Hairston Jr. pages 207-208
Matt Herges pages 221-222
Phil Hiatt pages 194-195
Glenallen Hill pages 183-185
Todd Hundley pages 163-164
Mike Judd pages 230-232
David Justice pages 181-182
Chuck Knoblauch page 177
Tim Laker pages 159-161
Mike Lansing pages 196-197
Paul Lo Duca pages 208-211
Nook Logan page 229
Josias Manzanillo pages 161-163
Cody McKay pages 197-198
Kent Merker pages 198-199
Bart Miadich pages 212-213
Hal Morris pages 164-165
Daniel Naulty pages 232-233
Denny Neagle pages 187-188
Jim Parque pages 223-224
Andy Pettitte pages 175-176
Adam Piatt pages 199-201
Todd Pratt page 195
Stephen Randolph pages 206-207
Adam Riggs pages 211-212
Brian Roberts page 158
David Segui pages 150-152
F.P. Santangelo pages 182-183
Mike Stanton pages 205-206
Ricky Stone pages 230-232
Miguel Tejada pages 201-204
Mo Vaughn pages 186-187
Ron Villone pages 188-190
Fernando Vina pages 213-214
Rondell White pages 165-167
Jeff Williams pages 227-228
Todd Williams page 194
Kevin Young pages 195-196
Gregg Zaun pages 179-181




The Threat Posed by Internet Sales of Steroids and Human Growth Hormone - Section VIII, pages 234-257
Since the initial reports of a 2007 raid on Signature Compounding Pharmacy in Orlando, Fla., and several rejuvenation centers, news reports have linked the names of several current and former players to performance-enhancing drugs.
Player Location in Mitchell Report

Rick Ankiel pages 243-244
David Bell pages 244-245
Paul Byrd pages 245-246
Jose Canseco pages 246-247
Jay Gibbons pages 247-248
Troy Glaus pages 248-249
Jason Grimsley page 249
Jose Guillen pages 249-251
Jerry Hairston Jr. page 251
Darren Holmes pages 251-252
Gary Matthews Jr. pages 252-253
John Rocker page 254
Scott Schoeneweis pages 254-255
Ismael Valdez page 255
Matt Williams pages 255-256
Steve Woodward page 257

Mark McGwire - 60 HOMERS CLUB MEMBER

Mark David McGwire

Mark McGwire was born on Oct. 1ST 1963. His MLB debut was Aug. 22, 1986 for the Oakland Athletics. His final game was Oct. 7, 2001 with the St. Louis Cardinals

Career statistics
HR 583
RBI 1414
AVG .263

McGwire married Stephanie Slemer, a former pharmaceutical sales representative from the St. Louis area, in Las Vegas on April 20, 2002. They reside in a gated community in Shady Canyon Irvine, California and together created the Mark McGwire Foundation for Children to support agencies that work with children who have been sexually and physically abused to help come to terms with his difficult childhood.

McGwire currently avoids the media. He spends much of his free time playing golf. He is an exceptional golfer and it has been rumored that he will try to qualify for the Senior PGA Tour when he turns 50 in 2013.

His brother Dan McGwire was a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins of the NFL in the early 1990s, and was a first round draft choice out of San Diego State University and played with Marshall Faulk.

Mark appeared on an episode of the sitcom Mad About You, playing a ballplayer infatuated with Helen Hunt's character.

Mark attended Damien High School in La Verne, California where he started playing baseball, golf, and basketball.

In 1999, the The Sporting News released a list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. The list had been compiled during the 1998 season and included statistics through the 1997 season. McGwire was ranked at Number 91. That year, he was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2005, The Sporting News published an update of their list and McGwire had been moved up to Number 84.

However, in the 2007 balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, McGwire failed to attain election, receiving 128 of the 545 cast, 23.5% of the vote. It is widely conceded that this was related to the steroid scandal and McGwire's less than forthcoming testimony. Based on his career numbers, McGwire may eventually be voted into the Hall of Fame.


Steroids controversy

Although McGwire has never admitted to or been convicted of any steroid use, many of his accomplishments, particularly his historic home run surge late in his career, have come into question due to his connection to the steroid scandal in Major League Baseball.

In 1998, after an article written by Associated Press writer Steve Wilstein, McGwire admitted to taking androstenedione, an over-the-counter muscle enhancement product. While legal for use in MLB, it had been banned by the NFL and IOC.

In 2005, former "Bash Brothers" McGwire and Jose Canseco were subpoenaed to testify at a congressional hearing on steroids, along with five other baseball players and four baseball executives. Canseco had released Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, a book in which he spoke positively about steroids, and made various claims-- among them, that McGwire had been using performance enhancing drugs since the 1980s. During his testimony on March 17, 2005, McGwire declined to answer questions under oath when he appeared before the House Government Reform Committee.

In a tearful opening statement McGwire said,

“ Asking me or any other player to answer questions about who took steroids in front of television cameras will not solve the problem. If a player answers 'No,' he simply will not be believed; if he answers 'Yes,' he risks public scorn and endless government investigations.... My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, and myself. I will say, however, that it remains a fact in this country that a man, any man, should be regarded as innocent unless proven guilty." ”

When asked if he was asserting his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, McGwire once again responded:

“ I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject. ”

While no legal action has been taken against McGwire, in baseball or out of it, his testimony cost him public affection and support. In 1999, McGwire was voted to the All-Century Team, and upon his retirement in 2001, he was uniformly characterized as "a future Hall of Famer." However, when his Cooperstown eligibility began in 2006-07, McGwire received less than a quarter of the vote from the very same baseball writers who had treated him as an icon. Several of these sportswriters indicated that they were casting a protest non-vote in McGwire's first year of eligibility, or that they wanted more time to consider the developing steroid story in baseball; some noted that McGwire's relatively low career batting average (.263) and the fact that he did not attain 2,000 hits during his career as deciding factors to abstain. It is unclear where McGwire's true level of ballot support will end up leveling off.

Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia

Hall of Fame solution for Bonds, Rose, and other rejects.

Solution for Hall of Fame and Baseball 756: The Cooperstown Basement
Sports analysts are jumping on the controversial bandwagon asking whether Barry Bond's baseball 756 should be in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame with or without an asterisk. I won't be surprised if ESPN or Fox creates an emotional montage complete with serene music and baseball poetry about all the players, including Pete Rose, who have been left out of the Hall of Fame for one controversial reason or another.

I have a solution to the problem, and I think it could earn Cooperstown a bunch of money: Create the Hall of Fame Cellar.

That's right. Build a Hall of Fame cellar. Make tourists walk down winding, darkened stairs with cobwebby sconces lighting their way. Play eerie music while the tourists view the stories and memorabilia of all the players left out of the Hall of Fame for their inappropriate behavior (Shoeless Joe, Pete Rose, Mark McGuire, and Rafael Palmiero), covered in cobwebs, of course. Include a special section for baseball curses, such as Sports Illustrated Covers, goats, and the Bambino, and don't forget to cover baseball strikes. A haunted cellar. Trust me--oodles of dollars worth of income. And in the center, display Barry Bonds's baseball and Sammy Sosa's bat.

Hope you enjoyed my grandaughters vido.