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MLB feels heat
April 20, 2005
Major League Baseball may appoint an independent investigator to review
its steroids history, hoping to head off congressional intervention,
sources said yesterday.
Commissioner Bud Selig told several representatives in a meeting
Thursday that baseball was taking to heart Congress' March 17 warning
that if baseball did not take its steroid problems seriously, then the
government would.
The discussion was first reported by the New York Times in yesterday's
editions, and was confirmed by several sources.
MLB also announced that Sandy Alderson, MLB's executive vice president
for baseball operations, will become the CEO of the San Diego Padres
within the next two weeks.
Alderson, the former Oakland A's GM who went to work for Selig six years
ago, had been considering such a move for more than a year, several
baseball sources said.
He was never a perfect fit in Selig's inner circle, which includes the
commissioner's close allies - Bob DuPuy, baseball's President and CEO,
and Rob Manfred, senior VP for business and labor.
Alderson, who made a mission of improving umpiring and introduced
QuesTec technology to the game, also took the initial hits about
baseball's steroid past when Jose Canseco's book was released.
He was in the unenviable position of appearing on "60Minutes" in Selig's
place and was criticized by members of Congress for saying baseball was
not aware of steroid abuse in the mid-to-late 1990s.
But sources said the recent furor over Canseco's book and Daily News
reports that the FBI warned baseball about a growing steroid problem 10
years ago were not factors in Alderson's decision to leave.
"As Major League Baseball's Executive Vice-President for Baseball
Operations, Sandy contributed to the game's renaissance in many ways,"
Selig said in a statement. "He was particularly active in our efforts to
consolidate the roles of the leagues, including their responsibilities
as they related to umpiring, and to refine the strike zone and make it
more consistent throughout baseball."
MLB officials said their first order of business was to find a
replacement for Alderson, and that they will continue to discuss whether
to appoint the game's first outside investigator since attorney John
Dowd investigated gambling allegations against Pete Rose.
Sources have said that Selig has conducted his own investigation of
sorts since the beginning of spring training, but recognizes that the
House Government Reform Committee, which held hearings on steroids in
baseball March 17, wants a deeper, independent look at the game. Sources
said MLB has not yet scheduled another meeting with committee members.
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