Fans hope for action after baseball steroid report

MIAMI (Reuters) - A report chronicling widespread steroid use in U.S. Major League Baseball has saddened longtime fans but left them hopeful firm action will be taken now that the scale of the problem is out in the open.

"Of course I am saddened and disappointed but in a way I am also glad," George Gil, a little-league coach in South Florida, told Reuters on Friday.

"We knew it was going on and as a father, with two sons aged under 15, I am glad that finally it is being talked about and that something is going to be done," he added.

The 21-month independent investigation led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell revealed a pervasive drug culture in the sport and cited more than 80 current and former players, including 10 Most Valuable Player winners and 31 All-Stars.

Mitchell's report called for unannounced year-round testing by an independent body. But it said the players cited should not be punished, given that many of the findings involved activities dating back before Major League Baseball and the Players Association agreed in 2002 to drug testing.

Gil said he was not surprised by the extent of the problem.

"At one time I played college baseball. In today's competitive environment and on many levels, in many sports, people use enhancement drugs to get ahead."

Baseball fans surveyed in New York's Bryant Park expressed disappointment.

Kathy Zeiger's two sons are active in sports and are fans of the New York Yankees, which had numerous players mentioned in Mitchell's report, including star pitcher Roger Clemens.

"They're taught that sports lead to integrity," Zeiger said of her sons. "It doesn't give them any sense of courage if you're not a good player, or even if you are a good player, if the player next to you is participating in a sport on artificial means."

Californian Janice Callister, 54, said the steroid issue spoke to problems beyond baseball.

"It's probably indicative of everything we do, who's going to get paid the most," Callister said. "And it's not just baseball. It's everything we do. ... It's just indicative of society and of entertainment, which is what baseball is."

Atlanta Braves fan Michael Sullivan, 44, said he doubted the steroid revelations would reduce his enjoyment of the game but hoped baseball would act.

"Going forward, I would hope baseball does something pretty drastic to ensure it doesn't continue to go on," said Sullivan, a lobbyist from Alabama.

There was more caution when it came to the naming of specific players.

"I have an open mind, it is too early to make decisions. We have to remember we are talking about people who have never failed a drugs test," said Gil.

"I think if they can prove he (Clemens) actually cheated, he should be punished for it. I don't have the time of day for that stuff," said Garrick McIntosh, 28, an account executive in line at Toronto's Air Canada Centre to buy hockey equipment used by the Maple Leafs.

(Editing by Peter Cooney)