Strong reaction to report on baseball drug use

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - From the U.S. president to the average fan, Americans reacted with anger, shock and disappointment on Friday to a report that found some of Major League Baseball's best players used performance-enhancing drugs.

The 20-month independent investigation led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell portrayed 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.

President George W. Bush, a former part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, said the use of steroids in baseball had "sullied" the game.

"My hope is that this report is a part of putting the steroid era of baseball behind us," Bush said.

The report was front-page news in U.S. newspapers and the subject of editorials and numerous sports columns.

"We were robbed of an entire era of baseball," wrote Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey. "It matters not that it was done at syringe-point instead of gunpoint. We wuz robbed."

Mitchell said steroids use dated back to the 1980s, intensifying about 10 years ago with the home run binges of Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.

"Yesterday's report from the former Senator George Mitchell makes it inescapably clear that major league baseball is permeated with a win-at-all-costs drug culture that has spread far beyond a handful of all-star performers," the New York Times said in an editorial.

Fans surveyed in a New York City park expressed disappointment.

Atlanta Braves fan Michael Sullivan, 44, said he was surprised baseball had not done something sooner about steroids.

"It's going to affect my view of a lot of the players that were listed," said Sullivan, a lobbyist from Alabama.

Actor Lucas Beck, 25, said the report confirmed the worst. "You hear about one person or another person. And then it's like, whole baseball teams ... Is nothing sacred?"

Visiting Californian Janice Callister doubted it would affect fan interest. "Cynical side of me said: bottom line, nobody cares," Callister said. "They're going to go see baseball. They want to see home runs."

'DISGRACE'

Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young winner as best pitcher in his league, was the biggest name added to a Hall of Shame list of high-profile players linked to steroids -- although the 354-game winner vehemently denied allegations in the report.