Selig mulls action on A-Rod, HR mark

Selig mulls action on A-Rod, HR mark

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig told USA Today in Thursday's edition that he is contemplating whether a suspension of Alex Rodriguez might be appropriate in the wake of the Yankees third baseman's admission to the use of banned substances from 2001-2003.

"It was against the law, so I would have to think about that," Selig said in an interview with Christine Brennan.

Furthermore, as Barry Bonds approaches a March 2 trial date on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about performance-enhancing drugs, Selig added he was considering the reinstatement of Henry Aaron as the rightful home run king in the official record books.

Bonds currently holds the career record with 762 home runs, having passed Aaron's mark of 755 in 2007.

"This is breaking my heart, I don't mind telling you that," Selig said.

A suspension of Rodriguez is a tricky proposition because the test that came up positive was part of an anonymous survey to determine whether use was above a certain threshold in the game.

So, Rodriguez would be paying a price for verifying his use in response to an unnamed-sources leak to Sports Illustrated, and it is unclear whether Selig would want to deter others from coming forward if they were inclined to confess to being among the 104 names on the list that included A-Rod.

The Office of the Commissioner does not have, nor has it ever had, access to the list of players that was confiscated as part of the highly publicized BALCO investigation in which names of 10 players surfaced.

Additionally, even Rodriguez's "admission" to using outlawed substances to ESPN in Monday's interview was unclear.

"I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using," Rodriguez said.

Donald Fehr, the union's executive director, told USA Today he would not expect any action taken against Rodriguez.

"I would be surprised if there was an attempt to [suspend Rodriguez]," Fehr said.

Selig issued a memo in 1997 banning steroids and noted possession of steroids was illegal without a prescription. Players did not agree to punishment for use until 2004, triggered by the more than 5 percent of players who tested positive in the 2003 exercise.

Brennan wrote a column that included additional details of her discussion with the Commissioner.

"I don't want to create any false hope," Selig said, referring to those, including Brennan herself, who are advocating action, even if just to make a statement and even if it were overturned or unenforceable.

As Brennan wrote, suggesting a "best interest" of the game rationale: "Suspend him for 50 games, suspend him for a week. Just suspend him."

Easier written than done, no doubt, for the aforementioned reason that the A-Rod revelation ultimately was the product of an illegal disclosure.

I'm never in favor of erasing stats, but at least Selig is acknowledging that he won't tolerate steroid users. I do hope A-Rod gets suspended - 50 games, at least.