WASHINGTON - Under the glare of lights Wednesday in the Senate hearing room, Henry Aaron spoke first.
"This is the first time I've been a leadoff hitter," said the Hall of Fame outfielder with the most career home runs. "I'm used to cleaning up."
Then Aaron endorsed baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's plan to slap harsher penalties on players who use performance-enhancing steroids. So did four other baseball greats, including former Cub Ryne Sandberg, who said, "We owe America's pastime a strict policy."
These members of the Hall of Fame confronted baseball's acts of shame at a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. From it came an indication that the players union and Selig's office were closing in on an agreement to strengthen sanctions against players who use steroids.
Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) confronted Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, saying Fehr and the union did not seem to understand the "transcendental moment" facing baseball and its reputation.
"Don't you get it?" McCain asked. "We're at the end here, and ... we need an agreement soon. It's not complicated."
Fehr responded that he could not give a precise date for an accord.
"Would I expect it to be by the end of the World Series? I would certainly hope so," he said. The Series is scheduled to start Oct. 22 and end no later than Oct. 30.
Selig said he also hoped a deal could be struck by the end of the Series, adding that "I don't see that we have a choice" in strengthening penalties.
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"This is the first time I've been a leadoff hitter," said the Hall of Fame outfielder with the most career home runs. "I'm used to cleaning up."
Then Aaron endorsed baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's plan to slap harsher penalties on players who use performance-enhancing steroids. So did four other baseball greats, including former Cub Ryne Sandberg, who said, "We owe America's pastime a strict policy."
These members of the Hall of Fame confronted baseball's acts of shame at a hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. From it came an indication that the players union and Selig's office were closing in on an agreement to strengthen sanctions against players who use steroids.
Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) confronted Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, saying Fehr and the union did not seem to understand the "transcendental moment" facing baseball and its reputation.
"Don't you get it?" McCain asked. "We're at the end here, and ... we need an agreement soon. It's not complicated."
Fehr responded that he could not give a precise date for an accord.
"Would I expect it to be by the end of the World Series? I would certainly hope so," he said. The Series is scheduled to start Oct. 22 and end no later than Oct. 30.
Selig said he also hoped a deal could be struck by the end of the Series, adding that "I don't see that we have a choice" in strengthening penalties.
Entire Article
