2.28.2005
Towers on Caminiti: "I didn't do anything about it"
In a shocking admission from a type of person who rarely admits being wrong, Padres GM Kevin Towers tells ESPN that he never addressed Ken Caminiti's suspected steroid use because Caminiti's home runs were good for the club. As far as I know, this is the most direct admission of steroid complicity so far by someone in charge of a major-league team. You think the Giants' brass figured Greg Anderson was just passing out bon-bons and neck massages with his all-access pass to the Giants clubhouse? Mmm-hmm.
The Towers story is subscription-only, but here's a quick excerpt:
"I feel somewhat guilty, because I felt like I knew," Towers says, watching the Padres take batting practice from the balcony outside his spring-training office in suburban Phoenix. "I still don't know for sure, but Cammy came out and said that he used steroids, and I suspected. Selfishly, the guy was putting up numbers, and I didn't do anything about it. That's just the truth."
Baseball needs a lot of honesty right now. It needs a lot of people to ask themselves questions and answer honestly, as Towers is.
"The truth is, we're in a competitive business," Towers says, "and these guys were putting up big numbers and helping your ballclub win games. You tended to turn your head on things. And it really wakes you up when someone you admire as a person is no longer around. You can't help but think, could I have done something differently four or five years ago that might have changed what happened to him?
"I hate to be the one voice for the other 29 GMs, but I'd have to imagine that all of them, at one point or other, had reason to think that a player on their ballclub was probably using, based on body changes and things that happened over the winter."
|
The Towers story is subscription-only, but here's a quick excerpt:
"I feel somewhat guilty, because I felt like I knew," Towers says, watching the Padres take batting practice from the balcony outside his spring-training office in suburban Phoenix. "I still don't know for sure, but Cammy came out and said that he used steroids, and I suspected. Selfishly, the guy was putting up numbers, and I didn't do anything about it. That's just the truth."
Baseball needs a lot of honesty right now. It needs a lot of people to ask themselves questions and answer honestly, as Towers is.
"The truth is, we're in a competitive business," Towers says, "and these guys were putting up big numbers and helping your ballclub win games. You tended to turn your head on things. And it really wakes you up when someone you admire as a person is no longer around. You can't help but think, could I have done something differently four or five years ago that might have changed what happened to him?
"I hate to be the one voice for the other 29 GMs, but I'd have to imagine that all of them, at one point or other, had reason to think that a player on their ballclub was probably using, based on body changes and things that happened over the winter."
|
