Alex Rodriguez was the very first name to be linked to the 2003 list of players who have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Dane Wade of the Bleacher Report wrote that this sparked media frenzy that even the Mitchell Report could not touch. It is also stated in Wade’s column that there is a reason for why Selena Roberts did not write a book about Jason Grimsley, Chuck Knoblauch or other players who were listed in the report though there were concrete evidences pointing them to steroid or HGH use. And the reason why these players were not included in the book is because fans don’t care about non-stars.

The Mitchell Report does not provide a comprehensive list of players who are allegedly steroid users. But there is a huge incentive to find other documents that connect these players and other superstars to the controlled substances.

During the 2003 survey tests, every player was required to be tested with the union’s word that no names would go public. However, the result of the tests will help the investigators gauge the extent of steroid use in the league. In other words, there is really a secret list of players who have tested positive and the names intentionally released were not interesting enough but the names leaked off the secret list have made the people who discovered them famous.

Selena Roberts became famous overnight because of the published book that includes the list of baseball players who failed the drug test. Today, the word that Sammy Sosa also failed the 2003 test is another revelation. But it came as no surprise when Sosa is said to have tested positive and it was only a matter of time before he got caught. With this, Wade asked a question: “Is it fair to players like Rodriguez and Sosa to be singled out and shamed when there are 102 players on that list as guilty as they are?”

The league has a roster of 750 players at the start of any season and nearly a seventh of these players were using performance enhancers at the time that the test was conducted. Some players may have false positives, but it is also possible that others who used earlier in the season were missed.

However, releasing the so-called 2003 list of players would violate the Union’s assurance to its members that their names as well as the results will not be released. The players took the test under the impression that their identities will be protected. Wade also wrote that “keeping a semi-private list of offenders simply begs to be leaked, especially when the two names revealed so far have drawn so much attention.” The list’s release would bring more fiasco and attention to the PED issue, which the commissioner and the Union avoid.

In the end, Wade wrote, that both “groups are far too arrogant and will believe themselves to be able to either secure the list and patch the leaks or that journalists will simply stop reporting once the names get uninteresting.”

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