MLB Umpire Tim McClelland Says Steroid Use to Improve Performance Is Acceptable

Timothy McClelland, one of Major League Baseball’s most respected and senior umpires, defended baseball players who have used anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs at a university fundraiser last night. McClelland was the headline guest speaker at the sixth annual Iowa Baseball Lead-Off Dinner hosted by the University of Iowa baseball team.

McClelland’s comments on steroids in baseball came on the same day as Alex Rodriguez’s steroid confessional at a press conference in Tampa.

Tim McClelland has worked as an umpire in Major League Baseball for over 25 years. He has been around long enough to witness the beginning of the so-called steroid era in baseball.

He acknowledged that rampant steroid use was obvious in the MLB for a period of at least 15 years and hopes that fans—and probably also sportswriters and grandstanding politicians—move past the hysteria that has overtaken baseball. After all, how can you fault an athlete for seeking to improve himself as a player and maximize his performance (”McClelland: Steroids part of era,” Feb. 18)?

“They used it to make themselves better,” McClelland said. “I can’t fault a player for doing that. It was not against the rules of baseball, so I can’t fault a player for trying to make himself better.”

Tim McClelland has established a strong reputation as being fair and consistent. The major league crew chief is always among the top-rated umpires in the league among players and managers.

“I’d like to see people kind of get over it,” McClelland said. “It was part of that era. In 2004, baseball instituted the ban on steroids. The previous 15 years, you just have to realize there were a lot of people taking steroids.”

Anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs have not ruined Tim McClelland’s passion for the game of baseball.

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Post from: MESO-Rx Blog

Written by: Millard Baker | Twitter | FriendFeed | Facebook | E-mail

Senior MLB Umpire Thinks Steroid Use to Improve Player Performance is Acceptable