Michael Ventre

Recently the Supreme Court delivered a blow to whistleblowers when it ruled that the Constitution does not protect public employees from retaliation by their supervisors for anything they say in the course of doing their jobs. The decision could have a chilling effect on anyone in government who discovers wrongdoing and wants to expose it.

In baseball, as well as in other sports, in police departments, and in the ranks of the military, whistleblowers are almost nonexistent. There is something about the fraternal nature of those organizations and others like them that creates peer pressure and prevents individuals from breaking the unofficial vow of silence and disclosing misdeeds.

So I understand why major leaguers aren’t squealing on their brethren regarding the issue of steroids and other performance-enhancing substances like human growth hormone. I don’t expect a prominent player to reveal the names of others he suspects of juicing, even anonymously.

But is it too much to ask for the clean ones to speak out in general about the dirty ones?

It’s almost impossible to say who the clean ones are these days. Most casual observers were willing to believe Albert Pujols was performing feats of might on the diamond naturally. And many still do. But now there’s a seed of doubt in the minds of some after Pujols publicly defended Barry Bonds, and after it was reported that Chris Mihlfeld, a trainer who works with Pujols, may have been one of the redacted names on the Jason Grimsley affidavit.

It should be noted that Mihlfeld vehemently denies that Pujols has ever used illegal performance-enhancing substances, and I hope he’s telling the truth. The more superstars who are beyond suspicion the better.

Yet there is a thunderous silence out there on the baseball landscape. It’s coming from all the players who don’t want to get involved, even if it means helping to nurse a game that has been good to them back to health.

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This isn’t McCarthyism. I’m not asking them to name names. I’m not even asking them to take a loyalty oath. I’m suggesting that the game of baseball is in dire need of their leadership. In this case, they can lead by coming out in public and declaring that steroids and other substances are turning the national pastime into fodder for late-night comedians and it’s time to begin rehabilitating the game’s image and reputation.

I can think of some off the top of my head I’d like to hear from. They include, but are certainly not limited to, Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Vladimir Guerrero, Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza, Paul Konerko, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Delgado, Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio.