Any player who did not come forward and was later found to have used a performance-enhancing substance would be subject to heavy fines, suspensions, and even a possible banning.
Owners, general managers, and other baseball officials would also testify to what they knew and when they knew it. They, too, would not be subject to fines if they came forward, but would face suspensions if they were later found to have suppressed evidence. The glasnost model would go a long way toward assuring fans that baseball brass was acutely interested in preserving the integrity and cleanliness of the game, even off the field.
Think of the past few years, the Steroid Era, as the first few innings of a rained-out game: now we can just start over fresh. Truth is, most of us are suffering from Bonds fatigue, and the quickest road to recovery from this malady is, well, truth. And, while we can’t guarantee that everyone will cooperate — or do so honestly — it’s a baby step in the right direction. It’s a raw and ugly process, but the TRC model can help baseball move on.
There is a composite German word, vergangenheitsbewältigung, which entered the lexicon after World War II and roughly means “coming to terms with the past.” While it would hardly fit on the back of a jersey, vergangenheitsbewältigung could stand in for “valuable” in tabulating next season’s MVP awards.
