Selig prepared to accept steroids report

Hours after a conference call between the 30 major league teams led some officials to believe Sen. George Mitchell would be willing to name names in his report on the steroids scandal, baseball commissioner Bud Selig downplayed the reports.

ESPN first reported team officials came away from the conference call with the understanding the forthcoming report would include many names, including those of well-known players.

Selig was traveling to Phoenix for Game 2 of the NLCS and was not in on the conference call, but contacted officials from multiple clubs afterward.

He talked to reporters in the third inning of Friday night’s NLCS matchup between the Diamondbacks and Rockies.

“I’ve talked to three or four clubs since then who’ve said that what was reported they didn’t hear,” Selig said. “They were on the call. … As far as names are going, I’m also told by people who were on the call, he just said you ought to be prepared for that eventuality. Many of the news reports have already said there would be names. Other than that, that was the conversation. I don’t think there’s anything different in that story, frankly, then you all (reporters) have written over and over.”

Mitchell’s report will likely come out in November or December, several baseball officials told The Associated Press.

Selig said he has purposely stayed out of the investigation and isn’t worried about what may be found.

“None of us know what’s in that thing,” Selig said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Whatever comes out comes out.”

Selig addressed a variety of other issues in the 10-minute chat, including the possibility of instant replay in baseball and the late start times for playoff games on the West Coast.

Friday’s game began at 7:19 p.m. Arizona time, which was 10:19 p.m. on the East Coast.

Selig said there was too much focus on how much the start times affected those on the East Coast, and that putting the game on at the same time as the ALCS was not an option.

“We can’t put them both on (at the same time) because we get more complaints that way: 'How can you expect us to watch two games at one time?’ Selig said.

Selig also said he was glad to see a pair of teams with lower payrolls advance this far into the postseason.

“I don’t think there’s anything (fluky) about it at all,” Selig said.

“It’s something we set out to do a decade ago, and through a lot of economic reforms, we got to where we are. … This just couldn’t happen in the ’90’s. You bet we set out to do this and I’m happy the trend is there.”