Mar 5, 2005 5 min read

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Jose Canseco is ready to raise his hand and take the oath. While current players and executives were uncertain whether they will testify before a congressional committee investigating steroids, the MVP-turned-bestselling author had no qualms. “We’ll be there on the 16th and 17th,” Canseco’s agent, Doug Ames, said Friday.

Jason Giambi, Canseco’s former Oakland teammate, said it was “highly unlikely” he would testify before the House Government Reform Committee, which on Thursday scheduled the hearing for March 17. Boston pitcher Curt Schilling was unsure whether he would appear and whether the hearing would be productive.

“It depends on what it’s for,” Schilling said in Fort Myers. “I mean, if this is a McCarthy witch hunt all over again, then no. But, again, I don’t know any of the specifics around what it entails and what’s going on.”

Mark McGwire, who combined with Canseco to form the Bash Brothers on the World Series champion Athletics, also was undecided.

“We’re still evaluating,” McGwire spokesman Marc Altieri said. “I can’t say one way or the other.”

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and executive vice president Sandy Alderson had not made their decisions, spokesman Rich Levin said, and San Diego general manager Kevin Towers declined comment.

The players’ association had not yet decided whether union head Donald Fehr would testify or what recommendation it would give to the invited players, according to union general counsel Michael Weiner.

Any invited witness who turns down an offer to testify could be subpoenaed by the committee. That could present a sticky situation for Giambi, who was given limited immunity in 2003 when he testified before a federal grand jury investigating illegal steroid distribution.

“We think it’s a little early to talk about who’s confirmed their attendance,” said David Marin, a spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, the Virginia Republican who chairs the committee.

At the Yankees training camp, Giambi said he had a brief conversation with his agent, Arn Tellem, about the invitation.

“I have no idea what they are trying to do,” Giambi said. “I’m just concentrating on playing baseball.”

In December, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Giambi told the grand jury he had used steroids. Barry Bonds, who was not invited by the committee, told the grand jury he used a substance that prosecutors believe contained steroids, the paper said.

Giambi has declined to discuss steroids publicly but issued a general apology last month to teammates and fans. Bonds testily sidestepped questions when he arrived at spring training.

“The fact that the questions are surrounding him certainly doesn’t dilute the fact that’s he a Hall of Famer before all the questions were asked,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said of Bonds. “That’s the thing I think is going to be lost in this whole thing – everybody is curious about the last year or two years or whatever, and it’s going to demolish his whole career.”

In an informal conversation with reporters from the Oakland Tribune and ESPN on Thursday, Bonds said performance-enhancing substances are not a big deal.

“You’re talking about something that wasn’t even illegal at the time,” Bonds said. “All this stuff about supplements, protein shakes, whatever. Man, it’s not like this is the Olympics. … We’re entertainers. If I can’t go out there and somebody pays $60 for a ticket, and I’m not in the lineup, who’s getting cheated? Not me.

“So we all make mistakes. We all do things. We need to turn the page. We need to forget about the past and let us play the game. We’re entertainers. Let us entertain.”

Baltimore’s Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro were invited to testify, as was Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox.

“March 17th is my wife’s birthday. That should tell you right there what my answer is,” Palmeiro said at Baltimore’s camp in Fort Lauderdale. “Honestly, I don’t really have anything to say on the subject. I don’t want anything to do with that stuff. All I’m interested in right now is just getting ready to play baseball and staying here with my team. I’m flattered that they’ve invited me, but I’ll respectfully decline the invitation.”

Sosa isn’t ready to respond.

“I don’t know about that yet. I have to call my agent,” he said.

Thomas, recovering from an injury, is not due to report to spring training until Monday. Like Giambi, he is represented by Tellem, who declined comment through an assistant.

Giambi has the go-ahead from the Yankees to testify.

“If he chose to go, we’d support him. We’d support the concept of him going,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “It’s up to Jason and his representatives to make those decisions. We’d give him the day.”

Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie said the team would not prevent a player from leaving spring training to testify.

“To take a day off for something like that, certainly we’ve accommodated that before,” he said.