Growth hormone is latest bombshell to hit baseball

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Major League Baseball’s independent
panel investigating drug use is not commenting on the latest
doping bombshell to hit the game – that players may be cheating
the system by taking human growth hormone.

Journeyman relief pitcher Jason Grimsley admitted using
human growth hormones, steroids, amphetamines and other illegal
performance-enhancing drugs during his career and named other
baseball users, according to a sworn affidavit from a federal
investigator and documents filed in Arizona’s federal court.

The 38-year-old Grimsley, whose Scottsdale, Arizona, home
was searched by federal agents on Tuesday, was cut from the
roster by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

“This is a black mark on a great game,” said Ken Kendrick,
managing partner of the Diamondbacks.

“We have no comment,” said John Clarke, spokesman for
former U.S. senator George Mitchell, who was named in March to
lead an independent investigation into the past use of
performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.

Baseball has just navigated its way through Barry Bonds, at
the center of steroid-taking allegations, surpassing Babe Ruth
and taking second place on the all-time home run list.

FEDERAL PROBE

According to a report in the Arizona Republic, Grimsley’s
case may have been tied to the federal probe into Bonds.

The newspaper quoted the attorney for Grimsley as saying
federal agents tried to pressure the former Diamondbacks
pitcher into wearing a listening device to lure other major
league players into confidential conversations in an effort to
find incriminating evidence against Bonds.

“It was a specific effort to target Bonds,” it quoted
Edward F. Novak, a criminal attorney in Arizona. “We were told
that Jason’s cooperation was necessary to their case.”

Novak said Grimsley, a 15-year major leaguer who played for
seven different teams, “was outed by the feds” because he
refused to cooperate.

Names of other players who Grimsley told investigators were
also using banned substances were blacked out in the federal
documents that were made public. It quoted Grimsley as saying
amphetamines were once used “like aspirin” in clubhouses.

Grimsley was confronted by federal agents when he took
delivery in April of two kits of growth hormone, according to
the documents.

Since the major leagues now impose random urine tests to
detect steroids and amphetamines, Grimsley was using only human
growth hormone, according to the documents.

Major league commissioner Bud Selig deferred to Mitchell
over the case. “Because this is an ongoing criminal
investigation, I will not make any comment about this specific
case,” he said in a statement.

“As a general matter, however, I urge everyone associated
with Major League Baseball – from the players to the union to
the owners – to cooperate with the ongoing investigations by
the Federal government and by former Sen. George Mitchell.”

Major league official Rob Manfred said in a statement that
HGH presented special problems in terms of testing.

“No governing body in any sport has ever been able to
discipline an athlete for the use of HGH.

“Major League Baseball understands that its policy must
continue to evolve to keep pace with scientific development,”
said Manfred, adding that baseball was funding research to
develop a urine test for HGH.