Former Trainer Puts Yankees Stars Under Microscope
Brian McNamee, right, a former Yankees strength coach, with Roger Clemens. McNamee said he injected Clemens with steroids.
By JACK CURRY
Published: December 14, 2007
Roger Clemens has long been known for his intense workouts, sessions that helped him pitch effectively into his mid 40s and receive acclaim as one of the most dominant pitchers ever. Andy Pettitte, Clemens’s close friend and Yankees teammate, adopted those workouts. But both pitchers may have been harboring secrets about an unsavory aspect of their regimen.
Brian McNamee, a former strength and conditioning coach for the Yankees who later was also a personal trainer for both pitchers, told investigators for George J. Mitchell that he had injected Clemens with steroids and had injected Pettitte with human growth hormone. Mitchell released his report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball on Thursday.
Mitchell’s report, about 400 pages, devotes roughly 2,500 words to Clemens, who has 354 career victories and seven Cy Young Awards. Pettitte, who has 201 victories and four World Series rings, is mentioned in a much briefer passage.
It was a depressing day for the Yankees, whose sustained run of success was smudged by the revelations. The team said it was reviewing the report and had no comment. In addition, Chuck Knoblauch, Mike Stanton and David Justice, who were part of a combined seven championship teams with the Yankees, and other Yankees were also cited for using performance enhancers. Justice denied the allegations.
Still, the most glaring names were Clemens and Pettitte, the big brother and little brother pitching tandem from Texas. Clemens, who fancies himself as the John Wayne of pitchers, and Pettitte, whose personality is more like that of Andy Griffith, have denied that they used enhancers.
Rusty Hardin, Clemens’s lawyer, said Clemens denied the allegations and was outraged that his name was included in the report. Harden called McNamee’s statements “uncorroborated” comments from a “troubled and unreliable” witness, who was threatened with prison.
While Hardin said Clemens was repeatedly tested for those substances and never tested positive, McNamee alleges that Clemens used steroids before baseball tested for them.
Randy Hendricks, Pettitte’s agent, said Pettitte would comment after consulting with his advisers and the players’ union. Clemens did not respond to a message left at his home. A text message and a voice message left with Tom Pettitte, Andy’s father, were not returned. Laura Pettitte, Andy’s wife, called the situation “hurtful.”
Because Clemens had such a commanding presence and he was Pettitte’s mentor, there was often a feeling around the Yankees that Pettitte would follow Clemens’s lead in most situations. Clemens started working with McNamee while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998, more than a year before Pettitte began training with McNamee.
McNamee, a former New York police officer, started his career with the Yankees as a bullpen catcher in 1993. He was reticent then, and even as McNamee gained more attention for working with Clemens and Pettitte, he remained quiet, even guarded.
But in interviews with Mitchell’s investigators, McNamee offered vivid details about injecting Clemens and Pettitte.
He described how Clemens asked him about steroids around June 8-10, 1998. Just before Clemens inquired, McNamee, who was working for the Blue Jays, said that he and Clemens had attended a luncheon with Jose Canseco. Canseco told Mitchell’s investigators that he had several discussions with Clemens about the benefits of the drugs Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol.
McNamee told Mitchell that Clemens said he could not inject himself and needed help. Later that summer, McNamee said, Clemens asked him to inject him with Winstrol, which Clemens provided.
McNamee told Mitchell that Clemens said the steroids “had a pretty good effect on him” and that Clemens’s pitching dramatically improved. On June 10, 1998, Clemens was 6-6 with a 3.27 earned run average. He finished the season going 14-0 with a 2.29 E.R.A.
Before the 1999 season, Clemens was traded to the Yankees. McNamee was reunited with Clemens a year later, when, at Clemens’s urging, the Yankees hired him as their assistant strength and conditioning coach. McNamee said he injected Clemens four to six times during the 2000 season with testosterone and four to six times with H.G.H. Late in the 2001 season, McNamee said, he injected Clemens at least four times with Sustanon or Deca-Durabolin.
McNamee, who was not rehired by the Yankees after the 2001 season, said Clemens never asked him about performance enhancers again. He continued as a personal trainer for Clemens through the 2007 season.
“He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse,” Hardin said of Clemens.
Pettitte trained with McNamee after the 1999 season through last season. McNamee said Pettitte asked him about H.G.H. after the 2001 season, but that McNamee advised against it.
During 2002, Pettitte was on the disabled list for almost two months with elbow tendinitis. McNamee said Pettitte asked him again about H.G.H. while he was rehabilitating.
So, McNamee said, he injected Pettitte two to four times with H.G.H. that was obtained from Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who was found guilty of steroid distribution last April. When Pettitte was asked last May if he had heard of Radomski, he said he had not.
As Laura Pettitte pulled out of the driveway of the couple’s home in Deer Park, Tex., on Thursday, she called her husband on a cellphone, then said, “He wants to say his piece, but right now he can’t.”
When asked about her husband’s mind-set, she said, “All I can say is it’s very hurtful.”
A woman leaving Clemens’s gated home in Katy, Tex., who identified herself as Clemens’s mother-in-law, said he was unavailable. She said, “I hope you have a great Christmas,” and drove away.
Thayer Evans contributed reporting from Houston.
News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/sports/baseball/14yankees.html?ref=baseball
Roger Clemens has long been known for his intense workouts, sessions that helped him pitch effectively into his mid 40s and receive acclaim as one of the most dominant pitchers ever. Andy Pettitte, Clemens’s close friend and Yankees teammate, adopted those workouts. But both pitchers may have been harboring secrets about an unsavory aspect of their regimen.
Brian McNamee, a former strength and conditioning coach for the Yankees who later was also a personal trainer for both pitchers, told investigators for George J. Mitchell that he had injected Clemens with steroids and had injected Pettitte with human growth hormone. Mitchell released his report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball on Thursday.
Mitchell’s report, about 400 pages, devotes roughly 2,500 words to Clemens, who has 354 career victories and seven Cy Young Awards. Pettitte, who has 201 victories and four World Series rings, is mentioned in a much briefer passage.
It was a depressing day for the Yankees, whose sustained run of success was smudged by the revelations. The team said it was reviewing the report and had no comment. In addition, Chuck Knoblauch, Mike Stanton and David Justice, who were part of a combined seven championship teams with the Yankees, and other Yankees were also cited for using performance enhancers. Justice denied the allegations.
Still, the most glaring names were Clemens and Pettitte, the big brother and little brother pitching tandem from Texas. Clemens, who fancies himself as the John Wayne of pitchers, and Pettitte, whose personality is more like that of Andy Griffith, have denied that they used enhancers.
Rusty Hardin, Clemens’s lawyer, said Clemens denied the allegations and was outraged that his name was included in the report. Harden called McNamee’s statements “uncorroborated” comments from a “troubled and unreliable” witness, who was threatened with prison.
While Hardin said Clemens was repeatedly tested for those substances and never tested positive, McNamee alleges that Clemens used steroids before baseball tested for them.
Randy Hendricks, Pettitte’s agent, said Pettitte would comment after consulting with his advisers and the players’ union. Clemens did not respond to a message left at his home. A text message and a voice message left with Tom Pettitte, Andy’s father, were not returned. Laura Pettitte, Andy’s wife, called the situation “hurtful.”
Because Clemens had such a commanding presence and he was Pettitte’s mentor, there was often a feeling around the Yankees that Pettitte would follow Clemens’s lead in most situations. Clemens started working with McNamee while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998, more than a year before Pettitte began training with McNamee.
McNamee, a former New York police officer, started his career with the Yankees as a bullpen catcher in 1993. He was reticent then, and even as McNamee gained more attention for working with Clemens and Pettitte, he remained quiet, even guarded.
But in interviews with Mitchell’s investigators, McNamee offered vivid details about injecting Clemens and Pettitte.
He described how Clemens asked him about steroids around June 8-10, 1998. Just before Clemens inquired, McNamee, who was working for the Blue Jays, said that he and Clemens had attended a luncheon with Jose Canseco. Canseco told Mitchell’s investigators that he had several discussions with Clemens about the benefits of the drugs Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol.
McNamee told Mitchell that Clemens said he could not inject himself and needed help. Later that summer, McNamee said, Clemens asked him to inject him with Winstrol, which Clemens provided.
McNamee told Mitchell that Clemens said the steroids “had a pretty good effect on him” and that Clemens’s pitching dramatically improved. On June 10, 1998, Clemens was 6-6 with a 3.27 earned run average. He finished the season going 14-0 with a 2.29 E.R.A.
Before the 1999 season, Clemens was traded to the Yankees. McNamee was reunited with Clemens a year later, when, at Clemens’s urging, the Yankees hired him as their assistant strength and conditioning coach. McNamee said he injected Clemens four to six times during the 2000 season with testosterone and four to six times with H.G.H. Late in the 2001 season, McNamee said, he injected Clemens at least four times with Sustanon or Deca-Durabolin.
McNamee, who was not rehired by the Yankees after the 2001 season, said Clemens never asked him about performance enhancers again. He continued as a personal trainer for Clemens through the 2007 season.
“He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse,” Hardin said of Clemens.
Pettitte trained with McNamee after the 1999 season through last season. McNamee said Pettitte asked him about H.G.H. after the 2001 season, but that McNamee advised against it.
During 2002, Pettitte was on the disabled list for almost two months with elbow tendinitis. McNamee said Pettitte asked him again about H.G.H. while he was rehabilitating.
So, McNamee said, he injected Pettitte two to four times with H.G.H. that was obtained from Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who was found guilty of steroid distribution last April. When Pettitte was asked last May if he had heard of Radomski, he said he had not.
As Laura Pettitte pulled out of the driveway of the couple’s home in Deer Park, Tex., on Thursday, she called her husband on a cellphone, then said, “He wants to say his piece, but right now he can’t.”
When asked about her husband’s mind-set, she said, “All I can say is it’s very hurtful.”
A woman leaving Clemens’s gated home in Katy, Tex., who identified herself as Clemens’s mother-in-law, said he was unavailable. She said, “I hope you have a great Christmas,” and drove away.
Thayer Evans contributed reporting from Houston.
News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/sports/baseball/14yankees.html?ref=baseball
0 意見:
張貼留言