Jason Grimsley

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Jason Alan Grimsley (born August 7, 1967 in Cleveland, Texas) was best known as a professional relief pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball debut on September 8, 1989, and pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Anaheim Angels, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, and most recently, the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks released him at his request shortly after it became public in June 2006 that he had admitted using performance enhancing drugs.^[1] On June 12, 2006, Grimsley was suspended for 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. This penalty would take effect if Grimsley ever signs a contract with a major league team and is placed on a 40-man roster.^[2] He is the fourteenth Major League Baseball player to be suspended for use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Like many relief pitchers, Grimsley began his career as a starting pitcher, but he became a full-time reliever while a member of the Yankees. As a Yankee he was a member of the team that won the 1999 and 2000 World Series.

Grimsley is also infamous for his leading role in the 1994 Bat Burglary involving Albert Belle and an allegedly corked bat that was taken away by umpires for examination by the league. Grimsley was the player who crawled through a Comiskey Park air conditioning duct to reach the room where the confiscated bat had been secured. He took the corked bat and replaced it with a clean bat. The incident made ESPN.com's "Biggest Cheaters in Baseball" list at number 4^[3] and Foxsports.com list of the biggest cheaters in baseball history at # 5.

The Tarkington Independent School District named the high school baseball field in his honor, being the school he graduated from.

On January 21, 2005, a small plane crashed into the back of Grimsley's house in Overland Park, Kansas. Grimsley was not home at the time, but his wife, daughter, and nanny were; they escaped unharmed. The pilot and four passengers were killed.

[edit] Illicit drug use

On June 6, 2006, it was reported that Federal officials had raided Grimsley's home looking for evidence that he was a distributor of human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs.^[4]

The day after the report surfaced, Grimsley asked the Diamondbacks for his unconditional release from his contract, and the ball club granted his request.^[5] On June 10, 2006, the Diamondbacks announced they would not pay the rest of the 2006 $875,000 salary, Grimsley's agent Joe Bick stated that Grimsley would contest the decision. Michael Weiner, general counsel to the players union stated that the union would file a grievance on his behalf.^[6]

ESPN reported that court documents showed that Grimsely had failed an MLB-administered drug test in 2003; he subsequently confessed to the use of human growth hormones, amphetamines and steroids.^[7]

His drug use began in 1998 while in Buffalo, New York. After a nine year MLB career, he was in the minors trying to get back to the majors after a shoulder injury. Among the drugs he has used are Deca-Durabolin, amphetamines, human growth hormone and Clenbuterol. Prior to the use of performance enhancing drugs he had earned a total of $1 million; subsequently he earned $9 million. His ERA dropped by a run.^[8]

On September 30, 2006, without any substantiation, the Los Angeles Times reported that Grimsley told federal agents investigating steroids in baseball that Houston Astros pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte were users of performance enhancing drugs and that Baltimore Orioles Miguel Tejada, Jay Gibbons, and Brian Roberts were users of quote 'anabolic steroids'. The Times wrongly reported that they were the names that were blacked out in an affidavit filed in federal court. Clemens and Pettite both denied the statement.

On October 3, 2006, the Washington Post reported that San Francisco United States attorney Kevin Ryan said that the Los Angeles Times report contained "significant inaccuracies."^[9] All five players named (Clemens, Pettitte, Tejada, Gibbons, and Roberts) denounced the story, with Clemens calling it "dangerous and malicious and reckless." Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons was later implicated in the steroid scandal by Sport Illustrated, who uncovered receipts issued by a Florida steroid mail order company in his name.^[9]

On December 13, 2007, he was cited in the George Mitchell's report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation Into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball.^[10]

On December 20, 2007, the report was unsealed by a US magistrate, who harshly criticized the LA Times for what he called "irresponsible reporting"...or "manufacturing of facts." Neither Clemens nor Pettitte's names were mentioned by Grimsley in any context whatsoever. The LA Times announced that it would publish a correction and apology for their misrepresentation of the facts.^[11] Grimsley had told investigators that he got amphetamines, anabolic steroids and human growth hormone from someone recommended to him by former Yankees trainer Brian McNamee. The fact that McNamee was a personal strength coach for Clemens and Pettitte apparently prompted the Times to leap to the erroneous conclusion that Grimsley had implicated them in his statement.^[11]

[edit] See also

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Career Statistics at The Baseball Cube
• Grimsley affidavit