Ten ex-Las Vegas players implicated
Phil Hiatt hit 44 home runs for the 51s in 2001 to set a Las Vegas Triple-A franchise season record.
But that record now might be tainted after Hiatt was one of 10 former Las Vegas players linked to performance-enhancing substances in Thursday's much-anticipated Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball.
The investigation conducted by former Sen. George Mitchell also named former Las Vegas players Eric Gagne, Benito Santiago, Kevin Brown, Paul Lo Duca, Wally Joyner, Jeremy Giambi, Chris Donnels, Larry Bigbie and Jeff Williams.
The report revealed that 2001 wasn't just a record-breaking season for Hiatt. It also was the first time he spoke to former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, who said he sold Hiatt Human Growth Hormone and steroids two or three times over several years.
Gagne, who pitched for the 51s in 2001 and '05, allegedly had Lo Duca place his orders for HGH with Radomski, who said Gagne spoke with him only once on the phone, to ask him how to get air out of a syringe.
Joyner, who played for Las Vegas in 1997 and '99, reportedly struggled with his decision to try steroids, and after taking them three times, he never tried illegal performance-enhancing substances again.
51s team president Don Logan said he had no indication any of the aforementioned players were taking steroids and he hopes Thursday's report helps put baseball's Steroid Era in the past.
"Hopefully, now that this report is out, we can draw the line and put this behind us," Logan said. "It happened, people acknowledged it happened, and let's make sure it doesn't happen again and move on.
"We've got to move forward and be diligent with our testing. All in all, I think this is a positive thing."
Hall of Fame pitcher and Henderson resident Rollie Fingers, who said he didn't lift a single weight in his 17-year career and wouldn't know a steroid if it were an item on a menu, also hopes the report helps to clean up the game.
"The biggest thing is they realize it's a problem and they're cleaning it up and going after guys," he said. "I'm glad to see them doing something about it. Sitting around and doing nothing is the worst thing they could do."
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and Las Vegas resident Reed Johnson is all for cleaning up the game, but he's not sure the Mitchell Report will do that.
"I think it's definitely a step forward for guys that are clean and don't use performance-enhancing drugs. Any way we can level the playing field, guys in my shoes will support that," he said. "But you wonder if there really was sufficient evidence for those guys to be named in the report.
"Do you take the (word) of a guy who used to work in the clubhouse with the Mets? How do you distinguish between what's true and what's not true?"
Johnson said because Mitchell didn't have the power to subpoena people or have access to drug-testing records that "the evidence is kind of suspect."
"To go on a witch hunt and start naming names from four or five years ago, I don't know how much that really helps cleaning up the game now," he said. "What everyone should be worried about is moving forward. What is our drug testing going to be like now and in the future? That's the true test of what's going to level the playing field."
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0354.
By TODD DEWEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Phil Hiatt hit 44 home runs for the 51s in 2001 to set a Las Vegas Triple-A franchise season record.
But that record now might be tainted after Hiatt was one of 10 former Las Vegas players linked to performance-enhancing substances in Thursday's much-anticipated Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball.
The investigation conducted by former Sen. George Mitchell also named former Las Vegas players Eric Gagne, Benito Santiago, Kevin Brown, Paul Lo Duca, Wally Joyner, Jeremy Giambi, Chris Donnels, Larry Bigbie and Jeff Williams.
The report revealed that 2001 wasn't just a record-breaking season for Hiatt. It also was the first time he spoke to former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, who said he sold Hiatt Human Growth Hormone and steroids two or three times over several years.
Gagne, who pitched for the 51s in 2001 and '05, allegedly had Lo Duca place his orders for HGH with Radomski, who said Gagne spoke with him only once on the phone, to ask him how to get air out of a syringe.
Joyner, who played for Las Vegas in 1997 and '99, reportedly struggled with his decision to try steroids, and after taking them three times, he never tried illegal performance-enhancing substances again.
51s team president Don Logan said he had no indication any of the aforementioned players were taking steroids and he hopes Thursday's report helps put baseball's Steroid Era in the past.
"Hopefully, now that this report is out, we can draw the line and put this behind us," Logan said. "It happened, people acknowledged it happened, and let's make sure it doesn't happen again and move on.
"We've got to move forward and be diligent with our testing. All in all, I think this is a positive thing."
Hall of Fame pitcher and Henderson resident Rollie Fingers, who said he didn't lift a single weight in his 17-year career and wouldn't know a steroid if it were an item on a menu, also hopes the report helps to clean up the game.
"The biggest thing is they realize it's a problem and they're cleaning it up and going after guys," he said. "I'm glad to see them doing something about it. Sitting around and doing nothing is the worst thing they could do."
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and Las Vegas resident Reed Johnson is all for cleaning up the game, but he's not sure the Mitchell Report will do that.
"I think it's definitely a step forward for guys that are clean and don't use performance-enhancing drugs. Any way we can level the playing field, guys in my shoes will support that," he said. "But you wonder if there really was sufficient evidence for those guys to be named in the report.
"Do you take the (word) of a guy who used to work in the clubhouse with the Mets? How do you distinguish between what's true and what's not true?"
Johnson said because Mitchell didn't have the power to subpoena people or have access to drug-testing records that "the evidence is kind of suspect."
"To go on a witch hunt and start naming names from four or five years ago, I don't know how much that really helps cleaning up the game now," he said. "What everyone should be worried about is moving forward. What is our drug testing going to be like now and in the future? That's the true test of what's going to level the playing field."
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0354.
GIAMBI REPORTEDLY GOT HGH AT LAS VEGAS GYM
Under threat of discipline from baseball commissioner Bud Selig, Jason Giambi, a five-time All-Star, 2000 American League Most Valuable Player and part-time Henderson resident, cooperated on July 13 with George Mitchell's investigation into steroid use in baseball. Giambi also appeared to admit using steroids in a USA Today report.
"I will address my own personal history regarding steroids. I will not discuss in any fashion any other individual," Giambi said in a statement issued at that time by the players' association.
The following is an excerpt from the Mitchell Report, which was released Thursday.
Giambi was reported to have testified that he obtained all of the substances except the human growth hormone from Greg Anderson; he obtained the growth hormone from a Las Vegas gym.
Before he began working with Greg Anderson, Giambi reportedly had self-administered the anabolic steroid Deca-Durabolin, which he had obtained from a source at Gold's Gym in Las Vegas.
Giambi (said) that he began using anabolic steroids in 2001, when he purchased Deca-Durabolin from a contact named "Jim" who he met at Gold's Gym in Las Vegas but could not further identify.
Separately, Giambi also obtained human growth hormone from "a guy in Las Vegas."
Anderson explained to Giambi how to inject the growth hormone into his abdomen. Giambi paid Anderson, once by check and once in cash or by money order, for a total of about $7,000 to $10,000. Separately, Giambi paid his Las Vegas source about $1,000 for one kit of human growth hormone.
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