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AP
NEW YORK - Major League Baseball asked Friday to meet with Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus after the pair were accused of receiving performance-enhancing drugs from a Florida pharmacy under investigation for illegally distributing prescription medications.
Ankiel, who has hit nine homers since rejoining the St. Louis Cardinals last month, received eight shipments of human growth hormone from January to December 2004, the Daily News reported Friday.
Glaus, a four-time All-Star now with the Toronto Blue Jays, received multiple shipments of nandrolone and testosterone between September 2003 and May 2004, SI.com reported.
“We’re going to look into both sets of allegations,” said Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice president of labor relations.
Manfred would not go into details, but MLB already had requested meetings with the two players, a person familiar with the request said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made.
Michael Weiner, the general counsel of the players’ union, declined comment.
“Rick Ankiel has stated he’s not violated any baseball rules. He has not violated any federal or state laws,” said his agent, Scott Boras. “He only has followed the course of treatment prescribed by his medical doctors during the course of his career.
Glaus in St. Petersburg, Fla., for Toronto’s game at Tampa Bay, did not stop when reporters tried to speak with him before batting practice. Mike Nicotera, Glaus’s agent, did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
In May, the Yankees’ Jason Giambi met with baseball lawyers after comments that many interpreted as an admission of steroids use. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig then pressured Giambi to meet with steroids investigator George Mitchell. After Giambi spoke with Mitchell in July, Selig announced Giambi would not be disciplined.
Giambi is the only active player known to have met with Mitchell, a Boston Red Sox director who is a former Senate Majority Leader.
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Because there isn’t a validated urine test for HGH, there are suspicions in baseball that its use is on the rise. Baseball didn’t ban human growth hormone until 2005 and is helping fund attempts to develop a urine test for the substance.
Ankiel and Glaus both have had careers interrupted by injuries. Ankiel, a former pitcher turned outfielder, overcame elbow and knee injuries and made it back to the majors last month for the first time in three years. Glaus led the AL with 47 homers in 2000 and was MVP of the 2002 World Series for the Anaheim Angels, then missed large stretches in 2003 and 2004 because of shoulder problems.
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Winslow Townson / AP Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus was a four-time All-Star and 2002 World Series MVP with the Anaheim Angels. |
Citing records the newspaper obtained, the Daily News said Ankiel got HGH shipments that included Saizen and Genotropin, two injectable drugs. Florida physician Dr. William Gogan signed Ankiel’s prescriptions, providing them through a Palm Beach Gardens clinic called The Health and Rejuvenation Center (THARC), the newspaper reported.
The drugs were shipped to Ankiel at the clinic’s address, the paper said. The 28-year-old Ankiel lives close by in Jupiter.
Glaus received shipments at a Corona, Calif., address that traces to the player, SI.com said., citing a source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list. SI.com said its information dealt only with receipt of steroids and not use.
Prescriptions written in Glaus’ name were obtained through New Hope Health Center, a California-based clinic and were sent through Signature, SI.com said. The prescribing physician was Dr. Ramon Scruggs, currently on probation and prohibited from prescribing drugs over the Internet, SI.com said.
“The accusations made today in the media ... are simply accusations,” Blue Jays president Paul Godfrey said. “I am in no position to make comment on information that is attributed to an unnamed source.”
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Authorities have not accused Ankiel of any wrongdoing, the newspaper said. According to the Signature records the News cited, he stopped receiving HGH just before baseball banned it in 2005.
According to the Daily News, THARC also shipped steroids and growth hormone to ex-big league pitcher Steve Woodard. He and Ankiel were teammates with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in 2004, the paper said.
Woodard didn’t return cell phone messages, the News said.
Signature is at the center of an investigation by the Albany County (N.Y.) district attorney’s office. The probe recently led to the NFL suspensions of New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison and Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson. The third NFL person involved in the investigation was Dr. Richard Ryzde, one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ team doctors. He earlier had been fired by the team.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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