Nov 6, 2007 4:32 pm US/Central
Report: Guillen, Williams Bought Steroids And HGH
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) ―
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Guillen reportedly bought $19,000 worth of drugs between 2002 and 2005. (File)
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Former San Francisco Giants' all-star third baseman Matt Williams reportedly purchased steroids and human growth hormone from a Florida anti-aging clinic.
The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper cited business records as showing Williams, who retired in 2003, purchased $11,600 worth of steroids and other drugs during the 2002 season when he was playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Chronicle also reported that other big league players - veteran free agent outfielder Jose Guillen and former Seattle Mariners' pitcher Ismael Valdez - purchased steroids from the Florida clinic.
Guillen bought more than $19,000 worth of drugs from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center between May 2002 and June 2005. Valdez, the paper said, bought $11,300 worth of drugs in 2002 after he was traded from the Texas Rangers to the Mariners.
Guillen played for the Seattle Mariners in 2007, but the club declined the option on his contract for 2008 to make the 31-year-old veteran a free agent. Valdez, like Williams, is now retired from the game.
Williams told the Chronicle during a phone interview that he used growth hormone on the advice of a doctor in an effort to help heal an injured ankle.
"We obviously just learned of this," Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said in a statement. "Matt informed us that a doctor recommended its use to help heal his ankle injury. It was a substance that he was not familiar with at the time, and according to him, did not like its effects after sampling. He discontinued the use of it and retired the next season.
"Matt is a stand-up guy, who without hesitation, admitted using it and not liking it. There is no doubt in our minds that Matt would decline such a recommendation today, knowing what we all know about enhancing substances," Hall added.
According to the Chronicle report, records provided by a confidential source showed the players' purchase and shipping orders, payment information, birth dates and Social Security numbers.
The Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center has been targeted by the Albany, New York district attorney for alleged illegal sales of drugs. The DA's office has included other clinics and pharmacies in Florida and Alabama as part of its probe, claiming jurisdiction because millions of dollars worth of the banned drugs were allegedly sold in New York.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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