With the Indians on the brink of their first World Series berth in a decade, Paul Byrd was fingered yesterday as the latest suspect in a widening investigation into illegal use of steroids and human growth hormone.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Byrd, 36, bought roughly $25,000 worth of HGH and syringes between 2002 and 2005 from the same Florida anti-aging clinic that other athletes have allegedly used to obtain performance-enhancing drugs.
The Chronicle story ignited a media firestorm only hours before Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last night, with Byrd, Indians general manager Mark Shapiro and Major League Baseball spokesman Pat Courtney addressing a horde of reporters outside the visitors' clubhouse.
Byrd climbed the makeshift podium first, a brick wall behind him, and maintained that he had been prescribed the drugs to combat an HGH deficiency caused by a recently diagnosed tumor on his pituitary gland.
"I have never taken anything apart from a prescription," Byrd said. "And another thing that's important is I did not try to hide anything. I purchased things with my credit card on my name. Things came to clubhouses of teams I played on and I've taken blood tests set up by a team in different towns.
"Everything has been done out in the open. I have actually had shipments come to clubhouses and have actually for a small period of time stored them in a refrigerator in the clubhouses so I feel like that makes things very legitimate on my intentions and things from my end."
When directly asked if he still is taking HGH, however, Byrd hedged, saying, "That's a private matter right now with me. I do still have a pituitary issue."
Major League Baseball has outlawed HGH since Jan. 13, 2005, but unlike steroids, players are not tested for it. Byrd said the Indians and MLB already knew of his HGH use for his condition, but Shapiro and Courtney flatly denied that is the case.
"We did not know that he was taking HGH," Courtney said.
Shapiro first heard of the allegations when he spoke with Byrd on Friday night - after the Chronicle contacted the Indians about the story.
Byrd went 15-8 with a 4.59 ERA during the regular season and was 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA in two playoff starts. He repeatedly said he was disappointed by the timing of the report, but never apologized, and Shapiro shrugged when asked about the potential distraction.
"We don't have any control over that," Shapiro said. "I'm looking at that as something I have to deal with and Paul has to deal with. We've had plenty of chances in the past to let things derail us and it's never happened. I don't think this is going to be an issue at 8:23."
Jake Westbrook was the Indians' Game 7 starter, but they still planned to have Byrd available out of the bullpen despite the bombshell development. As for his eligibility moving forward, that could be something MLB will address if Cleveland continues on to the World Series.
"I never took any more than what was prescribed to me," Byrd said of his HGH use. "I was trying to think of a way I could prove that to people. I don't know that there is, other than to say that you could ask different scouts and see if there ever was a period of time where I showed an increase in strength or increase in anything. I didn't. My fastball has always stayed the same."
In a statement, MLB noted: "We will investigate the allegations concerning Paul Byrd as we have players implicated in previous similar reports. Since Mr. Byrd and his club, the Cleveland Indians, are currently active in postseason play, we will interview Mr. Byrd prior to the start of the World Series should the Cleveland club advance."
In addition to Byrd, the Angels' Gary Matthews, the Cardinals' Rick Ankiel and the Rangers' Jerry Hairston Jr. have been accused of buying HGH. The Mets' Scott Schoeneweis was named earlier this month for allegedly purchasing steroids and reliever Guillermo Mota was suspended last November for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
"I don't want to come to a stadium and kids not want my autograph," Byrd said. "I don't want to show up at a stadium and people think that I cheated. I love this game. I respect this game. I've loved it since I was a little boy. I've always wanted to be in the World Series and I'm one game away from it. Now I'm dealing with my medical history on a night when I should be talking about Jake Westbrook and the Cleveland Indians."
