Saturday, December 15th, 2007 by Adam Wagner
Pirates in the Mitchell Report
As we all know, the Mitchell Report, released Thursday, had seven former Pirates in it. These guys ranged from Kevin Young to Denny Neagle, covering a wide spectrum of talent levels and types of player. This post is an effort to summarize the players’ use of steroids so that you do not have to scroll your way through the tome that is the Mitchell Report.
Tim Laker – Laker was a Pirate for a total of twenty games over two seasons and only saw 33 at bats in that time, but he apparently managed to buy steroids from snitch Kirk Radomski during a trip to New York for a series. He apparently bought testosterone
and syringes from Radomski for between $1,000 and $2,000, putting himself on an eight to ten week cycle where he injected himself once a week. He followed this cycle each time he bought ‘roids, hiding his cheating by either injecting himself at home or bringing the syringes home to dispose of them. Laker’s cheating was discovered when his name and address were found in Radomski’s address book. Apparently, the ‘roids did not help Laker out that much, as he posted a .226 batting average over the course of a career where he only hit 11 major league home runs. Laker is the perfect example of a typical steroid user, as he is not at all a star player and actually did not benefit that much from his usage.
Josias Manzanillo – Manzanillo, best known as the pitcher who hopped whenever he struck someone out, was a journeyman player who spent three seasons with the Pirates and now has his page on Baseball Reference is now sponsored by “Thank You George Mitchell Steroid Report.” His story, told through his lawyer, however, is a little bit different, as Josias claims that he bought steroids from a Mets’ clubhouse attendant named “Murdock,” but that he never 
injected them. Murdock, an alias of Radomski, tells a differet story, claiming to have injected Manzanillo with steroids but never sold him anything. The two stories are the complete opposites of each other, but we can deduce that Manzanillo gave at least serious thought to using steroids when he was with the Mets, even if he never actually committed the act. Manzanillo’s involvement with drugs does not end there, however. On September 7, 2001, Jose Cervantes, a drug mule, was arrested at Angels’ stadium in Anaheim. Cervantes complied when he was asked to give names of clients, admitting that Manzanillo had purchased anti-inflammatory drugs and that Manzanillo’s number was in his cell phone. Manzanillo denied this charges through his lawyer.
Denny Neagle – Neagle, who has had legal troubles relating to prostitution in the past, is in trouble again. He
is not recorded as having used steroids while he was a Pirate, as Radomski says that he asked him for drugs for the first time in 2000. According to Radomski, Neagle had five or six transactions that included HGH as well as steroids. At one point, Neagle had another player send Radomski a check for him as payment of debt of some sort. Radomski was able to show eight checks sent from Neagle to him. It seems as if Neagle fits another prototypical steroid user, as he started after he began having injury problems. His performance, however, to only decline after using supplements.
Ron Villone – Most Pirate fans have blocked the memory of this fat pitcher’s time with the Pirates out of their minds, but Villone threw 93 innings for the Pirates in 2002, posting a 5.81 ERA. Villone was originally referred by Neagle, but first bought steroids in the 2004 season (after his short stint with the Pirates was up). Villone made at least three purchases from Radomski and attempted to purchase HGH in mid-2006, but was told that Radomski had nothing to give him.
Kevin Young – Maybe the most popular Pirate on the list, Young is known for his 4 year, $24 million extension after the 1999 season. As Pat at WHYGAVS has pointed out, Young’s steroid use began after he signed his extension, possibly indicating increased 
pressure to perform. Radomski reported that Young first met him in the 2000-2001 offseason in NYC, when Radomski sold Young one or two kits of HGH. Young went Radomski a second time, in 2003, when he bought five or six kits of HGH. This was the last year of Young’s career and the first baseman was attempting to overcome some lingering injuries with the seemingly excessive order. This final order cost $9,600. Young obviously wanted to live up to the cost of his contract and attempted to do so by cheating. For Pittsburgh fans, who remember the first baseman generally fondly, Young can be painted as something of a tragic hero, responding to increased expectations by buying HGH from a sleazy clubhouse attendant in New York City.
Jason Christiansen – Christiansen, who will be remembered most fondly as the player who was traded for Jack Wilson, bought one package of HGH on July 2, 2002 for $1,600. Christiansen was on the San Francisco Giants at the time and his performance had clearly been declining since 2000, which was the year he was traded from Pittsburgh to St. Louis. The pitcher was probably desperate to regain his career and attempted to do so through the purchase of HGH, but this clearly did not work as he failed to post an ERA under 4.50 for the rest of his career.
Matt Herges – Herges never wore the Pirate uniform in a game, but Dave Littlefield did trade Chris Young for him and then cut Herges, so he will be included here. According to the report, Radomski and Herges first had contact in 2004 and their final contact was in late 2005. Herges and Radomski never met in person, but Radomski was able to produce a check of $3,240 from Herges.
There it is. All seven players linked to the Pirates and to performance enhancing drugs. Very few of them used while they were Pirates, but all seven seem to have used after their careers started tailing off, a vital detail that shows that players desperately want to live off of their natural skills, but will turn to drugs whenever those skills begin to deteriorate.
Now, mercifully, the steroid talk can finally die.
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