“Virtually every player on the Marlins was ‘doing something’ ranging from steroids and greenies, to marijuana, etc.”
— Luis Perez, former Marlins bullpen catcher
The Mitchell Report is out and you can view it here.
Former Senator Mitchell served on the Florida Marlins Board of Directors in 2000 and 2001.
The Marlins are named in an incident that happened in 2000:
C. Discovery of Steroids in Florida Marlins Player’s Locker, June 2000
In late June 2000, a clubhouse attendant with the Florida Marlins brought a paper bag to the club’s athletic trainers that had been found in the locker of Marlins pitcher Ricky Bones. The bag contained over two dozen syringes, six vials of injectable medications – stanozolol and nandrolone decanoate, two anabolic steroids that are sold under the names Winstrol and Deca-Durabolin, respectively – and a page of handwritten instructions on how to administer the drugs. Soon thereafter, the athletic trainers returned the bag and its contents to Bones at his request.
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The athletic trainers’ initial reaction not to report the discovery of steroids in a player’s possession did not comply with this policy. The next day, however, the matter was brought to the attention of Dave Dombrowski, the Marlins’ general manager, who immediately reported it to the Commissioner’s Office, which said its staff would “take it from here.”
Also:
F. Bullpen Catcher Admits to Supplying Steroids to
Eight Major League Players, September 2002 On September 26, 2002, during a game against the Florida Marlins at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, Montreal’s bullpen catcher Luis Perez asked a Marlins clubhouse attendant if he would carry a duffel bag back to Florida for him. The Marlins employee, who knew Perez from his previous tenure as a bullpen catcher with the Marlins, agreed. Perez later delivered a large padlocked duffel bag to be included with the Marlins luggage. Marlins equipment manager John Silverman was suspicious because of the padlock and directed that the bag be opened. When it was (using a combination that Perez provided), Silverman and the clubhouse attendant discovered a box coated on the inside with pine tar that contained two plastic packages amounting to one pound of marijuana.
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After the criminal process had ended, Hallinan and his deputy, Martin Maguire, traveled to Miami to interview Perez. Perez explained that during his time as a bullpen catcher for the Florida Marlins, between 1998 until 2001, two players asked if he could obtain steroids for them. After he was successful in doing so, word spread and he became a source for players to acquire steroids and other drugs. Perez alleged that he had witnessed widespread use of steroids and other drugs. According to Hallinan’s memo, Perez told baseball officials “. . . that virtually every player on the Marlins was ‘doing something’ ranging from steroids and greenies, to marijuana, etc. He also claimed that every pitcher in Montreal’s bullpen was on some form of steroid.”
Perez told Hallinan that when teams were in San Diego, players often crossed the border into Mexico to obtain illegal substances. He said that he knew of clubhouse employees with other teams who were similarly called upon to obtain drugs for players, including in particular a visiting clubhouse attendant in Philadelphia. Perez also claimed that he was paid as much as $500 by certain players to carry their bags on trips to and from Canada. At the conclusion of their interview of him, Perez’s lawyer handed to Hallinan and Maguire a typed list of players and their “drug of choice” that had been compiled by Perez. The list identified eight players (with the Marlins, Astros, and Expos) for whom Perez personally had acquired anabolic steroids, in addition to identifying twelve players for whom Perez had obtained other drugs.
Congrats to the following former Marlins for being named as steroid or HGH users (although, not all used it while playing with the fish):
