Former MLB star Mo Vaughn, known for his power at the plate and time with the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets, has publicly acknowledged using human growth hormone during his playing days.
“I was trying to do everything I could,” Vaughn told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “I knew I had a bad, degenerative knee. I was shooting HGH in my knee. Whatever I could do to help the process.”
Vaughn, who is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, admitted to using HGH to help him stay at the top of his game.
His admission comes years after the 2007 release of the Mitchell Report, a comprehensive investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.
Authored by former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell at the request of then-Commissioner Bud Selig, the report revealed that Vaughn had purchased HGH on three separate occasions in 2001.
At the time, MLB had not yet banned HGH. The league didn’t officially outlaw the substance until 2005, two years after Vaughn played his final game.
Despite his name appearing in the Mitchell Report, Vaughn emphasized that it wasn’t public scrutiny that caused him to step back from the game, but rather the physical toll of his injuries.
Vaughn’s career, which spanned from 1991 to 2003, was riddled with injuries in its later years.
He suffered ankle and knee injuries during the 1999 season opener with the Angels, missed all of 2001 with a ruptured biceps tendon, and was ultimately forced into retirement in May 2003 due to chronic knee problems.
The Mitchell Report also included testimony from former Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski, who claimed he didn’t sell Vaughn steroids because the slugger was “afraid of the big needles.”
Despite the controversy surrounding his name, Vaughn said he believes his accomplishments remain legitimate and his legacy is still intact.
Vaughn’s most memorable years came with the Red Sox, where he played from 1991 to 1998.
He was named to three All-Star teams, won a Silver Slugger Award, and put together six consecutive seasons with 26 or more home runs.
In 1995, he earned the American League MVP award after batting .300 with 39 home runs and a league-leading 126 RBIs, helping Boston win the AL East.
In recognition of his impact on the franchise, Vaughn was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.
What are your thoughts on Vaughn’s admission???
