MVN - Most Valuable Network

Dan Naulty Tells His Tale

Thanks to Steve Lombardi for pointing the story.

In the Sunday edition of the New York Daily News, reliever of the 1999 World-Series-winning New York Yankees Dan Naulty recounts his career-long story with steroids, HGH, and amphetamines, choosing to start his telling with the night after the Yankees won the World Series. Throughout his story, Naulty speaks about the effects that steroids had on him during and after his career, including depression and physical issues.

About his trade to the Yankees from the Twins for Allan Butler, Naulty explains:

For the next three injury-plagued years, I pitched for the Twins, until 1999 when I was traded to the Yankees. I had just come off my most serious injury because I had put too much muscle on tendons not equipped for the demand. I tore the major tendon in my groin off my pelvis. After that injury came my next brilliant decision - using HGH. More needles, more crisis.

With his body taking a physical and emotional toll throughout his 4-year major league career, he decided to seek help from players on the Yankees who claimed and lived the Christian faith. One of those men would be a (admitted) user of HGH three years later: Andy Pettitte.

Instead of making any excuses, Naulty points the finger at himself for his steroid use without implementing anyone else. He also states that steroids has made a significant impact on his career, including his muscle development and the ability to throw faster and harder.
According to the Mitchell Report:

After starting his steroid regimen Naulty reported to spring training for the 1993 season approximately 20 pounds heavier and throwing five miles per hour harder than he did the year before. Naulty said that he went “from an A-ball pitcher to a major league prospect in a matter of two years.”

Though steroids never made Naulty into a super-star, Naulty believes that they helped him to get to where he ended up: a reliever on a World-Series-winning team. Steroids took Naulty from a marginally respectable minor leaguer to a major league reliever. Aside from the Jason Giambi remarks in the Mitchell Report, it is rare to see an athlete speak so candidly without pulling any punches, especially a pitcher.

Speaking of steroids and groin injuries, Roger Clemens posted a video response to the steroid allegations on YouTube and on his website. To sum the video up in a sentence, Clemens stated that he did not take steroids. Shocker, right?

Let’s see if he takes the Mitchell Report to Washington though.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 23rd, 2007 at 3:55 pm and is filed under Roger Clemens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.