DOCUMENT: Sports, Crime

Pitcher Spills Steroid, Speed Secrets

Diamondback Jason Grimsley's home raided in federal drug probe

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Pitcher Spills Steroid, Speed Secrets

JUNE 7--Federal agents yesterday raided the Arizona home of a journeyman baseball pitcher who reportedly admitted using performance enhancing drugs and gave investigators the names of current and former major leaguers who have also juiced.

Jason Grimsley, an Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher, began cooperating with probers after he accepted a $3200 shipment of human growth hormone at his Scottsdale residence on April 19 (the HGH was delivered to Grimsley, 38, by an undercover postal inspector).

After a week's cooperation, Grimsley's lawyer stopped his chats with the government team, which included Internal Revenue Service agent Jeff Novitzky, who has headed the steroid investigation of Barry Bonds and other clients of San Francisco's BALCO laboratory.

Here you'll find a copy of Novitzky's search warrant affidavit for Grimsley's home, which was unsealed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. During his brief cooperation, Grimsley fingered several fellow athletes (whose names were redacted from the affidavit), spoke about the prevalence of amphetamines in baseball clubhouses, and claimed that 'Latin players' were a major source of speed in the big leagues.

He also said players on California-based teams would go to Mexico and score amphetamines. Grimsley's remarkable admissions span about seven pages in the Novitzky affidavit.

Grimsley, a 15-year veteran, has played for seven teams, including the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians. His teammates have included Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco, and Roger Clemens. (20 pages)