I guess you can file this one under “least surprising scoops of all-time”, along with opening speculation as to whether or not Giambi’s admission will give the Yankees a loophole under which they can void the 1B/DH’s contract.
Interesting, too, how the SF Chronicle’s Mark Fairnaru-Wada and Lance Williams have such an easy time obtaining confidential testimony.
New York Yankees star Jason Giambi told a federal grand jury that he had injected himself with human growth hormone during the 2003 baseball season and had started using steroids at least two years earlier, The Chronicle has learned.
Giambi has publicly denied using performance-enhancing drugs, but his Dec. 11, 2003, testimony in the BALCO steroids case contradicts those statements, according to a transcript of the grand jury proceedings reviewed by The Chronicle.
The onetime Oakland A’s first baseman and 2000 American League Most Valuable Player testified that in 2003, when he hit 41 home runs for the Yankees, he had used several different steroids obtained from Greg Anderson, weight trainer for San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds.
In his testimony, Giambi described how he had used syringes to inject human growth hormone into his stomach and testosterone into his buttocks. Giambi also said he had taken “undetectable” steroids known as “the clear” and “the cream” — one a liquid administered by placing a few drops under the tongue, the other a testosterone-based balm rubbed onto the body.
The 33-year-old Yankee said Anderson had provided him with all of the drugs except for human growth hormone, which he said he had obtained at a Las Vegas gym. Anderson also provided him syringes, Giambi said.
Have any of the BALCO stories, rumored or factual, mentioned Sosa? The media and MLB have targeted BALCO like it’s the only source for steroids in the business. Are they atrageting this one company to send a message?