Sunday, October 21, 2007

Indians' Byrd accused of buying HGH

Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd reportedly purchased human growth hormone (HGH) from a Florida anti-aging clinic for more than two years.

The San Francisco Chronicle cited business records as showing Byrd bought nearly $25,000 worth of HGH from August 2002 to January 2005, just before Major League Baseball banned the substance.

Included in those purchases were more than 1,000 vials of the prescription drugs and hundreds of syringes.

“We aware of the story regarding Paul. I have spoken with Paul about the situation, however, at this time I don't feel I have enough information to make any further comments on the matter.," Indians GM Mark Shapiro said. "He has been an important member of this organization - on and off the field – over the last two years and we support him in this process.”

Byrd will actually admit to taking HGH in his upcoming book, "The Free Byrd Project," and even writes about resisting the temptation to use an increased dosage with the hope of throwing harder.

Byrd says he never hid his use of HGH because it was prescribed to him under a doctor's care. He paid for the substance with his own credit card. At one point, he had it sent in his name to the Braves' spring-training facility in Kissimmee, Florida.

"I have not taken any hormone apart from a doctor's care and supervision," Byrd said in an exclusive FOXSports interview. "The Indians, my coaches and MLB have known that I have had a pituitary gland issue for some time and have assisted me in getting blood tests in different states. I am currently working with an endocrinologist and will have another MRI on my head after the season to make sure that the tumor hasn't grown."

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