UPDATE: Curt Schilling subsequently clarified his comments to say the person who made the suggestion "wasn't anyone in uniform, nor the baseball ops group."
In 2005, Curt Schilling famously went to Congress as one of several major leaguers to testify about the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball. Three years later, as a member of the Red Sox, inside the team clubhouse, he says he was encouraged to use PEDs to extend his career.
Schilling conducted an interview with ESPN Radio on Thursday and discussed his story.
At the end of my career, in 2008 when I had gotten hurt, there was a conversation that I was involved in, in which it was brought to my attention that this is a potential path I might want to pursue, Schilling told ESPN's Colin Cowherd.
Schilling wouldn't name names when asked about the conversation, and who brought the idea to his attention.
Former members of the organization, he said. Theyre no longer there. But it was an incredibly uncomfortable conversation because it came up in the midst of a group of people. The other people werent in the conversation, but they could clearly hear the conversation, and it was suggested to me that at my age, and in my situation, why not, what did I have to lose? Because if I wasnt going to get healthy, it didnt matter, and if I did get healthy, great.
It caught me off guard, to say the least, but that was an awkward situation.
Boston Red Sox
From Hardball Talk:
The fact that he and the Red Sox differed on the sort of treatment he received back in 2008 was well-reported at the time, but no one to my knowledge ever talked about this sort of thing. And, its worth noting, Schilling has been known to engage in hyperbole in the past.That said, this is quite an accusation. It seems to me that such an accusation is every bit as worthy of investigation by MLB as the Miami New Times story. Especially if the people hes referring to still have jobs in Major League Baseball.Schilling signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox for 2008 but did not play because of a shoulder injury. He officially retired the next season.
You can listen to the interview here.