Oh, those performance enhancers

I see that Chuck Knoblauch has been invited to talk to Congress.

Knoblauch, who played at Bellaire High School and Texas A&M, was asked to appear Thursday for the first of five depositions scheduled by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in advance of its Feb. 13 hearing.

"The committee has taken this step because Mr. Knoblauch failed to respond to the invitation to participate voluntarily in a deposition or transcribed interview and the Feb. 13 hearing," committee chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis said in a statement.

Whatever. I think that's all a sideshow, as you know, and frankly it's more than a little embarrassing that Congress doesn't have anything better to do with its time. But that's not why I'm blogging about this. No, it was this tidbit that caught my eye:

Brian McNamee, who accused [Roger] Clemens and [Andy] Pettitte of using performance-enhancing drugs in the Mitchell Report, is due to meet with committee staff Jan 31, with former New York Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski asked to appear Feb. 1.

[...]

Knoblauch, a four-time All-Star and 1991 American League Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Twins, has kept a low-profile since his name appeared in the Mitchell Report on Dec. 13. In the report, McNamee alleges he acquired HGH from Radomski for Knoblauch in 2001.

Knoblauch also was among nine players accused of doping in a federal agent's affidavit citing former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley.

In 2001, Chuck Knoblauch, who had a lifetime AVG/OBP/SLG of 289/378/406, produced a 250/339/351 line in 137 games with the Yankees. The next year, playing for the Kansas City Royals, he batted 210/284/300 in 80 games, and was finished as a player. Now, I have no idea if McNamee and Grimsley are telling the truth about Knoblauch's usage or not, nor do I particularly care. What I do know is that whatever doping he may or may not have done in 2001 and beyond, it sure didn't enhance his performance very much. As always, just something to keep in mind.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 23, 2008 to Baseball