'S.F. Chronicle' Breaks Baseball/Steroid Case Wide Open

By: E&P Staff 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 San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said its exclusive was based on a transcript of the secret grand jury proceedings it had managed to review. The Chronicle has covered the steroid scandal closely for many months, partly due to its proximity to the company at the center of it, BALCO, and the rumors swirling around hometown star Barry Bonds.

Giambi has publicly denied using performance-enhancing drugs, but his Dec. 11, 2003, testimony in the BALCO steroids case contradicts those statements, according to paper.

The onetime Oakland A's first baseman admitted then that he had used several different steroids obtained from Greg Anderson, weight trainer for Bonds. His brother, Jeremy Giambi, also told the grand jury that he had injected banned drugs received from Anderson, according to a transcript of his testimony.

In his testimony, the paper said, Jason 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.'"

The Chronicle said that Giambi's agent Arn Tellem did not return calls seeking comment. Anderson has denied wrongdoing. His attorney, J. Tony Serra, declined comment, citing a court order aimed at preserving the secrecy of grand jury proceedings.

The Giambis were among more than two dozen athletes who testified in the federal probe centered on the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), based in Burlingame, Calif. Earlier this year, the grand jury indicted Anderson, BALCO founder Victor Conte, and two other men on charges of conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering. They have pleaded not guilty.

The Chronicle also speculated on the mysterious ailments that afflicted Jason Giambi this year, when he had his worst season as a pro. One of the ailments has been described as a benign tumor on his pituitary gland.

Giambi told the grand jury that he thought he had taken a
pill called Clomid, a female fertility drug that can enhance the effectiveness of testosterone. Medical experts told The Chronicle that Clomid can exacerbate a tumor of the pituitary gland. "The drug's label warns physicians not to prescribe Clomid to patients with pituitary tumors," the paper said.