Gary Sheffield, the Detroit Tigers designated hitter, was among the stars named in the Mitchell Report on the use of performance-enhancing substances.
Sheffield, 38, had two seasons in which he hit 30 or more home runs before he turned 30 in 1998. He has had six 30-plus-homer seasons since. Sheffield hit .265 with 25 home runs and 75 RBI in 133 games in 2007, his first season in Detroit.
In the book "Game of Shadows," two San Francisco Chronicle reporters wrote that career home run leader Barry Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, put Sheffield on injectable testosterone and human growth hormone in 2002, and later sold him designer steroids known as "the cream" and "the clear."
Sheffield has admitted using a cream he got from Anderson but said in a 2004 interview with Sports Illustrated that he did not knowingly use steroids.
A message seeking comment on the report was left with Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams.
"Now that the Mitchell Report has been released, the Tigers will take time to review its contents completely," the team said in a written statement. "The Tigers support the process that has taken place to compile this report and Senator Mitchell for leading the effort.
"The eradication of performance-enhancing substances in baseball and protecting the integrity of the game are the ultimate goals of the industry," the statement said.
“I have no comment on that. I don’t know anything about it,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said of the report, which Mitchell outlined at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Leyland managed Sheffield last season and in 1997, when both were members of the Florida Marlins world championship team.
Several other players with past connections to the Detroit Tigers are named in the report, but it does not appear any other current Detroit players are named.
The report recounts an incident at the end of the 2004 season
"A clubhouse employee was cleaning out the Detroit Tigers locker room when he found a black toiletry kit that was locked," the report says. "He and another Tigers employee opened the bag and found unused syringes and vials that they determined were anabolic steroids. They did not report the incident.
"The employee said that he could not remember who the bag belonged to."
Among the other players named with previous Detroit connections:
• Mark Carreon, who played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 1996, with the New York Mets, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians. He appeared in 101 games for the Tigers in 1992.
• Hal Morris, who played as an infielder with four different teams in Major League Baseball from 1988 until 2000, the New York Yankees (two seasons), Cincinnati Reds (10 seasons), Kansas City Royals (one season), and Detroit Tigers (part of one season). Morris appeared in 40 games at first base and left field for Detroit in 2000.
• Rondell White, outfielder who has played for seven teams in Major League Baseball from 1993 to the present, the Montreal Expos (eight seasons), Chicago Cubs (parts of two seasons), New York Yankees (one season), Kansas City Royals (part of one season), San Diego Padres (part of one season), Detroit Tigers (two seasons), and Minnesota Twins (two seasons). White played in 218 games for Detroit in 2004-2005.
• Phil Hiatt, who played several positions in minor league baseball for 14 seasons, in Japan for one season and for parts of four seasons (1993, 1995, 1996, and 2001) played with the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, and Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball.
• Fernando Vina, who played several positions with five teams in Major League Baseball from 1993 until 2004, the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Detroit Tigers. Vina played 29 games at second base for Detroit in 2004. He played in the 1998 All-Star game and won two National League Golden Glove Awards as a second baseman. During the 2007 baseball season, he was a commentator for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.
• Nook Logan, an outfielder who has played in Major League Baseball since 2004 for the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals. Logan appeared in 176 games in 2004-05 for Detroit. He was named in connection with the use of human growth hormone.
There was no indication in the report whether any of those players used steroids while with the Detroit organization.