The Miami New Times published a incredibly-detailed report Tuesday about Biogenesis, a Miami-based "anti-aging clinic" that has apparently been supplying performance-enhancing drugs to several well-known MLBers, including Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez.
In the report, author Tim Elfrink presents the records kept by Biogenesis head Anthony Bosch. The list of his baseball clients reads like a Who's Who of MLB superstars: Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Nelson Cruz and, much to the chagrin of Nationals fans, Gonzalez:
There's also the curious case of Gio Gonzalez, the 27-year-old, Hialeah-native, left-handed hurler who won 21 games last year for the Washington Nationals. Gonzalez's name appears five times in Bosch's notebooks, including a specific note in the 2012 book reading, "Order 1.c.1 with Zinc/MIC/... and Aminorip. For Gio and charge $1,000." (Aminorip is a muscle-building protein.)Gonzalez's father, Max, also appears on Bosch's client lists and is often listed in conjunction with the pitcher. But reached by phone, the Hialeah resident insists his son has had no contact with Bosch.
"My son works very, very hard, and he's as clean as apple pie," the elder Gonzalez says. "I went to Tony because I needed to lose weight. A friend recommended him, and he did great work for me. But that's it. He never met my son. Never. And if I knew he was doing these things with steroids, do you think I'd be dumb enough to go there?"
Gonzalez was a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award this past season and won a league-leading 21 games for Washington. Of course, everybody is innocent until proven guilty -- and apparently none of the contents of Aminorip are on MLB's banned substances list -- but considering the growth of human-growth use in baseball, these allegations are not and will not be taken lightly.
"The issue is currently being reviewed by Major League Baseball and it would be inappropriate for the Nationals to comment until that review is completed," Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations/General Manager Mike Rizzo said in a statement.
Gonzalez also chimed in on Twitter:
I've never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will ,I've never met or spoken with tony Bosch orused any substance
— Gio Gonzalez (@GioGonzalez47) January 29, 2013
Provided by him.anything said to the contrary is a lie.
— Gio Gonzalez (@GioGonzalez47) January 29, 2013
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