NEW YORK -- Former Orioles first baseman David Segui told ESPN yesterday that he is one of the players named in Jason Grimsley's affidavit on drug use in baseball and that he used human growth hormone obtained through a doctor's prescription.
Segui, the first player in the affidavit to be identified, was a 15-year major league veteran who finished his career with the Orioles in 2004. He is the third former Oriole along with Grimsley and Rafael Palmeiro to be connected to baseball's battle against the use of performance enhancers.
Segui emphasized that he obtained hGH legally from a doctor in Florida. He said he still takes it because he has a natural deficiency of the hormone. He said that when he saw the section of Grimsley's affidavit pertaining to him, he knew he had been implicated, though his name was blacked out.
"It was almost word for word the conversation we had, except there's a couple key words that were left out," Segui told ESPN. "You know, `legal' was one of the major - probably the most major omission in the affidavit. ... I was under doctor's prescription, under doctor's supervision."
Segui said he advised Grimsley, who told Internal Revenue Service investigators this spring that he purchased hGH between 10 and 12 times in the past several years, on the use of the hormone.
"Jason was coming back from Tommy John surgery," he said, referring to an elbow ligament reconstruction procedure. "He expressed, you know, a desire to use, to try human growth hormone to heal his elbow, to get him back on the field. ... I told him, he knew that I was on it legally. I told him, I was speaking as a friend, if you're going to do this, go to the doctor, get your levels checked to see where they're at. ... Do it under the doctor's supervision. And my exact words to him were, `If you're going to do it, do it the right way.'"
Attempts by The Sun to reach Segui during the past week were unsuccessful.
Orioles players and officials said they didn't know of Segui's hGH use and that they're tired of hearing drug-related questions.
"David Segui don't play for this team, so it shouldn't affect us," said Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo.
"It's part of the territory," he said. "It's not a reflection on the organization. I think that's where people get caught up, in the fact that they think the organization was a part of this deal. All these things you see, for me, are strictly personal decisions that people make."
