Ex-Yankee Leyritz admits to using amphetamines

[Giants666]

While baseball's latest focus in its fight against ridding the sport of performance-enhancing drugs is on human growth hormone, it's another banned drug that a former Yankee fan favorite has confessed to using.

"I can remember my first amphetamine," Jim Leyritz said during an interview Thursday on XM Satellite Radio. "I was out all night drinking with Andy Hawkins and some of the guys on the team. I was a young player."

Leyritz, who broke into the big leagues in 1990 with the Yankees, played 11 seasons in the majors with six different teams.

"I came in. I was hung over, sleeping by my locker. And all of a sudden, [Don] Mattingly came to me and said, 'Hey, you're in the lineup.' And I went, 'What?' He goes, 'Yeah, I just hurt my back.'

"Now I'm walking around, I'm going, 'I don't know how I'm going to do this. There's no way that I can go play this game today.' I ran into my teammate who I knew had some of the 'little helpers,' as they called them.

"He said, 'Take one of these. It should help. It'll take the edge off.'

"So sure enough, I took one. He goes, 'OK, you can take two, but no more than two.' So I popped one more, and I went out and went 3-for-4 with two homers."

According to retrosheet.org, Leyritz is referencing a Saturday, June 30 game in 1990 against the White Sox, where he went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI.

His recollection of the day isn't perfect spot-on, however, as Mattingly played first base and Leyritz manned third.

This admission comes in the wake of an investigation of pitcher Jason Grimsley, where Grimsley told federal agents that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

According to court documents, Grimsley failed a league drug test in 2003. Authorities said when he was cooperating, he admitted to using human growth hormone, amphetamines and steroids.

He added that amphetamine use was prevalent in pro baseball, and that it was placed in coffee in clubhouses -- marked "leaded" or "unleaded" to indicate which pots contained the drugs, according to court documents.

During the offseason, owners and players agreed to increase the penalties for performance-enhancing drugs to 50 games for a first offense, 100 games for a second and a lifetime ban for a third.

[riverdunesrat]

DUH !!!! Anyone ever see that guy play!?!?!?!!?

[nyjunc]

I don't understand the big deal about this as amphetamines were common place in LR's up through last year. He also admitted to taking HGH but everywhere I read it's about amphetamines- strange.

[Dry1313]

Dude, amphetamines were a known commodity and MLB didn't see it fit to outlaw them until this year.

[Dry1313]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5505380

Ken Rosenthal raises an interesting point here. The MLB schedule is obviously grueling. And, as Chipper illustrates, players were much too reliant on the "greenies" before. But I would like to see more of a distribution in baseball. It would take the ball out of the hands of the individual performers and put it into the hands of a team, like it should be. This is also great because it makes players being in great shape crucial to a team's performance. Also, the teams with talent distribution on their team will have better records and will give a true team barometer, not just the value of a star. And it will also make the MVP even more valuable. I thought it was an interesting read, on one of the less spoken significant issues baseball dealt with.

I posted this a little while ago on amphetamines.

[SF Kid]

And it just goes on and on.

MBL is a mess.

[DravenX]

Leyritz wasn't that good in my opinion anyway.

[nyjunc]

Leyritz wasn't that good in my opinion anyway.

He was a decent player and had some of the most memorable post season HRs in Yankee history including onwe you might remember(if you are old enough) from Game 4 of the '96 WS.

And it just goes on and on.

MBL is a mess.

So is MLB

[DravenX]

I was old enough in '96 but I wasn't into baseball at the time and I didn't watch him until he was playing with the Angels. Also, I never watched the Yankees.

[Porter]

DUH !!!! Anyone ever see that guy play!?!?!?!!?

1995 ALDS Game 2.....mother****er.

[nyjunc]

I was old enough in '96 but I wasn't into baseball at the time and I didn't watch him until he was playing with the Angels. Also, I never watched the Yankees.

W/ the Yanks down in the series 2-1 and down 6-3 in the 8th inning of game 4 he hit a 3 run HR to tie it and the Yanks won in extras to even the series en route to their first title since '78 and the dawn of a new dynasty.

1995 ALDS Game 2.....mother****er.

As great as that moment was it lost it's luster when e blew it in the Kingdome.

[DravenX]

I think I remember hearing about that game. He still was never a real star player. He had his bright moments like everyone else.

[Giants666]

Leyritz just had the memorable HR's in the postseason, other than that he was just a back-up.

[nyjunc]

I think I remember hearing about that game. He still was never a real star player. He had his bright moments like everyone else.

he was never a star but had great postseasons for the yanks and Padres. he was an excellent role player for us.

[Hot Rod Mcqueen]

i knew something was fishy about him.he finally revealed it. by why wouldn't you just tell the manager you can't play.