Former Jay Ed Sqrague Admits to Drug Use

[Halladay_is_God]

Former Jay Sprague admits to drug use

Former Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ed Sprague admitted to using performance-enhancing substances later banned by MLB, as well as hitting with a corked bat.

"I took Andro, and they banned that," Sprague told Recordnet.com, a website in his hometown of Stockton, Calif. "So, am I the cleanest guy? No, but I tried to be as strong and as healthy as I could as long as I could for my career."

Referring to Androstenedione, a banned substance under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, Sprague also said he used amphetamines commonly called "greenies." Amphetamines were not banned by baseball until 2006.

"That was an ultimate part of the game," Sprague said. "It was in the locker room forever. It was either a diet pill or a caffeine pill or whatever it was to give you more energy, and that was more prevalent than anything else. Is that a performance enhancer? Yeah, I guess it is if you're dog-ass tired."

Sprague admitted to using a corked bat once in a game, but quickly gave up the practice.

"We hit with them in (batting practice) a lot," he told Recordnet.com. "I know a couple guys in the game hit with them. I hit with one in a game once, but I was so scared after I hit it. .. That's the last time I ever did it."

Sprague is currently in his fifth season as a baseball coach at University of the Pacific in Stockton.

ESPN link: ESPN - Former Blue Jay Sprague says he used andro, amphetamines - MLB

STOCKTON, Calif. -- Former major league player Ed Sprague said he used androstenedione and amphetamines before either was banned in the game.

Sprague, now baseball coach at University of the Pacific, said he started using androstenedione in the mid to late 1990s. He hit a career-high 36 home runs in 1996.

"It could have been '96 ..." Sprague told the Stockton (Calif.) Record. "I could have taken andro then ... and I might have. I don't remember everything I took."

Sprague averaged about 14 home runs per season during his 11-year career in the majors, most of it with the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished with 152 homers and 558 RBIs.

"Andro" was a dietary supplement popularized in the 1990s by sluggers such as Mark McGwire. Baseball banned andro in 2004 after federal officials prohibited its sale because its use posed significant health risks. Andro was reclassified as an anabolic steroid in 2005.

Baseball did not ban amphetamines, which boost energy, until 2006.

"That was an ultimate part of the game," Sprague said of amphetamines. "It was in the locker room forever. It was either a diet pill or a caffeine pill or whatever it was to give you more energy, and that was more prevalent than anything else."

Ed Sqrague doesn't surprise me, he had one great career year with 36 HR and 101 RBI and .247 avg, then have some decent years but nothing too close to those totals.

The part that scares me is the locker room stuff

[love_that_reefer]

Yeah Chad Curtis and Tony Gwynn have both said that amphetamines were a huge part of the game. People do use corked bats. I myself watching games have heard funny cracks of the bat.