Radomski linked to 12 of 13 Mets in report

BY JIM BAUMBACH | jim.baumbach@newsday.com

December 14, 2007

Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant whose place in baseball history was forever stamped with the release of the Mitchell Report yesterday, also factored into a bit of Mets history as well.

According to the report, before the 1996 season Radomski predicted to Mets catcher Todd Hundley that if he took steroids he would hit 40 home runs.

That season, after allegedly buying Deca-Durabolin and testosterone from Radomski at least three times, Hundley crushed a franchise-record 41 home runs. He set a major-league record by a catcher, not to mention obliterating his previous career high of 16 homers.

And, according to the report, he didn't forget about Radomski's promise. "After the season, Radomski said, Hundley took him out for dinner," it said.

For months the Mets seemed destined to have their name smeared all over this report because of their ties to Radomski, a clubhouse attendant from 1985-95. As part of his plea agreement with the federal prosecutors for distributing steroids to players from 1995 to 2005, Radomski agreed to cooperate with Mitchell's staff.

There are 13 present or former Mets players named in the Mitchell Report - Hundley, Mo Vaughn, Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Josias Manzanillo, Mark Carreon, Matt Franco, Todd Pratt, Fernando Vina, Chris Donnels, Paul Lo Duca, Mike Stanton and Scott Schoeneweis - and Radomski is connected in some form to each player except for Schoeneweis.

Hundley was drafted by the Mets in 1987, rose through the farm system and made his major-league debut in 1990. That's how he built a relationship with Radomski, which Radomski told Mitchell led him to another future Mets catcher - Lo Duca.

Hundley and Lo Duca were teammates on the Dodgers in 1999 and 2000, and it is alleged in the Mitchell Report that Hundley referred him to Radomski.

A Met for the past two seasons, Lo Duca signed a one-year contract with the Nationals this week after the Mets showed no interest in bringing Lo Duca back. Although they would never admit it, team officials undoubtedly feel good about that decision today.

Radomski estimated in the report he sold two kits of human growth hormone to Lo Duca at least six times, and Mitchell included copies of three separate checks from Lo Duca to Radomski made out for $3,200.

Mitchell also referenced notes he obtained from an internal discussion by Dodgers officials in October 2003 in which they believed Lo Duca no longer using performance-enhancing drugs was the reason why his statistics had dropped drastically. He hit 25 home runs in 2001; he's never hit more than 13 in a season since.

The inclusion of Dykstra on the list probably is not a surprise to Mets fans. He was probably the first player widely suspected of steroid use after his body size nearly doubled in the span of a few offseasons.

The report states Dykstra was "very close" with Radomski and admitted to him during spring training prior to the 1989 season to taking steroids. Radomski admitted to providing the steroids Deca-durabolin and Dianabol and testosterone to Dykstra, then a Phillie, after the 1993 World Series, a most interesting development considering Radomski was still employed by the Mets.

The Mets, like the rest of Major League Baseball, remained tight-lipped yesterday. The team released this statement: "The Mets support Major League Baseball's ongoing efforts to eliminate the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances. We fully cooperated in the Mitchell investigation and commend the Senator for his efforts in issuing his report."

The report stated that Matt Franco purchased steroids from Radomski during the 2000 season while he was a Met. But Franco, who was one of the few implicated players to speak with Mitchell's staff, denied buying steroids from Radomski or even ever meeting him.