Former National League MVP and St. Louis Cardinals legend Jack Clark is accusing Albert Pujols of using performance enhancing drugs.
Known as “Jack the Ripper” during his playing days, Clark spent the first week of his new job as a co-host of a local radio show making his damning assertions. And he insists he has the facts to prove it.
While serving as hitting coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the early 2000s, Clark says he was told by Chris Mihlfeld, who for a time was Pujols’ personal trainer that Mihlfeld “shot him up.”
“I know for a fact he was,” Pujols told WGNU co-host Kevin Slaten when the two broached the subject of Pujols' alleged abuse. “Mihlfeld had told me what he was doing with ‘Poolie’ — threw him batting practice, worked him out, shot him up, all that stuff.”
In 2006, Pujols addressed reports about Mihlfeld when the trainer emerged from relative obscurity to national attention after another of his clients, pitcher Jason Grimsley, admitted to using steroids and was suspended by MLB. Subsequent reports followed Mihlfeld’s name had been one that was blacked out in a federal affidavit regarding the matter.
Given his Pujols’ connection, eyebrows were immediately raised about a Hall of Fame bound player in the midst of a historical 11-year career run the heights of which few have reached.
“I don’t resent this as much for myself as I do for Chris,” Pujols said back. “He’s got no way to defend himself against somebody who puts something out there that’s not true.”
Publicly Pujols has never been known to have failed a drug test or even be under MLB investigation for possible usage. “Why would I do something like that to my family? Why would I do something like that to God? Why would I do something like that to my team?” he asked.
Clark wonders the same thing. But that doesn’t seem to have redirected his critical eye. He also named Justin Verlander and Shawn Green as players he’s heard similar tales about.
“Verlander was like Nolan Ryan, he threw 97, 98, 100 miles an hour from the first inning to the ninth inning,” Clark said on the air. “He got that big contract, now he can barely reach 92, 93. What happened to it? He has no arm problems, nothing’s wrong. It’s just the signs are there. The greed ... they juice up, they grab the money and it’s just a free pass to steal is the way I look at it.”
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