Radomski offers up names of players, juicy details

George Mitchell's report will include some surprises, according to sources. AP

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By Jon Heyman, SI.com

NEW YORK -- Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who admitted selling steroids to scores of major leaguers, recently has provided names of users in a meeting with baseball's lead steroid investigator, George Mitchell, SI.com has learned.

Radomski, awaiting federal sentencing after pleading guilty to distributing steroids to "dozens of major leaguers,'' quietly met with Mitchell and provided names of former steroid clients, sources said. Radomski's plea and agreement to cooperate has been seen by some MLB people as baseball investigators' big break in the case, and indications are that he was the star witness they hoped for.

One person familiar with some of Mitchell's findings said people are going to be "very surprised'' by how much Mitchell has learned about baseball's steroid past. While Mitchell has interviewed hundreds of people, Radomski is believed to have provided the juiciest new details -- by far. Radomski is said by federal authorities to have been a supplier of steroids to current and former major leaguers between 1995 and 2005 after previously working as a Mets clubby and batboy.

It remains to be seen whether Mitchell will make some or all of the names known in his final report, which may be presented sometime after this baseball season. Some owners have complained privately about the expense of the extensive investigation, which is believed to have cost at least $15 million. But one other person in the know predicted, "There's going to be more to this report than people think.''

Radomski is due in San Francisco court on Sept. 7, when he will be sentenced, and while his plea carries a penalty of up to 25 years, his sentence has been said by authorities to depend to some degree on his level of cooperation. Associates of Radomski, a proprietor of Pro Touch, a car detailing shop in St. James, Long Island, told SI.com in May he was willing to testify both to baseball and the courts. One associate of Radomski was quoted in that story as saying he's "ready to sing,'' and another as saying, "When you see the [steroid] list, it's going to blow your mind.''

Regarding Radomski's meeting with Mitchell, John Reilly, Radomski's Long Island-based lawyer, said, "We're still not commenting.''

John Clark, a lawyer in Mitchell's New York-based DLA Piper office, declined comment, and commissioner Bud Selig also declined comment.

The feds raided Radomski's Manorville, Long Island, home in December 2005 and recovered "thousands of doses of numerous types of anabolic steroids,'' according to court documents. Authorities also are in possession of phone and bank records, and Radomski's North Fork checking account revealed 23 deposits from MLB-associated individuals between May 2003 and March 2005, totaling $33,935.

Mitchell's interview with Radomski has been kept out of the media until now, but it is believed to have occurred several weeks ago, even before Mitchell's highly-publicized July 13 meeting with Yankees slugger Jason Giambi, who became the one current major leaguer to cooperate. Giambi's agreement to testify came after Selig threatened to discipline Giambi following the Yankee star's tacit admission of steroid use to USA Today. Giambi said on May 18 that he was "wrong for doing that stuff'' in an article about steroids.

Brian O'Neill, Giambi's lawyer in the meeting, characterized it as a "confidential inquiry'' and declined to comment, except to say of Mitchell, "He's an unbelievably good guy, a delightful guy.''

According to reports, Giambi wasn't compelled to discuss steroid usage by his teammates or other ballplayers but rather talked extensively about his steroid past. Giambi was said to have been "extremely cooperative'' by someone briefed on the meeting. Selig, in announcing Giambi would not be disciplined, praised Giambi for his "frank'' and "candid'' discussion with Mitchell and the other drug investigators. Selig didn't attend either meeting and is said to have left the investigating to Mitchell.

Giambi is believed to be the only current player to cooperate. Gary Sheffield said publicly that he would be happy to cooperate, but word is that he has refused MLB's request to do so.

While Mitchell has received almost no cooperation from current players, Mitchell is said to have conducted hundreds of interviews, and recently even interviewed Selig regarding his own role. Selig left the Barry Bonds home run chase earlier this month to meet with Mitchell, who recently received a diagnosis of prostate cancer and has been working around his personal situation.