Former Boston Red Sox slugger Mo Vaughn reportedly admitted to using human growth hormone during his MLB career.
A couple of caveats: HGH hadn’t been banned at the time — and it was well after Vaughn’s peak years in Boston.
In an interview with The Athletic, Vaughn said that he used HGH in a desperate attempt to stay on the field after injuries began to pile up later in his career.
“I was trying to do everything I could,” Vaughn said to The Athletic. “I knew I had a bad, degenerative knee. I was shooting HGH in my knee. Whatever I could do to help the process.”
While HGH is now considered a performance-enhancing drug, it was not banned by MLB until 2005 (two years after Vaughn last appeared in a game).
Vaughn had already been connected with HGH use. The former Red Sox slugger was among those named in the Mitchell Report in 2007. The report accused Vaughn of purchasing HGH in 2001 when he was dealing with an injury with the Anaheim Angels.
Vaughn, known as the “Hit Dog,” was one of Boston’s most iconic players during the 90s. The power-hitting first-baseman made three All-Star teams during his time with the Red Sox from 1991-1998. In 1995, he was named AL MVP.
In 1999, Vaughn left for the Anaheim Angels in free agency. Shortly after, injuries began to take their toll on Vaughn. After missing the entire 2001, season, Vaughn spent two years with the New York Mets.
In 2004, he officially announced his retirement from baseball, saying “I have an injury no doctor can fix.”