Jack Clark Accuses Albert Pujols and Justin Verlander of PED Use

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

The debate on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball couldn't be any hotter right now, but it appears former St. Louis Cardinal Jack Clark just threw gasoline on the fire after accusing Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers and Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels of PED use.

Here is what Clark had to say about a conversation he had with Pujols' former trainer, Chris Mihlfeld, who has been connected with PEDs in the past, per Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Mihlfeld “had told me what he was doing with ‘Poolie’ — threw him batting practice, worked him out, shot him up, all that stuff,” Clark said on the air.

“I had asked him about conditioning and working me out, what he would do for me, and he asked me whether I had ever thought of taking some steroids,” Clark said. “... He just told me that he wanted me to get started on steroids and he had some other guys that were doing it. He told me that’s how he’s conditioning this guy that he met out of high school and college and he looked like he was going to be a star, keep an eye on him.’’

“He told me, ‘Well you couldn’t do what I do with Albert Pujols, he’s on this real strenuous workout deal.’ I said, ‘I wouldn’t want to try to do that.’ Every day he kind of came to me and says, ‘you ready to do it? I’m ready to do it.’ I said, ‘Well I’m just not a needle guy, I’ve had enough surgeries and injuries over the years. I don’t like needles ... I’m not going to do that ... I’m not a player anymore."

“He had told me he had done that with Pujols, with steroids, and I really never thought too much about it because steroids were really not on my radar screen at that time.”

“The fact is (Mihlfeld) told me,” Clark said. “I never saw him’’ inject Pujols.

To be fair, per ESPN.com, Mihlfeld has denied he ever told Clark about Pujols using PEDs:

"I haven't even talked to Jack Clark in close to 10 years. His statements are simply not true. I have known Albert Pujols since he was 18 years old, and he would never use illegal drugs in any way. I would bet my life on it and probably drop dead on the spot if I found out he has. As before, once again both Albert and myself have been accused of doing something we didn't do."

After talking about Pujols, Clark then went into why he believes Verlander is using the stuff, although to be fair again, his evidence in the matter is far less compelling than his evidence against Pujols:

“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."

To touch on Verlander first, I can see where the signs are that possibly Verlander was using in the past. His fastball velocity has been down this season and there's no question he hasn't been as effective in 2013 as in years past after getting that big deal.

But you can easily make the case that Verlander, who has thrown at least 200 innings every year since 2007 and is on pace to do the same this year, could be suffering from a tired arm. It happens to guys in baseball and Verlander could be the next victim.

 

I think the jury is still out in that case as far as Verlander being on some kind of decline, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on as it is plausible Verlander could have used up until he got his mega deal from Detroit.

Again, the evidence Clark has against Verlander is nowhere near that of the evidence against Pujols.

Apparently, Clark had these in-depth conversations with Mihlfeld, who in the past used to train Pujols before it was discovered that former MLB pitcher Jason Grimsley was trained by the same guy and was caught using PEDs.

While that connection certainly doesn't convict Pujols, it is a connection worth making note of.

On top of that, these intimate conversations Clark had with Mihlfeld are between the two of them specifically, so it would be one man's word against the other, which is never a recipe for success in any investigation without strong evidence for one side or the other.

Either you take Clark at his word or you don't.

Perhaps the most damning evidence against Pujols is the fact that his body has been breaking down in recent years and that is normally a sign of long-term PED use. Pujols has developed a set of bad wheels in recent years and may fail to play 100 games this season because of them.

Again, it's a small sample size so we'll have to wait and see how Pujols' health holds up the next few seasons, but right now his physical struggles aren't looking so good for the future of his enormous contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

At the end of the day, it's Clark's words against anyone else's that chooses to fight the allegations against Pujols, but ask yourself: does Clark have a reason to lie and risk his newly-found radio career?

You can certainly make the argument he does and is trying to grab some ratings for the show. But the incredible amount of specific detail in Clark's story certainly warrants some looking into as Pujols continues to approach Hall of Fame numbers that will enshrine him in Cooperstown one day.