Report: Gibbons Received Shipments Of Steroids, Growth Hormone

Sunday, September 9th 2007, 8:50 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons received performance-enhancing steroids and human growth hormone after both substances were banned by baseball, SI.com reported Sunday.

Gibbons is the latest athlete to be linked to the Florida pharmacy under investigation for illegally distributing prescription medications.

Major League Baseball asked Friday to meet with St. Louis' Rick Ankiel and Toronto's Troy Glaus after two reports said they received performance-enhancing drugs from Signature Pharmacy several years ago.

Between October 2003 and July 2005, Gibbons got six shipments of Genotropin (a brand name for synthetic human growth hormone), two shipments of testosterone and two shipments of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), SI.com said, citing a source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list.

SI.com said its information dealt only with receipt of the drugs, not use.

Gibbons didn't immediately return a message left on his cell phone by The Associated Press. Messages left with his agent, Sam Levinson, also weren't immediately returned. Orioles spokesman Bill Stetka declined to comment.

Major League Baseball banned testosterone in 2003, the same year the sport began testing for steroids. HGH was barred in January 2005, but Gibbons allegedly received a shipment that July. HCG is not on the list of banned substances, SI.com reported.

Prescriptions that were written in Gibbons' name were sent to a Gilbert, Ariz., address that traces to the Baltimore outfielder, SI.com said.

The substances were obtained through South Beach Rejuvenation Center/Modern Therapy, a Miami Beach clinic, and sent through Signature, SI.com said.

The 30-year-old Gibbons underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month to repair a torn labrum. The procedure ended his worst year in the majors _ he batted .230 with only six homers and 28 RBIs in 84 games.

He broke into the majors in 2001 with the Orioles after being selected from the Toronto Blue Jays in the winter meeting draft. His best season was in 2003, when he batted .277 with 23 homers and 100 RBIs in 160 games.

But Gibbons has been plagued by injuries ever since. He played in 97 games in 2004, 139 in 2005 and last year he had two stints on the disabled list and played in only 90 games.

The Los Angeles Times reported last October that Gibbons was one of the players a federal agent said was implicated in drug use by former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley.