Former all-star pitcher Curt Schilling’s recent claim that he was told by the Boston Red Sox to use performance-enhancing drugs (PED) has been shot down by investigators. Major League Baseball and the Red Sox organization looked into the matter and found there was no substance to it. Schilling had said that Mike Reinold, a member of the Red Sox medical team, urged the pitcher to use PEDs to help treat a shoulder injury that he suffered back in 2008.
The accusations were recently made by Schilling to Terry Francona, who was the Red Sox manager at the time, as well as Theo Epstein, who was the club’s Theo Epstein in 2008. However, the investigations proved to be fruitless. Schilling had told Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio that a member of the Red Sox medical staff suggested that he try taking the illegal substance as one way to help heal his damaged shoulder.
In later interviews, Schilling mentioned Reinold as the person who made the suggestion to him. Reinold was hired by the Red Sox in 2008 as the team’s rehabilitation coordinator. He remained with the club until leaving in 2012. However, according to investigators, Reinold has never been involved with PEDs in the past or the present and they feel the incident simply didn’t take place.
A source with Major League Baseball stated that Schilling didn’t really back up his accusations and it was found out that there was some bad blood between him and Reinold and that could be the reason he accused him. A witness to the alleged conversation between Schilling and Reinold was interviewed and stated that the staff member never mentioned PEDs to Schilling. However, Schilling still insists that the incident took place.
Schilling said that he told the club about it and some of his teammates heard the Reinold say it to him. He claims that the Red Sox got in touch with MLB and they started to investigate the matter by interviewing himself and Reinold. He said he’s not sure why investigators would say that it never happened, especially since he’s retired and Reinold is no longer with the Red Sox. He added that he’s not surprised that the incident has been swept under the carpet though, even though he’s not sure why MLB would want to do that.
MLB has also released a press statement which said that the alleged event was investigated thoroughly and didn’t find any proof of it. The statement also said that MLB now considers the matter to officially be closed. The 46-year-old Schilling of Anchorage, Alaska. The right hander won three World Series in his career. He won one with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 and won two of them with the Red Sox, back in 2004 and in 2007. Schilling had a career record of 216-146 with an ERA of 3.46 and 3,116 career strikeouts. He also had a career playoff record of 11-2.
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