Schierholtz says PED use was unintentional
Former Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz was sitting in his truck in late May when an email popped into his phone. He was stunned. It made no more sense when he read it a second time, and then a third.
The San Ramon Valley High and Chabot College alumnus had tested positive for Ibutamoren, a legal supplement that is a secretagogue, or precursor, to human growth hormone and is listed as a banned substance according to minor league baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
Major League Baseball announced Schierholtz’s 80-game suspension Friday. The outfielder had been released from the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A club a week before he learned of the positive test; he said he did not have the backing of the MLB Players Association as he went through the appeals process with the league and waited through weeks of silence for a decision.
Now Schierholtz acknowledges the mistake he made, trusting a trainer who provided a supposedly allowed recovery supplement while he was rehabbing from left shoulder and back surgeries over the winter. He wants it known that he did not intentionally attempt to cheat the game. And he is hopeful that his suspension can be applied retroactively, since he turned down offers from teams that wanted to sign him while he remained in limbo.
“It comes with deep sadness to hear that I tested positive for a banned substance,” Schierholtz wrote in a statement to this newspaper. “My sincere apologies go out to my fans, teammates, coaches, family and friends. In my 14-year professional career, I have always taken pride in hard work and have respected the integrity of the game on and off the field.
“Following offseason surgery, I was given medical advice to take a recovery supplement that unknowingly contained a banned substance. What goes into my body is my responsibility and I accept the consequences. I am embarrassed and never had any intention to cheat the game I love. I truly hope that everyone can forgive me for an innocent mistake and judge me as the person I’ve shown I am throughout my professional career.”
Schierholtz, 32, came up through the Giants system, was on their World Series roster in 2010 and was part of the package the club sent to Philadelphia for outfielder Hunter Pence in July 2012. Schierholtz last played in the major leagues for the Washington Nationals in 2014.
He spent last season with Hiroshima in the Japanese League, but back and left shoulder problems forced him to miss the final two months of the season. He had a 2-inch chunk of his shoulder AC joint removed in November, then came nerve ablation surgery in his lower back in Arizona to treat the pain that had been chronic since his final seasons in San Francisco.