NL Wire Notes | Ex-batboy pleads guilty in steroid case

A former New York Mets bat boy who used his clubhouse connections to peddle performance-enhancing drugs to dozens of major-league players pleaded guilty Friday to steroid distribution and money laundering.

Kirk Radomski, 37, who worked for the Mets from 1985 to September 1995, rising from bat boy to clubhouse attendant, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance — anabolic steroids — and one count of money laundering in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

From the time he left the team until the time federal agents raided his Long Island, N.Y., home in December 2005, he provided the steroid deca-durabolin, testosterone, Clenbuterol, human growth hormone and amphetamines to players. And when the feds caught up with him, he started naming names.

No names have been released (they were redacted from the search-warrant affidavit), but baseball-union officials were concerned enough that they began calling current and former players Friday, telling them to be prepared in case Radomski had named them to prosecutors. Union officials said they did not know the names of the players involved.

As part of his plea agreement, Radomski is required to cooperate with former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who has been investigating baseball's doping history for commissioner Bud Selig.

According to court documents, Radomski admitted dealing steroids to dozens of major-leaguers from 1995 to 2005, after he left the Mets, operating out of his base in Lindenhurst, N.Y., which was raided by agents on Dec. 14, 2005. Radomski now lives in Manorville, N.Y.

Agents found more than 20 instances in which major-league players issued checks to Radomski between 2003 and 2005 for amounts from $200 to $3,500, after baseball's steroid testing went into effect.

Cincinnati: OF Ken Griffey Jr. remained out of the lineup for a second day with pleurisy, an inflammation in the lining of a cavity surrounding the lungs. A chest X-ray revealed the problem, which is not expected to be a long-lasting condition. He was used as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.

Houston: The Astros called up OF Hunter Pence from Class AAA Round Rock and benched Chris Burke.

St. Louis: Manager Tony La Russa, displeased with a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story deriding the Cubs' losing history, said he wouldn't talk to the newspaper during the three-game weekend series. "I'm making my statement about having fun with the Cubs," La Russa said. "I don't want any part of it."

Note: Forty-one years after he retired, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax was the final player chosen in the draft to stock the six teams for the inaugural season of the Israel Baseball League. Koufax, 71, was picked by the Modi'in Miracle in the draft conducted by former major-league general manager Dan Duquette. "His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league," said Miracle manager Art Shamsky. "It's been 41 years between starts for him. If he's rested and ready to take the mound again, we want him on our team."

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