While Jason Grimsley’s affidavit was being unsealed by an Arizona court, Kirk Radomski’s affidavit was unsealed in New York court December 20.
The names formerly redacted from the affidavit are mostly In line with those mentioned in the Mitchell report. The only names from the affidavit not in the Mitchell Report were that of former New York Mets pitcher, Sid Fernandez, and three career minor leaguers, Pete Rose Jr., Ryan Schurman and Rick Holyfield.
Fernandez’s inclusion was of particular note. While the affidavit reportedly contained a check made out to Radomski from Fernandez for $3500, it was dated 2005. Fernandez last pitched in the major leagues in 1997; he attempted a comeback in 2001 but pitched only two innings for the New York Yankees AAA affiliate.
Rose Jr. was mentioned only in the section detailing Radomski’s phone records. The affidavit says Radomski called Rose Jr. numerous times in 2001, “which occurred during the time frame when Rose Jr. pleaded guilty to distributing performance-enhancing drugs.”
Rose Jr. pleaded guilty in 2005 to distributing GBL, a drug that converts to the drug GHB in the body, in 2001. GHB, known as “the date-rape drug,” is sometimes used by dopers to help them sleep.
Brian McNamee, also mentioned in Grimsley’s affidavit, is said to have written four checks totaling $7500 and was identified as “former NY Yankee employee, personal fitness trainer for Roger Clemens & Andy Pettitte.”
The Hearst Corporation, on behalf of two of its newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Albany Times-Union, had previously sued to have the affidavit unsealed. In a strange twist it appears that Hearst was not given a copy as of late Thursday night (Dec. 19) when ESPN had already obtained the unsealed version.
Eve Burton, Heart’s chief counsel, maintained that the government’s selectivity in distributing information, the main tenant of their case to have the affidavit unsealed in the first place, was still lacking.
“Once again, the government is selectively providing information to only certain members of the public, as it did with Mr. Mitchell, rather than making it widely available to all Americans who care about baseball. This is a disservice to everyone involved.”