Ex-MLB player, Jack Clark, turned radio host, has accused Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander and California Angels first baseman/DH Albert Pujols of using performance enhancing drugs to earn big contracts.  Clark’s theory seems to be that the players use PEDs to have outstanding seasons that reward them with huge contracts.  Once the player gets the big contract, they stop taking PEDs, their performance declines, but the player doesn’t care anymore because they already have the big money.

Neither Pujols or Verlander have ever tested positive for PEDs or have been investigated for such.  As far a the accusations directed toward Pujols go, they stem from a conversation Clark supposedly had with one of Pujols’ personal trainers, Chris Mihlfield.  Pujols has reject the accusations and volunteered to submit to a drug test at anytime.

Clarks’s accusations directed toward JV seem to be completely unfounded.  Here’s what he had to say about JV, from STLTODAY:

“Verlander was like Nolan Ryan, he threw 97, 98, 100 miles an hour from the first inning to the ninth inning,” Clark said on the air. “He got that big contract, now he can barely reach 92, 93. What happened to it? He has no arm problems, nothing’s wrong. It’s just the signs are there.

“The greed … they juice up, they grab the money and it’s just a free pass to steal is the way I look at it.”

I’m not an expert or an insider, but I don’t believe in accusing people of crimes with absolutely no supporting evidence.  Additionally, his statement regarding Verlander is false.  Verlander’s velocity really hasn’t been an issue this year, rather, it has been his command of the strike zone that has gotten him in trouble.  Further, although 2013 hasn’t been good compared to what Tigers fans have been accustomed to seeing from JV, he is hardly having a bad season by MLB standards.  In 24 games, Verlander is 12-8 with a 3.50 ERA.  He has struck out 145 and walked 56 which is a 2.58 K/BB ratio.

Jack Clark played in the Major Leagues from 1977 to 1993 and earned close to $16 million for his efforts.  That’s big money.  Perhaps Clark has squandered all of his earnings and is struggling to make ends meet and is trying to cope with his miserable post baseball life?  Perhaps Jack Clark is projecting?  In psychology, projection is defined as:

a defense mechanism that involves taking our own unacceptable qualities or feelings and ascribing them to other people. For example, if you have a strong dislike for someone, you might instead believe that he or she does not like you. Projection works by allowing the expression of the desire or impulse, but in a way that the ego cannot recognize, therefore reducing anxiety.

PEDs have been around for decades but were relatively unknown to the general public in the 70’s and early 80’s, despite the fact, that they were used by body builders, weight lifters and routinely given to soldiers in the military.  During Jack Clark’s career, MLB was not testing players for PEDs.  As a result, it is possible that Clark used PEDs to get, what was at the time, big money.   Hey $16 million is nothing to sneeze at.  Perhaps he’s broke and bitter and even a little bit remorseful.  To compensate he may be projecting his inadequacies on current, successful, highly paid players.

Whatever the case, I don’t care who used PEDs or not, but unless Clark has proof he should refrain from accusing people of wrongdoing.  By making these baseless accusations Clark revels himself to be a small, petty, pathetic, bitter, jealous, old cur, who has not adjusted well to life after baseball and is trying to turn himself into a sports shock jock.

“God, I love baseball.” – Roy Hobbs | The Natural