Mihlfeld’s Clean

In June, Kansas Citian Chris Mihlfeld found himself at the center of the biggest steroids scandal in sports history. Major media outlets claimed that he may have helped supply pro baseball players with performance-enhancing drugs. The frenzy grew, even as big-name players stepped up to defend Mihlfeld’s name.

It began when federal agents busted former Royals pitcher Jason Grimsley after he allegedly received a package of human growth hormones at his Arizona home. According to federal documents, Grimsley agreed to give the G-men a roster of players who he claimed were juicing and a list of his drug suppliers. Those names were redacted in documents released publicly.

A sports blog called Deadspin.com claimed it had a source who knew a trainer listed in the report. Deadspin editor Will Leitch claimed he was “80 percent” sure it was Mihlfeld.

Mihlfeld’s name was soon tied to steroids in legitimate news outlets, including The Kansas City Star, Sports Illustrated and MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

Meanwhile, Mihlfeld’s clients staked their own reputations by claiming that Mihlfeld was clean. Players, including Royals star Mike Sweeney and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, told the Pitch in a July 13 cover story (“Say It Ain’t Steroids) that they were sure Mihlfeld was clean.

On October 1, The Los Angeles Times reported that a nonredacted version of the Grimsley affidavit did not contain Chris Mihlfeld’s name.

When reached by the Pitch after his name was cleared, Mihlfeld wrote in an e-mail, “I will make no further comments. I want to thank you for your positive support.”

Now Leitch is on the other side of the microscope.

On October 2, Deadspin published a correction titled “A Deeply Regrettable Wrong” that apologized to Mihlfeld and admitted that the Web site was “wrong” to publish the claims.

But Leitch tells the Pitch that his claim was justified because he did not say that his theory was conclusive.

“I won’t be using that source again, to say the least.