"It's terrible," he said, nodding his knowledge that at least two Dominican players died after ingesting veterinary medications (as originally reported by Steve Fainaru of the Washington Post). Dominican kids are buying the substances in pet stores, then shooting themselves up.
"They're putting people in danger for money," Ortiz said. "That's not right. It's not fair what they're doing with those kids.
"I don't blame the players, I blame the buscones. They're the ones who know that the guys will get paid if they show a good body, show some talent, and then they'll make some money. When you're young like that, you're stupid. So anybody comes up to you and tells you, `You've got to look good in front of these guys [scouts], here, take this and work out,' they listen.
"If anybody ever gave me something like that and my dad found out, he'd kill people. My dad was more worried about my health than anything else."
One young Dominican player quoted in the report estimated that at least 80 percent of teen-aged Dominican players are using steroids or some other substance they believe will spur growth.
George Bell, the former big league star, told Farrey: "If we go another five or six years like this, you're not going to find any baseball players. You're going to find junkies."
As the money has gotten bigger -- a total of $14 million was distributed last year to 442 Dominican prospects, Farrey reports -- the buscones have become more plentiful, and the players more willing to do whatever it takes. The money wasn't like that when the generation of players that included Sammy Sosa and Pedro Martinez signed. It wasn't there for Ortiz, either.
"I signed for $7,500," he said, still a handsome sum in a country where the average annual salary is $6,300. "As soon as I cashed that check, I put the money on my bed [in front of my family] and it was gone. That made me feel good, let me tell you."
