Former Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz was sitting in his truck in late May when an email popped into his phone. He was stunned. It made no more sense when he read it a second time, and then a third.
The San Ramon Valley High and Chabot College alumnus tested positive for Ibutamoren, a legal supplement that is a secretagogue, or precursor, to human growth hormone and is listed as a banned substance according to minor league baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
Advertisement
Major League Baseball announced Schierholtz’s 80-game suspension on Friday. The outfielder had been released from the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A club a week before he learned of the positive test; he said he did not have the backing of the Players’ Association as he went through the appeals process with the league and waited through weeks of silence for a decision.