30 SECONDS with Joe Lawrence

Lafayette native Joe Lawrence broke into the majors in 2002 as an infielder and catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. There he trained under strength coach Brian McNamee, whose incendiary confession that he provided steroids to Roger Clemens and others looms large in the now-infamous Mitchell Report.

Lawrence now co-owns Big Leagues of Baton Rouge with Kurt Ainsworth, Brad Cresse and Chad Ogea. He shared this firsthand account of steroids in Major League Baseball.

Where were you when the Mitchell Report came out?

We were eating at Izzo’s when the ticker came across with all the names. We started trying to name five guys on each team we played on that didn’t do it. It was very hard to do.

HGH wasn’t illegal in baseball until 2005.

HGH was never promoted like, ‘Hey guys, this is the new vitamin.’ It was all under-the-table stuff. I’m proud to say I never touched it.

What is McNamee like and did his testimony surprise you?

He’s an ex-cop, a no-nonsense guy. He was a great trainer to me and all the young prospects. I loved him. As far as Roger goes, McNamee is the kind of guy that if he’s saying it, I believe it.

When you got to the majors, did players have to seek out steroids or did they have to turn it down?

You had to turn it down, just to be honest. Kurt [Ainsworth] was offered; I was offered. There could have been someone who put their foot down, but nobody did it because baseball at the time was coming off of a strike and it needed something. Those home runs were selling tickets.

Did these offers come from trainers or coaches?

It was other people that were around. You could get it.

What should be done with the record books?

If someone is voted in (to the Hall of Fame) and it’s proven later he took steroids, he should be taken out. I don’t even think an asterisk is deserved.

How much do the kids you train talk about it?

All the time. It’s easy for them to get it as well. There’s so much pressure for them to get scholarships for college. We tell them they don’t need that. I never took it. None of the trainers here did. I never wanted to have to answer one day to my son about that or to be working with a young player that comes through Big Leagues all the while knowing in the back of my mind that I cheated to achieve my goals.