Posted at 1:00 p.m., Monday, December 17, 2007
Baseball: Dodgers sign catcher cited in Mitchell Report
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A few days after admitting he used human growth hormone, backup catcher Gary Bennett signed a free-agent contract Monday with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Bennett was among 85 players implicated last week in the Mitchell Report. He later told The Washington Post: "As far as the report is concerned to me, it's accurate."
The 35-year-old Bennett played 59 games for St. Louis last season, batting .252 with two home runs and 17 RBIs. The Dodgers will be his eighth major league team.
The Mitchell Report said Bennett bought two kits of HGH from former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski in 2003. Bennett played for San Diego then, and told the Post he was trying to recover from a sprained right knee when he used HGH.
"Obviously, it was a stupid decision," Bennett told the newspaper. "It was a mistake. It was something that quite obviously, you regret now."
Bennett signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers, and will back up All-Star Russell Martin.
"Gary provides us with a veteran catcher who can spell Russell from time to time," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement. "He has been a member of some very good teams and the fact that he has spent his entire major league career in the National League is also something we found to be beneficial."
Bennett played the last two seasons with St. Louis, backing up Yadier Molina. Bennett was a member of the Cardinals team that won the 2006 World Series.
Bennett has hit .242 lifetime with 21 homers and 188 RBIs in a 12-year career. He is well traveled, having played for Philadelphia, the Mets, Colorado, San Diego, Milwaukee, Washington and St. Louis.
