Tony Bosch: A-Rod had eye on details
-- Anthony Bosch, the founder and former proprietor of the infamous anti-aging clinic Biogenesis, says Alex Rodriguez was meticulous in his quest to exploit the benefits of performance-enhancing substances for an edge -- and ultimately in seeking to become the sole member of the 800 home run club.
Speaking in an interview with the CBS News program "60 Minutes" to air Sunday night, Bosch said he personally injected Rodriguez with PEDs because the New York Yankees third baseman, whose suspension was reduced Saturday from 211 games to 162, was "scared of needles."
"So at times, he would ask me to inject," Bosch said in the interview, according to a publicity release.
A partial transcript of the interview and text messages that "describe a secretive Rodriguez and an accommodating Bosch" have also been published by the New York Daily News.
"Try to use service elevators. Careful. Tons of eyes," Rodriguez told Bosch in a text message in June 2012 in Atlanta, the day before he hit his 23rd career grand slam to tie Lou Gehrig's record.
The "60 Minutes" segment also revealed Rodriguez spent $12,000 a month in doing business with Bosch, according to the newspaper.
"Alex cared. Alex wanted to know," Bosch said, according to the Daily News. "He would study the product. He would study the substances. He would study the dosages, because he wanted to achieve all his human performance or in this case, sports performance, objectives. And the most important one was the 800 home run club."
The MLBPA released a statement Sunday regarding the "60 Minutes" segment.
"It is unfortunate that Major League Baseball apparently lacks faith in the integrity and finality of the arbitrator's decision and our Joint Drug Agreement, such that it could not resist the temptation to publicly pile-on against Alex Rodriguez," the release read. "It is equally troubling that the MLB-appointed Panel Arbitrator will himself be appearing in the '60 Minutes' segment, and that Tony Bosch, MLB's principal witness, is appearing on the program with MLB's blessing.
"... After learning of tonight's '60 Minutes' segment, Players have expressed anger over, among other things, MLB's inability to let the result of yesterday's decision speak for itself. As a result, the Players Association is considering all legal options available to remedy any breaches committed by MLB."
Rodriguez also texted Bosch during a spring training game in April 2012 in which he had three RBIs.
"Really good. Explosive," Rodriguez messaged to Bosch, according to the Daily News.
"Go with same protocol," Bosch replied.
Rodriguez, after the reduced suspension was announced Saturday, reiterated his claim that he has not taken any PEDs in his time with the Yankees.
The three-time American League MVP was the biggest name linked last year to Biogenesis.
Bosch said he thought the suspension was deserved, according to a spokeswoman.
"Tony Bosch doesn't take joy in seeing Alex Rodriguez suspended from baseball, but he believes the arbitrator's decision was appropriate," Joyce Fitzpatrick said in a statement Saturday. "He is glad to have the arbitration behind him and believes he can play a valuable role in the future by educating athletes about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs."