Shane Spencer was out on the field throwing batting practice to the Somerset Patriots at 2 p.m. Monday. So imagine his surprise when he later learned he was supposedly giving an interview to an Albany radio station at the same time.
During the interview, the person claiming to be the ex-Yankees outfielder said he had used steroids during his career and had seen other players using them.
Last night, Spencer, who played with the Yankees from 1998-2002 and with the Mets in 2004, issued a statement saying he was not the caller.
“In response to an interview that ESPN Radio 104.5 FM host Mike Lindsley claims to have done with me on [Monday] afternoon, I would like to set the record straight that I did not participate in any such interview,” said Spencer, now the hitting coach and third-base coach with the independent Atlantic League team based in New Jersey. “Someone called into the station claiming to be me and spoke on my behalf regarding some very sensitive topics surrounding baseball. This caller spoke as me about topics ranging from steroids, to my time with the New York Yankees, Roger Clemens, and my feelings about the great Mariano Rivera.
“I am outraged that someone would do this and at the same time disappointed that the station believed it to be me despite not coming from the contact information they had for me.”
Spencer said he later heard about the interview from friends, family members, former teammates and fans.
“It is very disappointing that someone was able to go on the air as me and speak for me about these topics,” he said. “I would like to set the record straight that the interview was not done with me and all the opinions were not mine.”
In the interview, speaking as Spencer, the caller said, “I have used steroids in the past. … Did I ever see anyone using them? Absolutely.
“Here’s the one thing I would say, is that most people did not use steroids in a public forum. … It wasn’t like you would walk into the Yankees’ locker room or any other team I played for and people were just using steroids or people would be openly talking about it.”
Spencer — this time the real Spencer — went on the air with Lindsley yesterday. According to a spokesman for the Patriots, they briefly talked about what happened on Monday’s show but Lindsley didn’t apologize.