Thursday, June 2, 2022

David Segui made the bigs, but eventually had help; Made 15 ML seasons, Mitchell Report


David Segui hit the ball well at AAA Rochester early in 1990 and did great defensively, Rochester manager Greg Biagini told The Baltimore Evening Sun upon Segui's first call to the bigs.

Biagini didn't see any changes for Segui upon the promotion, the manager told The Sun.

"When he goes up there, no matter what happens, he'll be the same David Segui," Biagini told The Sun. "Nobody can push him harder than he pushes himself."

Segui went on to a career that spanned 15 major league seasons that saw him hit 139 major league home runs and end with a .291 career average.

After his career concluded, however, the David Segui who played those seasons wasn't the same for much of them. For much of his career, as outlined in the Mitchell Report, he was David Segui aided by steroids.

Segui's career began in 1987, taken by the Orioles in the 18th round of the draft out of Louisiana Tech. Segui's brother Dan Segui and father Diego Segui also played.

Segui started at single-A Hagerstown. He made AA in 1989, then AAA Rochester and Baltimore in 1990.

He saw 40 games with the Orioles in 1990 and hit .244. He then saw 86 games in 1991, 115 in 1992 and 146 in 1993. He hit .273 in 1993, with 10 home runs.

The Orioles then sent him to the Mets in a trade. He brought with him a reputation as a good fielding first baseman, The New York Times wrote

"I think you can save more runs with a glove than you probably can drive in with a bat," Segui told The Times then. "I look at it like it's a competition. The hitter is trying to get the ball by me and I'm not going to let him beat me."

Segui hit .241 in 92 games that year for the Mets, then started 1995 there, before being dealt to the Expos. During his time with the Mets, though, he met and befriended a clubhouse employee by the name of Kirk Radomski, according to the Mitchell Report.

Segui admitted to Radomski that he used steroids in 1994. Radomski then told investigators, backed by checks, that he started to supply Segui himself. They had more than a dozen transactions, more than any other player, according to the report.

Segui played through 1997 with the Expos, then moved through the Mariners, Blue Jays, Rangers and Indians clubs through 2000.

He returned to the Orioles for 2001 and played his final four seasons there. He last saw 18 games with the Orioles in 2004. 

Regarding his performance enhancing drug use, Segui told USA Today in 2019 he had no regrets, suggesting morality has never been a part of sports.

"Do I think we have a responsibility to be good humans and citizens? Absolutely," Segui told USA Today. "But when I die, and they say at the pearly gates that the worst thing I did was take medicine to be stronger and faster and be a better ballplayer, I like my chances."

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:3,931
Made the Majors:1,310-33.3%-X
Never Made Majors:2,621-66.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:533-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors:328    

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