In the on-deck circle, in the bottom of the 11th inning, just before his at-bat in game seven of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium, Aaron Boone was "wired in." The bedlam of 57,714 fans and the history of the New York Yankees franchise –- recent, as well as long past –- failed to distract his focus.

Boone, of course, hit the first pitch he saw from knuckleballer Tim Wakefield 11 rows deep in the left field bleachers. In the process, he propelled the Yankees over the Boston Red Sox, 6-5, and into the World Series against the upstart Florida Marlins. It was only the fifth deciding game walk-off homerun in the history of the Major League Baseball playoffs.

The Non-answer

Asked afterwards in the champagne-soaked Yankee clubhouse to explain his clout, Boone offered only the standard baseball bromides.

Investigation into the game-winning home run, however, has revealed possible illegal drug use by the most recent October hero for the Bronx Bombers.

Boone's agent would not comment for this article, but for dismissing as "speculation" unconfirmed reports that very recently Boone began taking "supplements and breakfast vitamins" on game days.

Yankee front office personnel also did not comment on the record. But, one source speaking on the condition of anonymity, did confide that prior to leaving the dugout for the on-deck circle, Boone admitted to feeling "'amped' and ready to knock the cover off the ball."

Piss-poor Post-season

Boone's tenure with the Yankees has been bittersweet. While his play at third base has been steady if unspectacular, his offense has disappointed. Mired in a batting slump on 5 for 31 hitting with only one RBI, Boone limped into last night's game with a .161 average.

Slumps are nothing new to the game, and every player experiences them at one time or another during a season. What is new, however, is players' increasingly assertive attempts to end them with outside assistance. And more and more players are turning to the laboratory for that help.

The use of performance enhancing drugs is not new to baseball. In the summer of 1998, St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire was revealed to be using androstenedione. Jose Canseco's prodigious talents are thought to have been based partly on his use of synthetic steroids.

But the matter of using purified, smokable "crack cocaine" -- also known as belushi, big rush, everclear, happy dust, monster, pop powder, and schmeck -- elevates the discussion to a wholly different level. Prepared exclusively for illicit use and characterized by its euphoric effects, crack affects a user's cardiovascular, nervous, psychological, and gastrointestinal systems.

"No shit, he jacked that one," said Dr. Neal Keny-Guyer, a clinical biochemist at Manhattan Mercy Hospital. "Feelings of omnipotence and illusions of grandeur are the sine qua non of persons under the influence of crack. Hyperalertness and feelings of disproportionate strength are usual. Imagine the story of the grandmother lifting the Volkswagen car off her grandchild, and you get the picture," Keny-Guyer added.

Indeed, the excitation of the central nervous system and sensor distortion may have played heavily in the coming-together of skills required to hit a pitched baseball.

That Boone would feel "amped … wired in" may indicate symptoms of such drug usage. Most damning, perhaps, is the fact that Boone would respond in the clutch with a game on the line.

"All-night Parties"

Most average and lesser-known players try to curry favor with their more talented and famous teammates by lavishing attention on them. Billy Martin's obsequiousness when around Whitey Ford is one well-known example. Similarly, Boone was known for throwing "wild, all-night parties" at his Upper East Side condominium. "They even filmed one of those Visa commercials with [Yankee captain Derek] Jeter there," said one frequent party-goer who spoke anonymously.

Yankee owner George Steinbrenner reportedly had warned the third baseman about his "going out every night" and the effect on the team, this source said. Boone supposedly denied any problem. According to this front office insider, he was seen much later that same night at Orso, Cheetah and the Broome Street Bar.

Mysterious Housekeeper

Apparently, Boone's live-in housekeeper had had enough of the career .271 hitter's debauched antics. Wilma Cline, 42, was new to the Boone condominium, having just joined the household this past week. "It's been non-stop," Cline said. "Ever since I come here, for almost two weeks, it's nothing but party, party, party. I asked to keep it down. I warned about his play the next day. I couldn't take it anymore."

Cline says she walked in on Boone in a condominium bathroom with an array of "vitamin" pill containers, lighters, and bits of aluminum foil on the counter. "He quickly waved at the air [as if to disperse smoke] and threw his hand over his mouth. I panicked," the housekeeper said.

The following day –- the morning of game seven -– Cline went to the authorities.

Police were skeptical of the woman's story. "She came into the station telling this story, and yet when we asked her questions about her background, she would only say that she's from Florida and previously worked for a national radio talk show host," police spokesperson Mary Carey said.

Law enforcement officials "questioned Cline further, but found no evidence of probable cause and declined to pursue the matter."

League to Investigate

Nevertheless, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig warned, "anything that could possibly taint the integrity of the game would be dealt with accordingly." He promised "a speedy, thorough, and unbiased, but mostly speedy, investigation.

Gregory MacCrone is an attorney headhunter in Portland, Oregon. When he's not saving the legal world from bad hires, he's writing for the Becker Sports Report in fits and starts. But mostly fits. This is his first article, though he once had a great idea for an article on "Mullet Night"* -- an actual promotion for the AAA Portland Beavers baseball club. MacCrone is a Capricorn, a full-contact organic gardener, able to make 30-minute brownies in 20 minutes, and an enthusiastic mountain climber. He is a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan.