From 1993-2000, former MLB slugger Mo Vaughn was among the game's most prolific power hitters, swatting 282 home runs, the eighth-most during that stretch.

When injuries struck and his body started to betray him, however, Vaughn thought he needed help and went to performance-enhancing drugs to save his career, he admitted, for the first time to The Athletic in a story published Monday.

"I was trying to do everything I could (to stay on the field)," Vaughn told The Athletic. "I knew I had a bad, degenerative knee. I was shooting HGH in my knee. Whatever I could do to help the process ..."

The former first baseman confirmed essentially what fans and the baseball world knew via the 2007 Mitchell Report, which outlined the PED and steroid usage across baseball. The 409-page report named 89 MLB players who allegedly used steroids or PEDs. The Mitchell Report provided proof that Vaughn purchased HGH three different times in 2001, using ex-New York Mets batboy and clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski as the intermediary. The league did not ban HGH until 2005.

As The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal wrote, Vaughn began to have injury problems in his 30s.

Vaughn's physical troubles began two batters into the 1999 season opener, his debut with the Anaheim Angels after signing a then-record six-year, $80 million free-agent contract. Chasing a foul pop toward the Cleveland dugout, he fell down the steps and injured his left ankle and knee. He later missed the entire 2001 season with a ruptured biceps tendon, and his knee issues forced him out of the game in May 2003.

Vaughn was traded to the Mets for pitcher Kevin Appier in Dec. 2001. He played two seasons in New York, compiling a .249/.346/.438 line with 29 home runs and 87 RBIs in 166 games, 27 of which he played in his age-35 season in 2003, his last in the majors.

He retired as the 1995 AL MVP (with the Boston Red Sox) and a three-time All-Star. Vaughn had 328 career home runs and 1,064 RBIs along with a .293/.383/.523 line.