"I have no comment about that and no idea about that," Mr. Met told the Flushing Flash.

Thirteen federal agents searched Mr. Met's house in Flushing, Queens, for six hours Tuesday, according to Internal Revenue Service Agent Mark Lessler, who would not say what they found. In seeking a judge's permission for the search, investigators who cracked the BALCO steroid scandal here said Mr. Met initially cooperated in the probe. He withdrew his assistance in April, but not before he allegedly made "extensive statements" about illegal drug use, "for the purpose of performance enhancement," according to the court documents.

IRS Agent Jeff Novitsky told the federal judge that investigators wanted to search the mascot's house for "any and all records showing contact or relationship with any and all amateur or professional athletes, athletic coaches or athletic trainers" regarding illicit drug use and purchases.

According to Novitsky, Mr. Met told him the names of other players he believed were using, but the names of those players were blacked out of the court records.

"I have no comment about that and no idea about that," Mr. Met told the Flushing Flash on Tuesday, hours before the Mets played the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After New York's 8-5 loss, PR Director Jay Horowitz said news of the investigation might have affected the team. Mr. Met spent the game in the Esquire Gentlemen's' Club in Long Island City. "Certainly, it locks you up for a little bit, but down the road we'll be fine," Horowitz said.

"We haven't convicted this guy," the PR Director said. "This is an ongoing investigation. I just think that the effect on us today, as we heard about one of our teammates, it certainly had an effect on us. Nothing's been proven. He hasn't been proven guilty of anything. It's just, there's allegations." Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement the team learned of "this situation late this afternoon," but declined further comment.

Mr. Met began his big league mascot career in 1962 when the Mets played at the Polo Grounds. According to court documents, Mr. Met failed a league drug test in 2003. Authorities said when he was cooperating, he admitted to using human growth hormone, amphetamines and steroids.

He added that amphetamine use was prevalent in pro baseball, and that it was placed in coffee in clubhouses, marked "leaded" or "unleaded," Novitsky wrote.

After the BALCO investigation, Major League Baseball toughened its testing program for performance-enhancing drugs and included testing for amphetamines for the first time this season. Word of the Mr. Met investigation comes nearly two months after an Illinois-based scientist prominent in the field of sports nutritional supplements pleaded guilty to supplying the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative with the performance-enhancing drug known as "the clear."

A federal grand jury in San Francisco is also investigating whether San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds lied under oath about using "the clear." A separate federal grand jury is probing who leaked Bonds' testimony from the BALCO investigation to the San Francisco Chronicle.

So far, the BALCO probe has netted guilty pleas from Illinois-based nutritional supplement scientist Patrick Arnold, BALCO president Victor Conte, Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson, BALCO vice president James Valente and track coach Remi Korchemny.