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M.L.B. Suspends Rodriguez and 12 Others for Doping M.L.B. Suspends Rodriguez and 12 Others for Doping
(about 2 hours later)
Alex Rodriguez was among 13 players suspended by Major League Baseball on Monday for violating the league’s antidoping protocols, the biggest single-day drug action in the sport’s history. Alex Rodriguez was among 13 players suspended by Major League Baseball on Monday for violating the league’s antidoping rules, the biggest single-day drug action in the sport’s history.
Rodriguez is planning to appeal his ban, which would begin Thursday and would be for 211 games, through the 2014 season — by far the longest levied by the league for a doping violation. The league cited his “use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited, performance-enhancing substances” over many years.Rodriguez is planning to appeal his ban, which would begin Thursday and would be for 211 games, through the 2014 season — by far the longest levied by the league for a doping violation. The league cited his “use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited, performance-enhancing substances” over many years.
Recovering from hip surgery and a quadriceps strain, Rodriguez is likely to make his 2013 return to the Yankees’ lineup Monday night in Chicago against the White Sox. He is eligible to play until his appeal is heard by an arbitrator, likely after the season ends, according to the executive director of the players union, Michael Weiner. As baseball announced its unprecedented sanctions, Rodriguez, the Yankees’ high-profile third baseman, was preparing to make his 2013 major league debut Monday night against the Chicago White Sox. Rodriguez, who has been recovering from hip surgery and a quadriceps strain, is eligible to play until his appeal is heard by an arbitrator, meaning he can probably play out the season with a lengthy possible ban looming.
Among the others suspended were three All-Stars — Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, Everth Cabrera of the San Diego Padres and Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers — as well as Francisco Cervelli of the Yankees. In a news conference before the Yankees’ game in Chicago, Rodriguez declined to discuss the suspension or accusations that he used banned substances, but he reiterated his intent to challenge the league’s ruling.
The other players suspended were Antonio Bastardo of the Phillies, Jordany Valdespin of the Mets and Jesus Montero of the Mariners; the minor leaguers Cesar Puello of the Mets, Fautino de los Santos of the Padres, Sergio Escalona of the Astros and Fernando Martinez of the Yankees; and the free agent pitcher Jordan Norberto. Once considered among the best players in the game, Rodriguez received a far stiffer penalty than the others cited by baseball on Monday, all accepting 50-game suspensions, effectively ending their 2013 seasons. Among the others were three All-Stars — Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, Everth Cabrera of the San Diego Padres and Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers — as well as Francisco Cervelli of the Yankees.
Each received a 50-game suspension, effectively ending his 2013 season, after agreeing not to appeal the punishment. Rodriguez is the only player planning to appeal, and the union’s executive director, Michael Weiner, called his suspension “way too harsh.”
Rodriguez is the only player who will appeal. “We’ve never had a 200-plus penalty for a player who may have used drugs, and you know, among other things I just think that is way out of line,” Weiner said in a call with reporters.
Weiner said in a conference call that the union agreed with Rodriguez’s decision to appeal and called the suspension “way too harsh.” Commissioner Bud Selig, however, said the suspension was within the bounds of the league’s antidoping rules, saying in a statement that baseball “conducted a thorough, aggressive investigation guided by facts so that we could justly enforce our rules.”
“We’ve never had a 200-plus penalty for a player who may have used drugs, and you know, among other things I just think that is way out of line,” Weiner said. The suspensions issued Monday stem from the league’s investigation into Biogenesis, a South Florida anti-aging clinic run by Anthony P. Bosch. With Bosch’s cooperation, baseball claimed its biggest trophies in its fight against performance-enhancing drugs.
Commissioner Bud Selig, however, said the suspension was within the bounds of the league’s antidoping rules. For the past six months, since The Miami New Times published its account of Bosch’s providing drugs to professional athletes, including Rodriguez, baseball investigators have intensified their pursuit, going door to door in the Miami area hunting for information to build cases against some of the biggest names in the game.
“I am proud of the comprehensive nature of our efforts — not only with regard to random testing, groundbreaking blood testing for human growth hormone and one of the most significant longitudinal profiling programs in the world, but also our investigative capabilities, which proved vital to the Biogenesis case,” Selig said in a statement. “We conducted a thorough, aggressive investigation guided by facts so that we could justly enforce our rules.” Major League Baseball was able to persuade almost all of the players linked to Biogenesis to accept their punishments despite the apparent lack of a positive test for banned substances. Baseball’s drug-testing program, agreed to by the players union, allows for suspensions based on nonanalytic positives when doping can be proved with other evidence. The league contends that its investigation yielded other convincing evidence — like documents and eyewitness accounts — that implicates the players.
The Yankees said in a statement they would have no comment on the Rodriguez case as it is appealed, but said they did feel compelled to address several accusations made recently, including Rodriguez saying Friday night during his rehab assignment that he believed the Yankees and baseball were conspiring against him returning to the team. That was the latest moment in a disintegrating relationship between Rodriguez and team management. The first of the Biogenesis-related suspensions came last month, when the Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun accepted a 65-game ban without appealing. Braun, the league’s most valuable player in 2011, had failed a drug test that season, but that suspension was overturned on appeal.
“The New York Yankees in no way instituted and/or assisted MLB in the direction of this investigation; or used the investigation as an attempt to avoid its responsibilities under a player contract; or did its medical staff fail to provide the appropriate standard of care to Alex Rodriguez,” the statement read. Some of the players punished Monday issued statements acknowledging their mistakes, and their teams publicly stated their support for the league’s doping program.
All of Monday’s suspensions stemmed from the league’s investigation into a South Florida anti-aging clinic. They are the biggest trophies in baseball’s fight against performance-enhancing drugs, and were apparently handed down without a single positive drug test as evidence. The investigation was a result of a newspaper exposé of the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida. The head of that clinic, Anthony P. Bosch, cooperated with baseball’s investigation, and the league said he provided much of the information that led to the suspensions. The Yankees, however, said in a statement they would have no comment on the Rodriguez case as it is appealed.
Major League Baseball was able to persuade almost all of the players linked to Biogenesis to accept their punishments, despite the apparent lack of a positive test for banned substances. Baseball’s drug-testing program, agreed to by the players union, allows for suspensions based on nonanalytic positives when doping can be proved with other evidence. Rodriguez, who was born in New York, and grew up in the Dominican Republic and in Florida, has long been under suspicion for using performance-enhancing drugs, which he admitted using for a limited time earlier in his career.
The suspensions will have an impact on the rest of the baseball season, and have played a role in some of the moves made at the trade deadline. For example, the Tigers dealt for a shortstop who would replace Peralta, anticipating his suspension. The Rangers, though, did not make a trade before the deadline and will need to find a backup to replace Cruz for the rest of the season. At the start of the 2009 season, Rodriguez was 33 and had 553 career home runs, putting him on track to break Barry Bonds’s career record of 762 by the time Rodriguez reached 40.
Rodriguez, 38, has long been under suspicion for using performance-enhancing drugs, which he admitted using for a limited time earlier in his career. For the past six months, since The Miami New Times published its account of Biogenesis providing drugs to professional athletes, including Rodriguez, baseball investigators have intensified their pursuit of Rodriguez, going door to door in the Miami area hunting for information that would prove the Yankees third baseman had broken baseball’s doping rules. As part of the $275 million contract the Yankees negotiated with Rodriguez a year earlier, the club had agreed to pay him several million dollars to secure all the rights to market his home run chase, which they believed would be a commercial bonanza. Rodriguez was thought to be on a pace to pass Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and finally Bonds on the career list.
The first of the Biogenesis-related suspensions came last month, when the Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun accepted the league’s 65-game ban without appealing. Braun, the league’s most valuable player in 2011, had failed a drug test that season, but had that suspension overturned on appeal. At the time, it seemed that Rodriguez’s breaking the home run record would provide a powerful sign of how baseball had moved beyond the so-called steroid era and would be an important milestone for Selig, who is keenly aware of his legacy and has been criticized for his seeming ambivalence to the issue of doping during the first part of his tenure.
Until recently, Rodriguez was considered one of the most-feared sluggers in Major League Baseball. At present, he is No. 5 on baseball’s career home run list with 647, the most in the majors among active players. But in early February 2009, Rodriguez’s image as the game’s pristine slugger was shattered when Sports Illustrated published an article that asserted he was among the players who had anonymously tested positive in 2003 for performance-enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez, who was born in New York, and grew up in the Dominican Republic and in Florida, was the top overall pick in the 1993 draft by the Seattle Mariners. He made his debut at 18 years old, beginning a 19-year career with the Mariners, the Texas Rangers and the Yankees that has included 14 All-Star Games and three Most Valuable Player awards.
At the start of the 2009 season, Rodriguez was 33 years old and had 553 career home runs, putting him on track to break Barry Bonds’s career record of 762 by the time Rodriguez reached 40.
As part of the $275 million contract the Yankees negotiated with Rodriguez a year earlier, the club had agreed to pay him several million dollars to secure all the rights to market his home run chase, which they believed would be a commercial bonanza. Rodriguez was thought to be on a pace to pass Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and finally Bonds, on the career list.
At the time, it seemed that Rodriguez’s breaking the home run record would provide a powerful sign of how baseball had moved beyond the so-called steroid era and would be an important milestone for Selig, who is keenly aware of his legacy and has been criticized for his seeming ambivalence to the issue of doping during the first part of his reign.
But in early February 2009 Rodriguez’s image as the game’s pristine slugger was shattered when Sports Illustrated published an article that asserted he was among the players who had anonymously tested positive in 2003 for performance-enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez subsequently admitted that he had used steroids from 2001 to 2003 — before he played for the Yankees. That prompted Selig to order his investigators to interview Rodriguez about his drug use. In that interview, Rodriguez maintained that he never used drugs after 2003, the last year players did not face penalties for a positive drug test.Rodriguez subsequently admitted that he had used steroids from 2001 to 2003 — before he played for the Yankees. That prompted Selig to order his investigators to interview Rodriguez about his drug use. In that interview, Rodriguez maintained that he never used drugs after 2003, the last year players did not face penalties for a positive drug test.
Selig and the investigators were not convinced that Rodriguez was truthful, but they had no grounds to suspend him because they could not prove he had been lying.Selig and the investigators were not convinced that Rodriguez was truthful, but they had no grounds to suspend him because they could not prove he had been lying.
Two months later, however, questions about the veracity of Rodriguez’s statements were raised after a book, “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez” by Selena Roberts, asserted that Rodriguez had drugs in his possession in 2004 and had been doping with the help of a barred trainer. In an effort to build a case against Rodriguez, the investigators interviewed the trainer, who denied the accusations, and baseball ultimately said months later that it did not have enough evidence to discipline Rodriguez.
In 2009, Rodriguez slugged his way through the postseason, leading the Yankees to their first World Series title in a decade. But two months after winning the title, questions were again being raised about possible doping.
After it was revealed in December 2009 that a Canadian doctor who had worked with professional athletes was under investigation for distributing performance-enhancing drugs, a senior Yankees executive asked Rodriguez if he had been treated by the doctor. Rodriguez said he had not.
But the doctor, Anthony Galea, later contradicted Rodriguez, saying publicly that he had treated Rodriguez but had not given him performance enhancers. That information prompted Selig to have Rodriguez hauled back before his investigators. Rodriguez admitted in that meeting that he misled the Yankees executive and had been treated by Galea. Rodriguez said, however, Galea had not given him banned drugs.
Rodriguez’s denials did not put Selig’s suspicions to rest. But the commissioner faced the same problem he had had before: there was no evidence to suspend Rodriguez. In an attempt to obtain it, Selig’s top deputies appealed to federal prosecutors in Buffalo, who were investigating Galea.
However, unlike federal prosecutors in the Bay Area who had compelled a convicted steroids dealer to provide the names of players he sold drugs to, the prosecutors in Buffalo repeatedly declined to cooperate. Even after Galea pleaded guilty in 2011 to smuggling human growth hormone into the United States from Canada, the authorities refused baseball’s request for information.
As suspicions about Rodriguez’s use of banned substances persisted, his play declined in recent years as he sustained injuries that jeopardized his chase of Bonds’s record.As suspicions about Rodriguez’s use of banned substances persisted, his play declined in recent years as he sustained injuries that jeopardized his chase of Bonds’s record.
In 2011, he played in only 99 games, hitting 16 home runs. In 2012, he hit 18 home runs and missed six weeks with a broken hand. In the playoffs, he was benched for poor play. Baseball investigators believe that Rodriguez’s ties to Bosch extend back to 2010, and that the banned substances he used included testosterone and human growth hormone, according to a person familiar with the matter.
At the start of this season, the Yankees owed Rodriguez $114 million through the end of 2017, when he will be 42. In 2011, Rodriguez played in only 99 games, hitting 16 home runs. In 2012, he hit 18 homers and missed six weeks with a broken hand. In the playoffs, he was benched for poor play.
Rodriguez apparent resumption of his career, while he appeals his suspension, and with the other punishments issued Monday will effect the rest of the baseball season, and have played a role in some of the moves made at the trade deadline. For example, the Tigers dealt for a shortstop who would replace Peralta, expecting his suspension. The Rangers, though, did not make a trade before the deadline and will need to find someone to replace Cruz for the rest of the season.
The other players suspended were Antonio Bastardo of the Philadelphia Phillies, Jordany Valdespin of the Mets and Jesus Montero of the Seattle Mariners; the minor leaguers Cesar Puello of the Mets, Fautino de los Santos of the Padres, Sergio Escalona of the Houston Astros and Fernando Martinez of the Yankees; and the free-agent pitcher Jordan Norberto.
In recent months, the continuing investigation and Rodriguez’s injury have prompted a back-and-forth between Rodriguez and the Yankees amounting to a public fight.
On Monday, the Yankees said they felt compelled to address several accusations made recently, including Rodriguez saying Friday night during his rehabilitation assignment that he believed the Yankees and baseball were conspiring against his returning to the team.
“The New York Yankees in no way instituted and/or assisted MLB in the direction of this investigation; or used the investigation as an attempt to avoid its responsibilities under a player contract; or did its medical staff fail to provide the appropriate standard of care to Alex Rodriguez,” the statement read.