Sources: A-Rod tested positive for steroids in '03

[apete6]

A-Rod now admitted he used roids with the Rangers between 2001-2003...

 

Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids from 2001-03 while with the Rangers.

The interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons will go online later Monday. It's currently unclear whether Rodriguez admitted to using substances beyond what SI.com revealed. Going forward with this story was probably A-Rod's best option. There's no good reason to believe him if he says he suddenly decided to stop cheating upon joining the Yankees in 2004, but he has never failed another test.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847

 

His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.

 

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

 

"I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

 

Rodriguez's admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.

OK, so now what? Will MLB punish him at all???

 

How can they? All players had immunity for those tests in 2003. They were only going to be used to determine future testing.

[Springfield_CUBBY]

A-Rod now admitted he used roids with the Rangers between 2001-2003...

 

Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids from 2001-03 while with the Rangers.

The interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons will go online later Monday. It's currently unclear whether Rodriguez admitted to using substances beyond what SI.com revealed. Going forward with this story was probably A-Rod's best option. There's no good reason to believe him if he says he suddenly decided to stop cheating upon joining the Yankees in 2004, but he has never failed another test.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847

 

His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.

 

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

 

"I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

 

Rodriguez's admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.

OK, so now what? Will MLB punish him at all???

 

How can they? All players had immunity for those tests in 2003. They were only going to be used to determine future testing.

well played A-Rod, well played indeed!

[apete6]

A-Rod now admitted he used roids with the Rangers between 2001-2003...

 

Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids from 2001-03 while with the Rangers.

The interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons will go online later Monday. It's currently unclear whether Rodriguez admitted to using substances beyond what SI.com revealed. Going forward with this story was probably A-Rod's best option. There's no good reason to believe him if he says he suddenly decided to stop cheating upon joining the Yankees in 2004, but he has never failed another test.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847

 

His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.

 

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

 

"I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

 

Rodriguez's admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.

OK, so now what? Will MLB punish him at all???

 

How can they? All players had immunity for those tests in 2003. They were only going to be used to determine future testing.

well played A-Rod, well played indeed!

 

Touche'. Seriously, though, unless they are going to suspend any of the 104 guys on that list that are still active, he won't be in any trouble with MLB.

[Jehrico]

What happens when the other 103 players' names get leaked?

This is my main issue with the whole "ARoid" controversy. Either SI is guilty of picking on ARod and not releasing the other names (unlikely) or someone with inside info leaked the one name (more likely). If I were ARod, I'd be taking SI to court to reveal their source. That is, if I were innocent. If he were standing up and maintaining his innocence, and decided to go the distance in clearing his name, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. But his silence is deafening.

 

I think that this "source" is a pretty sleazy coward. There's no good reason I can think of to release ARods name and not the others. If there's really over 100, he surely can't be the only big-name guy out there.

 

All of that said...if Pujol's name never gets definitively linked to steroids, does he then become the greatest hitter of this generation with ARod being disqualified?

[Springfield_CUBBY]

A-Rod now admitted he used roids with the Rangers between 2001-2003...

 

Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids from 2001-03 while with the Rangers.

The interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons will go online later Monday. It's currently unclear whether Rodriguez admitted to using substances beyond what SI.com revealed. Going forward with this story was probably A-Rod's best option. There's no good reason to believe him if he says he suddenly decided to stop cheating upon joining the Yankees in 2004, but he has never failed another test.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847

 

His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.

 

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.

 

"I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

 

Rodriguez's admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.

OK, so now what? Will MLB punish him at all???

 

How can they? All players had immunity for those tests in 2003. They were only going to be used to determine future testing.

well played A-Rod, well played indeed!

 

Touche'. Seriously, though, unless they are going to suspend any of the 104 guys on that list that are still active, he won't be in any trouble with MLB.

Agreed. And this is why people hate baseball.

[rocket]

How much did steroids actually help him? A-Rod was in the prime of his career playing in a very hitter friendly ball park. He's going to put up ridiculous numbers no matter what. How extra home runs did he get because of steroids during that 3 years span? 10 maybe?

 

I don't think this is that big of a deal, but of course a big deal will be made about it.

[cubbinalltheway]

wow, didnt see that coming.

 

good for him for coming clean.

 

Yeah, now he comes clean. After he got caught.

that's generally how it happens.

[cubbinalltheway]

How much did steroids actually help him? A-Rod was in the prime of his career playing in a very hitter friendly ball park. He's going to put up ridiculous numbers no matter what. How extra home runs did he get because of steroids during that 3 years span? 10 maybe?

 

I don't think this is that big of a deal, but of course a big deal will be made about it.

arod average hr's per year from '01-'03... 52

arod average hr's every other year... 39.2

[rocket]

How much did steroids actually help him? A-Rod was in the prime of his career playing in a very hitter friendly ball park. He's going to put up ridiculous numbers no matter what. How extra home runs did he get because of steroids during that 3 years span? 10 maybe?

 

I don't think this is that big of a deal, but of course a big deal will be made about it.

arod average hr's per year from '01-'03... 52

arod average hr's every other year... 39.2

 

but like i said, he was in the prime of his career and half his games were in arlington. he's putting up higher than normal numbers regardless.

[NonProfitCow]

What happens when the other 103 players' names get leaked?

This is my main issue with the whole "ARoid" controversy. Either SI is guilty of picking on ARod and not releasing the other names (unlikely) or someone with inside info leaked the one name (more likely). If I were ARod, I'd be taking SI to court to reveal their source. That is, if I were innocent. If he were standing up and maintaining his innocence, and decided to go the distance in clearing his name, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. But his silence is deafening.

 

I think that this "source" is a pretty sleazy coward. There's no good reason I can think of to release ARods name and not the others. If there's really over 100, he surely can't be the only big-name guy out there.

 

All of that said...if Pujol's name never gets definitively linked to steroids, does he then become the greatest hitter of this generation with ARod being disqualified?

Pujols is the greatest hitter of this generation, ARod included.

[rocket]

Said the same media begging the Yankees to resign Andy Petitte.

[wade]

How much did steroids actually help him? A-Rod was in the prime of his career playing in a very hitter friendly ball park. He's going to put up ridiculous numbers no matter what. How extra home runs did he get because of steroids during that 3 years span? 10 maybe?

 

I don't think this is that big of a deal, but of course a big deal will be made about it.

 

I agree for the most part- but his gains wouldn't completely go away after stopping either, so we maybe could assume he's still benefitting every year since, though (again, I'm pretty much with you here) we're probably talking 5 homers a year? Maybe a few more?

 

But yeah, the guy gets killed for not hitting .750 in playoffs, no doubt this is going to be a PR disaster for him. At least he 'came clean' today- I really think that'll take some of the heat off.

[imb]

the minute bonds' guys turned the pressure on the prosecution, arod's name came out, what a shock

[Wilson A2000]

There is no way ARod will be punished by baseball. MLB promised the players that. He could be charged with a federal offense though since steroids are illegal. He could also be subpoenaed to testify against Clemens or Bonds.

 

Whatever list the reporters from SI got, was the type of drug that they took on the list, or just a number of players? My guess is that there is just a list, because ARod wouldn't have said that he didn't know what he took if the drug was attached no his name. Is there a black market list?

 

The MLB cannot release the rest of this list. They promised not to. It shouldn't have gotten this far. I have heard that the MLB kept the list around and the samples from 2003 in order to check them at a later time to discover false positives once more technological advances sprang up.

 

Boers and Bernstein made a good point - if ARod took steroids because he wanted to produce as the result of getting a big contract, what would he have done once he got to NY? But as it was stated above, his numbers have dropped off lately.

[kujay]

A-Rod point blank lied to Katie Couric in 2007 about having ever used steroids. He admits that.

 

So I don't believe him at all that he hasn't used them since he went to the Yankees.

[Wilson A2000]

What if Sabathia and Burnett were on that list. Should they eat 400 million to prove a point? No way.

 

From the interview I just listened to on the Score, the lady who wrote the SI article had been working on a piece on ARod for a while. She heard rumors that he used to be on roids. She talked to some sources to follow through on those rumors. It didn't sound like she ever saw the list, but she wouldn't say whether she knew what other people on the list (which means she does).

[Wilson A2000]

Pujols is the greatest hitter of this generation, ARod included.

 

Maybe as of right now, but longevity is key. He needs to stay injury-free.

[Wilson A2000]

A-Rod point blank lied to Katie Couric in 2007 about having ever used steroids. He admits that.

 

So I don't believe him at all that he hasn't used them since he went to the Yankees.

 

Good point.

 

By the way, the lady who wrote the article for SI personally talked to Arod before the article came out to get his side. He denied everything. She gave him two days to come out. He didn't, so she did.

[fromthestretch]

his numbers have dropped off lately.

 

He posted a .965 OPS in 2008, which pretty much matches his career OPS (.967). He may have "only" hit 35 home runs, but he also only played in 138 games. On top of that, he "only" hit 35 in 2006, then bounced back with 54 (and a career high in OPS) in 2007. I wouldn't expect him to display the same power numbers he put up in Arlington, considering how high his slugging percentage was in that ballpark. I don't know if it's fair to say that his numbers have really dropped off.

[The Other 15]

Ok, he says he did it from 2001 to 2003 to justify the contract with performance. It was a "loosy-goosey" era he says. He wasn't sure what substance he took. I believe him. It was so f'd up that players where literally putting things into their bodies on suggestions of the Golds-Gym culture that became prevalent with personal trainers and the such. This should put to bed any of these remaining, almost romantic, sentiments by some fans about certain players. It can officially be called a "era."

 

It was era. Period.

 

From now on, when we look and compare players from different eras, it should be noted that the players who starred from 1993 to 2005 played in a era where it was common knowledge that performance enhancing drug usage was:

- common amongst all level of players. From superstars to journeymen relievers.

- unofficially sanctioned by players union.

- by association, unofficially sanctioned by MLB (Whistle blowers like Dykstra, Camanitti, and Conseco were undermined by MLB ever time they came forward to say what was really going on.)

 

I don't think asterisks are necessary, just the acknowledgment that the player played in this era.

Much in the same way that the stars of the dead ball era were hurt, the PED era helped some achieve great numbers. It should be part of the conversation when discussing great players from this era

 

This, of course, is a sad day for those clean stars who will forever be tarnished to a degree by playing in this era. It shouldn't hurt their their HOF chances if they never were implicated, never caught lying, or if they apologized to the baseball fans who obviously do care about baseball and PED's more than any other sports with the exception of the Olympics. Even Roger Clemmens, Palmiero and Barry Bonds belong in the HOF, as long as its understood that they chose to use PED's. It was their call because they played in that era.

 

Arods interview gave complete credence to what Conseco/Dykstra/Camanitti were saying for a long time. It was common knowledge that one had to use to compete. "Loosey- goosey times". Baseball, on the other hand, did everything it could to lie which I consider a bigger sin than a single player using something he feels he had to do to get paid.

 

Baseballs version of PED testing/punishment guidelines after the 2003 round of testing proved to be a joke and it took congress' threats for baseball to make stricter adherence guidelines than the ones they made when they were left alone.

 

I do want the rest of the names released. It isn't fair that the unions irresponsibility punishes Alex Rodriguez in the court of public perception while leaving others, just a guilty, free of public scrutiny. Every name on that list needs to be given to the fans so that we can put this in some perspective and put an end to baseballs collective bodies doing everything they could to lie about something that was so obvious and prevalent that it became a culture within a culture in their industry.

 

Finally, for everyone saying that the players using prior to 2005 were not breaking rules, that's garbage. There was illegal drug testing then. Just because baseball didn't recognize steroids as illegal drugs means nothing. Steroids, without the aid of a doctors script, are a illegal controlled substance. All those contracts contained "morality clauses" like every league has. If baseball wanted to do something to those players it could. But I would hope that it doesn't and it moves. By moves on, I mean baseball has to accept the consequences of the times, acknowledge that it helped in creating it by not being vigilant enough, and move forward with a more forthcoming state of mind.

 

Baseball fans will forgive. They forgave after the strike of 1994 when baseball came back with all those players putting up huge seasons for throngs of newly adoring fans,....oops, nevermind. Just move on!

[wade]

his numbers have dropped off lately.

 

He posted a .965 OPS in 2008, which pretty much matches his career OPS (.967). He may have "only" hit 35 home runs, but he also only played in 138 games. On top of that, he "only" hit 35 in 2006, then bounced back with 54 (and a career high in OPS) in 2007. I wouldn't expect him to display the same power numbers he put up in Arlington, considering how high his slugging percentage was in that ballpark. I don't know if it's fair to say that his numbers have really dropped off.

 

Yep- just like Arlington helps, Yankee stadium is pretty famous for being hard on right handed-hitters, if I recall correctly.

[Backtobanks]

Pujols is the greatest hitter of this generation, ARod included.

 

Maybe as of right now, but longevity is key. He needs to stay injury-free.

 

How do we know that Pujols is clean? The real tragedy about all of this is you can't believe any player's stats.

[wade]

A-Rod point blank lied to Katie Couric in 2007 about having ever used steroids. He admits that.

 

So I don't believe him at all that he hasn't used them since he went to the Yankees.

 

Good point.

 

By the way, the lady who wrote the article for SI personally talked to Arod before the article came out to get his side. He denied everything. She gave him two days to come out. He didn't, so she did.

 

He didn't deny to her, he told her to go to the union about it. He gave a non-response.

[kujay]

A-Rod point blank lied to Katie Couric in 2007 about having ever used steroids. He admits that.

 

So I don't believe him at all that he hasn't used them since he went to the Yankees.

 

Good point.

 

By the way, the lady who wrote the article for SI personally talked to Arod before the article came out to get his side. He denied everything. She gave him two days to come out. He didn't, so she did.

 

He didn't deny to her, he told her to go to the union about it. He gave a non-response.

 

Right, which she no doubt did. You don't run a story like that unless you give everyone at least the opportunity to comment. I noticed how every discussion of the story noted that it was confirmed by "four independent sources." The reporter did everything kosher.

 

I don't think she saw the list, but I think those sources definitely gave her other names. Perhaps those weren't confirmed by all, or maybe SI is letting the A-Rod story sit out there for awhile before dropping the other names. Selling more copies of more editions and getting more prolonged web hits.

 

I don't even know what to do with A-Rod. The guy admitted it. I don't see how he can legitimately pass Aaron now. I'm not even going to dignify Bonds' "accomplishment." He cheated and her admitted it. Admitting it doesn't make it okay.

[Backtobanks]

I have no idea what is to be gained by any of this

 

Bonds, ARod, Clemens, and McGwire won't make the HOF. That is certainly something to be gained.

 

Obviously, the HOF is going to somehow acknowledge the players during the "Steroid Era". If the top 2 HR hitters (assuming ARod passes Bonds) and one of the greatest RH pitchers of all time aren't acknowledged in the HOF, it certainly lessens the point of a HOF. Already excluded is the all-time hits leader. What if names like Pujols, Ramirez, Howard, etc. eventually get leaked? I would think the HOF is going to have to emphasize the differences between the eras in baseball (dead ball era, pre-integration era, post-integration era, steroid era, etc.) and deal with the changes in society.