Ortiz confirms he tested positive in 2003; Ramirez also on the list
One of the worst fears of Red Sox fans has apparently become a reality.
Ortiz responded to the report with a go-ahead three-run homer to rally the Red Sox past the Athletics, 8-5, this afternoon, then with a postgame statement in which he confirmed the positive test. He said he was "blindsided" when a Times reporter asked him about the allegation before the game, and said he responded at the time with a "no comment" because he "wanted to get to the bottom of this." He added:
I want to talk about this situation and I will as soon as I have more answers. In the meantime I want to let you know how I am approaching this situation. One, I have already contacted the Players Association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true. Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive. Two, I will find out what I tested positive for. And, three, based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me - I will not hide and I will not make excuses.
Speaking to reporters in the clubhouse after the game, Ortiz elaborated on his statement. "I found out like an hour before the game about the situation. You guys know I'm a guy that never turns my back on you guys, always been true with you guys. And, honestly, right now I don't have information about it. I'm going to get more input about the situation and I'm going to honestly tell you guys what's up. But right now, I don't have answers. I've got no information."
The information regarding Ortiz and Ramirez became known though Times interviews with multiple lawyers and others connected to pending litigation regarding the test results between the baseball players union and the government. The lawyers spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order, the newspaper reported, and the lawyers did not indicate which drugs were detected.Red Sox manager Terry Francona, speaking to reporters after the game, said the club stands behind Ortiz, the genial and beloved designated hitter whose uncommon knack for delivering in the clutch helped the Sox end their 86-year title drought in 2004.
"I think David felt all day, a lot of caring from his teammates, and hopefully he knows we care about him," Francona said. "He has earned, as a person, that from us. And we will be very supportive as I hope we are with all our players and we'll get to the bottom of whatever needs to get to the bottom of."
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia offered similar sentiments. "Obviously, David's our teammate and we love him. He's done everything in the world for me," Pedroia said. "We're here to support him. He's got 24 guys to help him get through stuff like this."
Ortiz had not previously been directly linked to performance-enhancing drug use. As perhaps the signature player of the Red Sox' two championship winners, today's news is a devastating blow to the perception of those teams.
The Red Sox' two championships are only the latest story lines of past seasons to be damaged by performance-enhancing drug revelations. Barry Bonds, the all-time home run leader, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, and Sammy Sosa, who had three 60-homer seasons, have previously been tied to positive tests from the 2003 season, as have journeymen Jason Grimsley and David Segui.
Baseball first tested for steroids that season, and results were supposed to remain anonymous and eventually be destroyed. But for unknown reasons, they were retained by the players' union, and the information was later seized by federal agents investigating the distribution of PEDs to professional athletes.
Ramirez, the All-Star left fielder who played for the Sox from 2001 until July 31 of last season, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently completed a 50-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy in May.
By 2003, the season they became teammates on the Red Sox, Ramirez had long since built a reputation as one of baseball's elite hitters. Ortiz, however, had yet to establish himself despite his promise as a power hitter, and the Twins did not re-sign him after the 2002 season. He was signed by the Red Sox and began the season as a backup to, among others, Jeremy Giambi.
After gaining increased playing time several weeks into the '03 season, Ortiz went on to hit 31 homers and drive in 101 runs while helping lead the Red Sox to the postseason. He surpassed those numbers in each of the next four seasons, and his two walk-off hits in the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees helped the Red Sox overcome a 3-0 deficit and propelled them to their first World Series victory since 1918. Ortiz was named the MVP of the ALCS while Ramirez was named the World Series MVP.
The tandem was broken up a year ago when Ramirez, whom Sox management felt had been insubordinate, was dealt to the Dodgers on July 31. He became an instant sensation in Hollywood, but in May, he was suspended for 50 games after baseball officials discovered he had been prescribed a fertility drug often used by bodybuilders after they stopped using steroids.
Ortiz, 33, has struggled the past two seasons. He missed a significant chunk of last season with wrist problems, and he began this season in a deep slump, failing to homer during the first six weeks of the season.
He has been opinionated on performance-enhancing drug use in the past. While discussing the subject during spring training in February after he was linked to Angel Presinal, a Dominican trainer banned from MLB clubhouses on the suspicion that he supplied steroids to his clients, he said players should be banned for the year if they test positive. Currently, the ban for a first-time offender is 50 games.
"I would suggest everybody get tested, not random, everybody.You go team by team. You test everybody three, four times a year and that's about it."
"So what would I do? I won't use it, and I'm pretty sure that everybody is on the same page," he said.
Angels center fielder Torii Hunter, a friend and former teammate of Ortiz's in Minnesota, told ESPN he was stunned by the report.
"This hurts, this really hurts," Hunter said. "I don't know what to think about this. I guess you just never know what people do in the dark.
"I still love him but at the same time it's tough to hear that. I know it's going to be tough on him and tough on his family once this gets out. It's Big Papi, man, it's the big dog of Boston and he helped win two World Series with those guys, with the clutch hits. And now all those things are going to be tainted."
Hunter also told ESPN.com time has come for the names of everyone on the list to be released.
"Whoever got that list is just playing with Major League Baseball right now. Either put [the list] away, or just put it out," he said. "It was anonymous and now the names are leaking and it's a joke."
Mike Lowell, who has been Ortiz's teammate since the 2007 season, said he's tired of hearing about baseball's the PED era and its fallout.
"Unless you give me concrete evidence on everyone, we're getting into a debate that no one can ever answer, so why debate it?," Lowell said. I didn't feel bad about winning the World Series in '07, and I'm not giving any rings back either, so don't ask."
Material from The New York Times was used in this report.
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Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
kidding - not surprised
Yawn...a dominican newspaper had this a month ago. But because it's dominican, the mainstream press avoided it...why do you think Papi stinks now? No juice.
noooooooooooooooo DAVID!!!
but honestly, Baseball is dead to me
here we go
wow....
Ughh...
duh. Why do you think Ortiz hit a slump this year? Just like Giambi and all the rest of the juicers. At least he's found something else now, whatever it is.
Damn, I'm depressed now. I'm not completely surprised but I was hoping Papi was clean.
what a surprise.
Just what we assumed all along. You see what happens to Papi when he is not on juice now...he stinks...
There is no joy in Beantown today.
Duh!
Normal for Manny. Seriously sad, if true, for Papi.
This is breaking news? Pretty sure everyone knew Ortiz started taking steroids or whatever it was when he came to the sox and started crushing the balls. Then suddenly Manny leaves and Ortiz goes into a slump aka his supplier is gone.
Now who's titles are tainted?
Whatever. Not because it involves Sox players (or ex-Sox players), but the test comes at the end of an era where basically everybody was "trying" out PEDs and they got caught in a "test" for the new testing program for MLB. The test proves that the testing program works, and thanks to that test, there is random testing for everybody in MLB. See: Manny this year.
WTF?!
this doesn't shock me at all. Now that Manny tested positive again, you'll see his numbers come down just like papi's
I hate to admit this as a Sox fan, but there's always been a part of me that has been suspicious about Ortiz. It's no coincidence that his power numbers surged dramatically in the 2nd half of 2003. Makes you wonder if he was clean from 2004 through 2007...
Say it's not so....i am devastated
too bad.
Come on all you big strong Sox fans, you crucified A-Rod over this! Get on yer guy...
If people are shocked by this, you know absolutely nothing about baseball. There's going to be so many more players added to the list of users.
I knew it and have been saying this for years, but have been called crazy every time.
It all makes sense because there is no way a player goes from the "most feared hitter in baseball" to that of a AAA hitter in 3 years.
Ortiz hinted at his steroid use a couple of years ago when he said, "for all I know, I could have taken something on the Dominican and not have known it!" This will most certainly be his excuse too.
People say PEDs don't make you a better player? Yeah right! This also explains why Ortiz had that heart condition/his knee and ligament issues.
Ramirez is a dirty bird as well and is not the player we all thought he was.
Sad day . . cheaters!
LOL!!! According to the logic of SOX fans who have screamed about Giambi and Arod, the sox only 2 championships in the last 90 years are illigitimate.
Gotta freakin love it!
who cares. it's just a game. this will add to the soap opera part of the game that guys like to endlessly talk about.
What great role models. Add baseball player to the list of things I DON'T want my kid to be when he grows up: cop, priest, ballplayer, politician... what a change from years past.
No surprises. Ortiz's stats sank once the testing program ramped up.
Sad
Say it ain't so, David. Say it ain't so....
no kidding. everyone knew this day was coming. papi is one of the freaking poster boys for this stuff. question is - has he started cycling again?
ROID SOX
SAY IT WITH ME SOX FANS "TAINTED"
Crushing. This hurts.
wonderful... can't wait for all the yanks fans to get on here to welcome us to their club....
Eh, we didn't really need the report to know this. Oh well.
He's still the man! 2004 Red Sox are the best team EVA
Wow, Papi's a fraud too. I thought the curse killing was real. I drank the Lucchino Kool Aid. It all turns out to be a fraud. Curse continues?
No! But I have to admit that when news broke of Manny, I realized that they all were doing it, they all were (are?) guilty.
Very disappointing, not surprising. David Ortiz is a fraud. Didn't he say anyone who tested positive should be banned from baseball? Let's see him live up to his word and leave the game.
SHOCKING! The way Big Papi quickly became a premier HR hitter and then broke down physically makes this no big surprise.
WELL, WELL, WELL
wonderful... can't wait for all the yanks fans to get on here to welcome us to their club....
Ortiz just needs a new masking agent and he'll start hitting again.
Well, so much for all of that...
I think we all knew this one was coming...
And now, for us Sox fans, it hits the fan.......
But seriously if these leaks on this 2003 list keep on happening when are they going to reveal the whole list.... not right.
No surprise
sweet!
Ortiz just needs a new masking agent and he'll start hitting again.
Enough already!
For those who claim to be shocked by this allegation - WAKE UP!
Bummer... Wish they would release the whole list instead of hunting guys the big market teams.
SHOCKING! The way Big Papi quickly became a premier HR hitter and then broke down physically makes this no big surprise.
I'm not surprised and I don't think that anyone else should be too.
Holy crap!
Wow, Papi's a fraud too. I thought the curse killing was real. I drank the Lucchino Kool Aid. It all turns out to be a fraud. Curse continues?
So much for the pure and clean Red Sox
Bummer... Wish they would release the whole list instead of hunting guys from the big market teams.
Gee, what a surprise.
Seriously, does this really surprise anyone any more?
Holy crap!
Sounds pretty vague... but this is pretty much what happened to A-Rod right? Damn, I named my dog Big Papi!
Bummer... Wish they would release the whole list instead of hunting guys from the big market teams.
first!
well no crap. look at the numbers.
So much for the pure and clean Red Sox
Crushing. This hurts.
sweet!
Of corse the NEW YORK times comes out with this...and of corse the sources are unidentified. It wouldnit surprised me though.
Nice
Say it ain't so Big Papi!
Ugh.
Holy Crap!
say it ain't so Big Papi, say it ain't so
this whole era is tainted...end of story
wonderful... can't wait for all the yanks fans to get on here to welcome us to their club....
Ortiz just needs a new masking agent and he'll start hitting again.
This is racism man!
So much for the pure and clean Red Sox
Wow, Papi's a fraud too. I thought the curse killing was real. I drank the Lucchino Kool Aid. It all turns out to be a fraud. Curse continues?
Shocker!
surprise!
This is a "surprise" ??
The 2004 World Series was the "Greatest Moment in My Life"....after 40+ Years of Red Sox Baseball (DieHard). I am sure even more are guilty too....and it takes away "NOTHING" about the '04 Glory !!
Thank You '04 Cowboys !!
No surprise here.....you simply don't just appear out of nowhere and become an all time great like Papi did and then disappear again when the testing ramped up.
Stomach punch. but we knew it was coming...
that was on '03....its '09 now right?.........................DROP IT WHO CARES.
Wow....As much as I didn't want to believe all of the previous rumors, this time it seems legit. How does Ortiz respond to his own point about players who test positive should get a year suspension? This is very disappointing.
Let's hope that Ortiz just comes out, owns it, and moves on. If he appolgizes right off the bat it will be a lot better than dragging this out with denials.
Surprised? Not me!
Yankees might buy championchips, but at least none of the players on their world series teams were cheaters. The curse lives!!! CHEATERS
Enough already!
For those who claim to be shocked by this allegation - WAKE UP!
I knew it!!! Juicing just like the Yankee players. Don't go chanting steroids when A-Rod comes up. Your two biggest guns were doing it just like everyone else.
Duh? I told you guys 4 months ago that Papi was on the list. This isn't breaking news.
And now, for us Sox fans, it hits the fan.......
But seriously if these leaks on this 2003 list keep on happening when are they going to reveal the whole list.... not right.
As has been noted in politics it is not the act that is so offensive but the lying or cover up, so I am really disappointed in Ortiz as it was not so long ago that he was quoted as saying those who use should be banned from baseball for a year... I hope he gets a dose of his own medicine
Say it ain't so.
And in other news ... the sky is blue.
Big shock. Al of a sudden Ortiz goes from part time player to major league star. The Commissioner should be fired fr hiring a part-owner of the Red Sox to chair the investigation.
Adds a little taint, don't you think?
Yankees might buy championchips, but at least none of the players on their world series teams were cheaters. The curse lives!!! CHEATERS
Sad. So tired of all of this. Just release all of the names already.
Duh.......not a shocker.
Release the full list! See how many other World Series teams in the past decade are tainted...
let's hear from the ortiz apologists....he's no different from the rest of the cheaters and losers...gee, didn't he say how surprised he was when it was reported that manny was a user? this guy has nerve, and now is showing why his production was so great for a three-year period...
no shock
What a surprise!
MLB + Bud Selig = ?
Uneven divisions (to appease Bud's old Brewers)
Uneven inter-league play schedules
Bogus stats, MVPs, Cy Youngs, Division/Pennant/World Series champs due to owner's greed allowing steroid cheaters for over a decade.
MLB + Bud Selig = MLBS
This is not news. Everyone knew it and knows it; it simply wasn't reported. Ortiz was a failure, which is why the Twins cut him. He was on the verge of being a career minor-leaguer/fat dude until he juiced up and put on massive muscle. Shame on the local fans and media who made him to be an icon when they all knew deep down inside he is nothing but a cheater. I feel sorry for the AAA player who never quite made it to the majors because he refused to juice up while this jerk took his major league roster spot.
It's great to be a liberal politician like George Mitchell. You can pursue policies that screw up the country and the mainstream media act like you a sage. When in fact, you are nothing more than a self-serving jerk. The fact that an owner of a MLB team lead the investigation and wrote the report that named none of the players on the team he owns is a disgrace for MLB and the media.
What a surprise ...
MLB should strike the results (individual and team) of the entire "steroid era." This would end the debate over whether Duquette or Theo ended the Sox WS drought, and give us something to root for again. 1918!
no shock
I'm Not surprised?
no shock
Papi is my dealer.
is it even surprising? the year after being cut by the Twins he comes here and does what he did?
A terrible day for basball and boston.
Say it's not so....i am devastated
Just release ALL the names at once so we dont have to go through this crap every time a name is "leaked". This is the story that will never go away until they just let it all out at once.
Admittedly this isn't all that surprising, it's more of a worse-fear-confirmed sort of thing. Can't wait for all the "04 and 07 championships were totally tainted" crap.
Of course the New York Times would say this.
That makes sence. Just look at his performance now
Big Papi is a bum... You area a disgrace to a great sport and you are a disgrace to RED SOX NATION....
surprise, surprise, surprise ... NOT!
this is being reported NOW? good reporting, 6 years later....
Ok, no shock here. Hey Papi! get back on them!!
This may be a cynical viewpoint, but really! Is anyone truly surprised? Makes one appreciate Jim Rice even more!
Imagine Don Orsillo (sp?) saying this:
".....based loaded, two men out here in the bottom of the ninth, Red Sox trail the Yankees 4-3, and it comes down to this. Big Needle steps into the batter box, and here is the 3-2 pitch, *crack* ....and Big Needle hits high pop-up in foul territory, Posada gets underneath it, and there is out number 3....and the Yankees win, and will face >> in the World Series. And the Red Sox season ends with a thud, and presumably with that the career of the face of the franchise for so long, David "Big Needle" Ortiz. Lets join Heidi Whatney (sp?) down on the field who is joined by none other then Big Needle himself, David Ortiz...Heidi...
Heidi - Thanks Don, I am standing here with Big Needle David Ortiz, and the first question I have to ask you is what happened to the Sox today?
Big Needle - Well we just didn't come out to play today. The Yankees did, and they kicked our butts.
Heidi - Has the street quality of roids in the Boston area deteriorated over the years?
Big Needle - Certainly. Look at my numbers. Back when the Roids were good, my numbers were excellent. Roids turn bad, and I became my old self from way back when I played in Minesota.
Heidi - So here is the big question that Red Sox nation wants to know, are you coming back next season?
Big Needle - Well I with sit down with my family and discuss next season in due time. Right now, I just want to get home and get off roids for a while.
Heidi - Well we wish you best of luck with that. Back to you Don."
So is Jayson Blair back as a freelance sports writer?
~sigh~
ummmm, what??? this is the worst teaser ever. and if the new york times reported it, why can't this article do the same? in either case, i guess this answers the question if Ortiz was good cuz he was a fat guy who found his swing...oh well. the entire MLB is a lie.