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Alex Rodriguez Faces 200+ Game Ban From Baseball
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 4, 2013
Modified Aug 4, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 4, 2013
Modified Aug 4, 2013
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Alex Rodriguez's alleged dealings with a Florida medical clinic means he's facing a ban from professional baseball through 2014. The Daily News reports, "Following Rodriguez’s explosive comments after Friday night’s minor league rehab game in Trenton in which Rodriguez basically said Major League Baseball and the Yankees were conspiring to keep him off the field in order to void his contract, MLB officials have rejected Rodriguez’s request to negotiate a suspension settlement, a baseball source familiar with the situation said."
Further, the players union "chief Michael Weiner reached out to MLB on behalf of Rodriguez Saturday morning in an attempt to talk settlement but was told that baseball is no longer interested in negotiating with the disgraced third baseman."
The Post reports, "MLB is expected to suspend Rodriguez today or, much more likely, tomorrow for the rest of this season and all of 2014, covering upwards of 210 games. It was believed if the A-Rod camp had been more cooperative with MLB officials there would have been consideration of making the penalty 150-175 games instead. It remained a slim possibility commissioner Bud Selig still could deliver a lifetime ban."
In June, a 100-game ban seemed more likely for A-Rod, based on his relationship with a Miami-based health clinic, Biogenesis, that procured human growth hormone for clients. The Miami New Times, which broke the Biogenesis story, reported, "Alex Rodriguez appears 16 times in the documents we reviewed. His name is recorded as 'Alex Rod' or 'Alex R.' or by his nickname at the clinic, 'Cacique.' This is particularly interesting because on ESPN, he acknowledged using PEDs but said he stopped in 2003. It's also important to note that Rodriguez's cousin, Miami resident Yuri Sucart, frequently appears in the same records on the same days as Rodriguez. Sucart has been identified in the past as Rodriguez's source for performance-enhancing drugs."
However, beyond that, there's apparently very little evidence. The NY Times' William Rhoden wrote:
There are no vials of evidence. There are no eyewitnesses to Rodriguez’s alleged performance-enhancing drug use. Investigators have the word of two questionable characters connected to Biogenesis, one of whom, the former owner, Anthony Bosch, once impersonated a doctor. Investigators may indeed have compelling evidence — phone records, shipping receipts, e-mails. If they do, A-Rod and the players association should force those investigators to reveal what they have gathered.
This exhaustive investigation is less about A-Rod and performance-enhancing drugs than about power and control. Major League Baseball is attempting to impose its will on high-profile players by possibly circumventing due process to make an example of them.
Rodriguez stands to lose $34.2 million in salary if he can't played and isn't reinstated, according to ESPN New York, which has a source saying, "If this goes to arbitration, it could get very, very ugly."
Last night, when Rodriguez was asked what he would say to his family, he replied, "I plan to sit my girls down with [ex-wife] Cynthia, and we’re going to have a lengthy conversation. And I’ll have the opportunity to tell it all, at some point. I’ll have that platform, and at that point I’ll tell my full story."
Tagged
alex rodriguez
baseball
biogenesis
doping
hgh
major league baseball
Yankees
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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