Alex Rodriguez has been banned for the entire 2014 season of Major League Baseball. The New York Yankees third baseman’s 162 game suspension is less than his original 211 game ban and he vows to fight the ruling in federal court.
ESPN reports that the ruling was made by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. The suspension also includes any potential playoff games.
Rodriguez released a statement regarding the suspension. Remaining defiant, he asserts the he didn’t use performing enhancing drugs during the period he is accused of and continues to be critical of the MLB for its handling of the Biogenesis scandal that has tarnished his reputation.
Part of the statement reads:
“The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one. This is one man’s decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable. This injustice is MLB’s first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review.”
Interestingly, A-Rod, who turns 39 in July, plans to participate in Spring Training.
Recently, Rodriguez met with one of the producers of Cocaine Cowboys to discuss documenting his struggle with the MLB.
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Photo: Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News
