Manny Ramirez Drug Test Was Positive For Testosterone, AP Source Claims
The illegal substance that caused Manny Ramirez to temporarily back down from professional baseball was testosterone, an anonymous source familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.
Ramirez, former outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays, opted to retire from baseball in 2011 after he failed a drug test for performing-enhancing drugs during spring training. Ramirez chose retirement rather than face a 100-game suspension, but later changed his mind.
Seven total players were suspended this year after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs and, as per a new agreement, the results were announced publicly–save for one.
Ramirez’s test and the drug that caused the former Rays outfielder to fail the test was never publicly announced by the administrator of baseball’s drug program, the source claims, “speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail wasn’t included in the report.”
The Associated Press reports:
“Ramirez, 14th on the career list with 555 home runs, was suspended for 50 games in 2009 while playing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While the substance causing that suspension was not announced, at the time a person familiar with the details said Ramirez used the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. The substance stimulates natural testosterone production, which shuts down during a cycle of steroids use.”
After deciding to back out of retirement, Ramirez was offered a 50-game suspension, rather than the 100-game suspension he was originally faced with.
Ramirez recently made his debut in the Dominican League, where he is playing for the Las Aguilas Eagles. As you can see in the video below, Ramirez got off on a fairly good start.
