A-Rod Admits Steroid Use

"I was young, I was stupid, I was naive, and I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth . . . being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance and for that I am very sorry and deeply regretful."
- New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez admitting to using steroids during an interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons

The Yankees superstar admitted during an interview that he used performance-enhancing substances from 2001-03 while playing for the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez hit 159 home runs during those three seasons with the Rangers -- including 57 in 2002 -- and he was named the American League Most Valuable Player in 2003. He was traded to the Yankees following that season. In 2003, even though steroids were illegal, there were no penalties in Major League Baseball for a positive result.

Those were the first three seasons of Rodriguez's then-record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez won his first AL MVP award in '03, his last year with the Rangers, before being traded to the Yankees prior to the start of the 2004 season.

On Saturday, the news broke that Rodriguez had tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan, an injected or orally administered drug.

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Steroids have been banned in baseball since 1991, but there was no testing for it until 2003, when survey testing was done to determine if the game needed to adopt a permanent testing policy. Rodriguez's name was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. There were no penalties for players who tested positive and the names of those players were supposed to remain anonymous, but federal agents, using search warrants, seized those test results from one of the two labs MLB had used in connection with the '03 testing as part of the government's BALCO investigation.

plez sez: my, my, my. are there more asterisks in order? is everyone from the "steroids era" going to be banned from cooperstown (i.e. bonds, mcguire, clemens, rodriguez, etc.)?

i'm still trying to wrap my head around the HARD-ON the sports media has had for Barry Bonds, when it was obvious that this was such a widespread problem and so many "superstars" were juiced up during this time. major league baseball was wrong for not policing its own policies, i can't fault bonds for trying to compete on a level playing field.

~ ~ Citations ~ ~

Read the Boston Globe article about A-Rod's steroid use.

Read the ESPN.com article about Gammons interview with A-Rod.

Read the SI.com article about Rodriguez being on the juice while with Rangers.

Read the AJC.com article about thoughts on A-Rod after his admission of steroid use.

Read the December 2007 plezWorld article about steroids in Major League Baseball.

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