A-Roid: MLB superstar confesses doping
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 11, 2009 00:00
NEW YORK - Major League Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez admitted Monday in an interview with ESPN that he took performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers from 2001 through 2003.
Rodriguez, baseball's richest player as a New York Yankees superstar, made the admission to the television network two days after Sports Illustrated magazine's website reported "A-Rod" had tested positive for steroids in 2003.
"I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful," Rodriguez said.
A 12-time All-Star whose parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez was traded from Texas to the Yankees in 2004, three years into a then record 10-year contract worth $ 252 million.
"I had just signed this enormous contract," Rodriguez said. "I felt like I needed something, a push, without over-investigating what I was taking, to get me to the next level."
The shame of Rodriguez, who inked a record 10-year deal with the Yankees in 2007 worth $ 275 million, follows upon doping links by several top stars and sparked President Barack Obama to comment upon the situation's sadness.
"It's depressing news on top of what has been a flurry of depressing items when it comes to Major League Baseball," Obama said at a news conference, adding the new admission "tarnishes an entire era to some degree".
The Yankees, with the richest payroll in baseball, have faced steroid confessions before with pitcher Andy Pettitte last year and slugger Jason Giambi before that and offered their support to their third baseman.
Yankees support
"We strongly believe there is no place in baseball for performance-enhancing drugs of any type and we support the efforts of the commissioner to continually improve the testing process," the Yankees statement read. "We urged Alex to be completely open, honest and forthcoming in addressing his use of performance enhancing drugs. We take him at his word that he was. Although we are disappointed in the mistake he spoke to today, we realize that Alex - like all of us - is a human being not immune to fault."
Rodriguez said he took steroids from the time he started playing for the Rangers through 2003, when he was the American League Most Valuable Player.
"I was young, I was stupid, I was na?ve," he said. "I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."
Instead, Rodriguez joined a list of shamed stars whose feats have been clouded by doping accusations, one that includes US all-time home run king Barry Bonds and star pitcher Roger Clemens.
Living down to critics who dubbed him "A-Fraud", Rodriguez said he hopes he will be judged on his non-steroid seasons when it comes time to consider him among the game's greatest legends.
"I hope people give it time and realize this was three years I'm not proud of, but judge me on prior Texas and post-Texas," Rodriguez said. "I have nine years left in my career that I think I can do some very special things."
He added that he used drugs during his time at Texas and his Yankees years were completely clear.
During the 2001-2003 span, Rodriguez averaged 52 homers and 161 games a season. In his other 10 seasons, "A-Rod" averaged 39 homers and 148 games. The AL Most Valuable Player in 2005 and 2007, he hit a league-best 47 homers in 2003 and with 553 career homers was seen as a likely candidate to eclipse Bonds as the all-time homer king.
"I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful," Rodriguez said.
A 12-time All-Star whose parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez was traded from Texas to the Yankees in 2004, three years into a then record 10-year contract worth $ 252 million.
"I had just signed this enormous contract," Rodriguez said. "I felt like I needed something, a push, without over-investigating what I was taking, to get me to the next level."
The shame of Rodriguez, who inked a record 10-year deal with the Yankees in 2007 worth $ 275 million, follows upon doping links by several top stars and sparked President Barack Obama to comment upon the situation's sadness.
"It's depressing news on top of what has been a flurry of depressing items when it comes to Major League Baseball," Obama said at a news conference, adding the new admission "tarnishes an entire era to some degree".
The Yankees, with the richest payroll in baseball, have faced steroid confessions before with pitcher Andy Pettitte last year and slugger Jason Giambi before that and offered their support to their third baseman.
Yankees support
"We strongly believe there is no place in baseball for performance-enhancing drugs of any type and we support the efforts of the commissioner to continually improve the testing process," the Yankees statement read. "We urged Alex to be completely open, honest and forthcoming in addressing his use of performance enhancing drugs. We take him at his word that he was. Although we are disappointed in the mistake he spoke to today, we realize that Alex - like all of us - is a human being not immune to fault."
Rodriguez said he took steroids from the time he started playing for the Rangers through 2003, when he was the American League Most Valuable Player.
"I was young, I was stupid, I was na?ve," he said. "I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."
Instead, Rodriguez joined a list of shamed stars whose feats have been clouded by doping accusations, one that includes US all-time home run king Barry Bonds and star pitcher Roger Clemens.
Living down to critics who dubbed him "A-Fraud", Rodriguez said he hopes he will be judged on his non-steroid seasons when it comes time to consider him among the game's greatest legends.
"I hope people give it time and realize this was three years I'm not proud of, but judge me on prior Texas and post-Texas," Rodriguez said. "I have nine years left in my career that I think I can do some very special things."
He added that he used drugs during his time at Texas and his Yankees years were completely clear.
During the 2001-2003 span, Rodriguez averaged 52 homers and 161 games a season. In his other 10 seasons, "A-Rod" averaged 39 homers and 148 games. The AL Most Valuable Player in 2005 and 2007, he hit a league-best 47 homers in 2003 and with 553 career homers was seen as a likely candidate to eclipse Bonds as the all-time homer king.