The A-Rod PED Confession Is In
Via ESPN -
His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.
“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, felt all the weight of the world on top of me to perform, and perform at a high level every day,” Rodriguez told ESPN’s Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. An extended interview will air on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET.
“Back then, [baseball] was a different culture,” Rodriguez said. “It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. 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. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful.”
Rodriguez’s admission comes 48 hours after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez was on a list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, the year when Major League Baseball conducted survey tests to see if mandatory, random drug-testing was needed in the sport.
He blamed himself and his $252 million contract he signed with the Texas Rangers in 2001 for his decision to use performance-enhancing drugs.
“Overall, I felt a tremendous pressure to play, and play really well” in Texas, the New York Yankees third baseman said. “I had just signed this enormous contract I felt like I needed something, a push, without over-investigating what I was taking, to get me to the next level.”
Rodriguez added: “I am sorry for my Texas years. I apologize to the fans of Texas.”
Rodriguez, who joined the Yankees for the 2004 season after a trade from Texas, said “all my years in New York have been clean.” He also described the recent turn of events as the biggest challenge of his life but added it felt good to be honest about what he’s done in the past.
I will have commentary on this news later this evening. In the meantime, what do you think of A-Rod’s confession?
I will have commentary on this news later this evening. In the meantime, what do you think of A-Rod’s confession?
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*YAWN*
I don’t think it will change anything. I guess it’s nice that he said something, but overall? Meh…
Let me clarify; he’s damned if he did say something, he’s damned if he didn’t. But hey, if it makes him and the fans sleep better at night, I guess it couldn’t hurt…
I don’t think it will change anything. I guess it’s nice that he said something, but overall? Meh…
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I agree that it won’t change anything. To a segment of the population, he’ll now always be a cheat. But I don’t see how you can say “YAWN” or “Meh.” He’s the first Hall of Fame caliber baseball player to admit using steroids. I’m happy he admitted it and I hope that it helps to speed up the end of this news cycle in a few weeks.
Frankly, the “yawn/meh” is the kind of unfair, damned if he does/damned if he doesn’t reaction that A-Rod always receives. Jesus, he apologiez and now even that isn’t satisfactory?
out of all possible things he could have done, this was by far the wisest choice
i hope he’s telling the truth about stopping in ’03, for his sake
all my years in New York have been clean
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I just hope he doesn’t get caught in a lie with that one…
I’m glad he came out…Now Lets move on and start Spring Training!
Frankly, the “yawn/meh” is the kind of unfair, damned if he does/damned if he doesn’t reaction that A-Rod always receives. Jesus, he apologiez and now even that isn’t satisfactory?
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I’m indifferent to the whole thing. I’ve posted an article earlier today that has Tom House saying that steroids have been around since the 60s & 70s. I’ve read “Ball Four” and the drug use that went on in that book, and I’ve even read about the drug use that went on @ USC in Bill Lee’s book. I’ve had teammates that used.
So to me, I’m a bit jaded about the steroid “outrage.”
I’ll take a look at his Seattle vs Texas vs NY numbers when I have some time.
~~I just hope he doesn’t get caught in a lie with that one…~~
I’m telling you guys, well, actually, it was last night that I published it…
Check 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2007 – in addition to the confessed 2001-2003 period. The numbers suggest that something was going on there too…
Great comment at BBTF:
He convienantly started using immediately AFTER he signed the biggest contract in MLB history?
Check 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2007 – in addition to the confessed 2001-2003 period. The numbers suggest that something was going on there too…
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Why would a PED user only use every other year? While I may or may not believe that he stopped using, I certainly don’t believe that he’d alternate seasons on and off the juice. You think he enjoyed the 2004, 2006 and 2008 seasons where everyone was ripping him for having “down” years after enjoying the highs and the cheers and curtain calls of 2005 and 2007 when he was the singular reason why the Yanks made the playoffs?
since hes a stat padder and his production doesnt count anyway, this is all moot anyways right
since hes a stat padder and his production doesnt count anyway, this is all moot anyways right
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Exactly. He sucks because his stats are meaningless, hollow, and fake! Worst player ever! Should’ve traded him for Chone Figgins in November 2006!
since hes a stat padder and his production doesnt count anyway, this is all moot anyways right
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I think he only used steroids when no one was on base or after the Yankees were already winning by 8 runs.
~~Why would a PED user only use every other year? ~~
I addressed that in what I wrote on Sunday night.
I addressed that in what I wrote on Sunday night.
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I don’t buy that explanation. Seems silly to me to think that he’d only use PED’s to get fans off his back or for contract years.
Why would A-Rod have endured the 2006 season after enjoying the 2005 season? It makes no sense as the incentives to using are too great and the disincentives (in your explanation) too painful.
I think Steve should change the blog name to http://www.wasobsessedwitharod.com and get it over with
~~Why would A-Rod have endured the 2006 season after enjoying the 2005 season?~~
Ego? Maybe he thought he could duplicate his 2005 in 2006 without the PEDs, and, then, when he did not, he went back on them in 2007 to get the big contract…
Ego? Maybe he thought he could duplicate his 2005 in 2006 without the PEDs, and, then, when he did not, he went back on them in 2007 to get the big contract…
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Then he was on them in 2008 to justify the big contract he got the year prior…
Or, maybe, in 2008, he already had his big contract in hand and then didn’t give two poops about his performance?
Anyone find it interesting that he went to Gammons and ESPN to issue his confession? Why not the MLB Network? Could it be because they have SI.com people working there?
mehmattski – yeah, you’re right. A-Rod’s not constantly in the news. It’s me that keeps making up these stories about him…*sure*
Or, maybe, in 2008, he already had his big contract in hand and then didn’t give two poops about his performance?
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Then why even start; he had his contract after the 2000 season.
Or, maybe, in 2008, he already had his big contract in hand and then didn’t give two poops about his performance?
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But he said that is exactly why he STARTED using them in 2001. You are sort of cherry picking your already faulty logic. We could conjecture all day, but I doubt he would do PEDs every other year. And I also doubt that steroids necessarily make a specific year better than another specific year (line drive rate, BABIP, and other factors would seem to affect a single years performance more than steroids. Over a career, yes steroids have an affect, but not in the sense that you could break down a players career year-by-year and say his ‘good’ years were his steroid ones and his ‘bad’ years were not.)
~~Then why even start; he had his contract after the 2000 season.~~
Read what I wrote on Sunday. That’s why I’m saying it started in 1999.
‘Winning is the best medicine’ -Arod…Amen to that!
Let’s look at what he said:
Loads of weasel words, starting with “pretty accurate”.
Does anyone believe that he doesn’t know what he took? And what’s with all of the references to GNC and supplements? Are we to believe that on a team of hard core juicers, Alex, in order to justify his big contract, went down to GNC and experimented with supplements?
And that whole thing about “I was stupid, I was naive, I didn’t ask the right questions” – that makes no sense at all if he honestly made an affirmative decision to use PEDs because of this “pressure”. It does make sense though if he really did go to GNC and experimented with supplements. Because no one is naive or asks the wrong questions except those who didn’t intend to use banned substances.
Davidoff and Neyer have it right – this is an awful performance by A-Rod. It will be real interesting to see who tries to nail him down on the truth.
anyone else find posadas reaction wierd? The reporter asked him do you think your name could be on that list, and he goes “i hope not” he says he doesnt think he put anything banned in his body….that doesnt sound like 100% to me
also, i used to work at vitamon world for years (GNC competition), theres 1 or 2 products my mhp that have been retracted due to having something banned in it, but other than that theres nothing you can get in there that is like what these guys are taking. At least not since they banned ephedra
And that whole thing about “I was stupid, I was naive, I didn’t ask the right questions” – that makes no sense at all if he honestly made an affirmative decision to use PEDs because of this “pressure”. It does make sense though if he really did go to GNC and experimented with supplements. Because no one is naive or asks the wrong questions except those who didn’t intend to use banned substances.
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he never said his intention was to not use something banned, he just said basically it wasn’t that big of a deal around the teams back then, everyone was doing something, so he didn’t really take it to be as serious it really is. He got lost in his own world, literally. He never said that the only thing he took was from GNC, he said that he did go there and he was referring to that phillies pitcher that failed a test due to a GNC product mostly, trying to cover behind that. I dunno, i tried to put myself in his shoes, and i kind of get it…doesnt mean i forgive him or that his name isn’t tainted, im just saying that i get it
Who is A-Rod kidding? He didn’t know what drugs he was taking?
Posada said he “hoped not” in response to the question of whether his name being on the list?
Thats as loosy-goosy and wishy-washy as “pretty accurate”
Corey, what I can’t understand is how you can make a decision to use due to the pressure of your contract, but not know what it was that you used and to use words like “stupid, naive, didn’t ask the right questions” as an explanation for making a decision to use “a banned substance”.
I think its obvious that A-Rod wasn’t well prepped for this encounter. He should expect a lot of questions when he comes to Tampa, and a lot tougher ones than what Gammons gave him (notice no one is calling him a Red Sox stooge after this – he’s too much of a fan of the game and its players to be a tough interview in these circumstances.)
Who is A-Rod kidding? He didn’t know what drugs he was taking?
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I don’t think the way he said it made it sound good, but I can imagine A-Rod taking something simply because a trusted trainer or teammate gave it to him and said “Stack this with testosterone and you will get stronger.” So he took it. It’s not as though he is buying heroin from someone on the street corner. He is buying it from people who have the same concern and care for their bodies that he does for his. He could trust someone in the locker room without asking specifically what the drug was.
Anyways, who cares what he took? Does it make him more guilty if he doesn’t name the drug? Perhaps there are legal reasons he didn’t name the drug. If he told us what drug it was, would that make you feel more compassionate? Because if so, that’s pretty lame and unfair to A-Rod.
can’t understand is how you can make a decision to use due to the pressure of your contract, but not know what it was that you used and to use words like “stupid, naive, didn’t ask the right questions” as an explanation for making a decision to use “a banned substance”.
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well i believe thats partly true..i think he used the pressure of his contract as an excuse, stupid naive i bet is really how he feels though, because if he knew this was going to happen to him i bet you he wouldn’t have taken them.
Anyways, who cares what he took? Does it make him more guilty if he doesn’t name the drug? Perhaps there are legal reasons he didn’t name the drug. If he told us what drug it was, would that make you feel more compassionate? Because if so, that’s pretty lame and unfair to A-Rod.
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if i was him i would have said, i don’t want the kids to know what i took and try to be like me.
If he told us what drug it was, then his “confession” would be more believable than it is, because its not believable (to most people) that he didn’t know what he took, but he knew it was wrong, and now he regrets it (or regrets that it is now known what he did.)
thenewguy–The point is he absolutely knew what he was taking. The guy is a total bullshit artist. And I would lay odds that he is still taking stuff that can’t be detected by current methods.
And I would lay odds that he is still taking stuff that can’t be detected by current methods.
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A friend of mine is now predicting that Roberts’ book is going to say that A-Rod has taken steroids pretty much his entire life.
OnceIWasAYankeeFan–Before we totally pile on, we should all admit that the odds are good that many of your beloved Red Sox (including Ortiz) are probably not much better than A-Rod. (I think Tony Maserotti had a good piece about this in The Boston Herald today.)
the fact that a-rod got blood tested by the WBC in 2006 supports steves year by year steroid breakdown claim
Ah, we’re back to the old big Papi must be juicing, even if most of his weight is fat, huh?
We should stick with what is public knowledge, not some unsubstantiated suppositions. Should the facts change, I’ll be the first to criticize any of my beloved Red Sox who are shown to be PED users, now or in the past.
(Did I mention that I never much cared for Paxton Crawford?
)
Read what I wrote on Sunday. That’s why I’m saying it started in 1999.
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I did read it. Commented on it too.
You have to dig down to ISO to really find anything, and even that can be explained away; the Kingdome was hitter friendly in 1999, as well as his ISO dropping a year later.
The Kingdome was hitter friendly Raf.
So, his HR/PA & HR/OUTS marks should have been higher in 1996 through 1998, not lower.
There was no change in the park in 1999. Only A-Rod changed. And, that power spike continued in the non-hitter-friendly Safeco.
And of course, it can’t be discounted that he played in the launching pad that is the Ballpark in Arlington…
So, his HR/PA & HR/OUTS marks should have been higher in 1996 through 1998, not lower.
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And his ISO for those years went from .273 -> .196. -> .249 ->
SLG? .631 -> .496 -> .560
Don’t have his LD%, but it’s pretty consistent from 2002 on.
>> ~~Why would a PED user only use every other year? ~~
I addressed that in what I wrote on Sunday night. >>
I remember hearing something about this on XM around the time of the Mitchell report, but I don’t think it works like you’re suggesting. Dibble and Kennedy had someone on who was discussing how certain PEDs worked, and how you basically had to get them into your system on a consistent basis for them to work. Sort of like allergy medication, I suppose. You have to get on a ‘program’ and keep it going for it to be effective.
You don’t just start using one season, hit a bunch of home runs and then stop & start again in that short of a time.
Who knows if that applies to what Alex may have been taking, but I find it interesting that people keep citing his upturn in numbers during 2001-2003 as *direct* evidence to his PED usage. To me, looking at his age during the time in question, the numbers would suggest a normal career path of a slugger.
Now, obviously we know the truth now, but the guy was 18 when he started – hardly a mature physical specimen by any means — and was 25 by the time he got to Texas.
I’m not trying to make excuses by any means, but IMO the aberration years would come in the next few years if Alex is still hitting 50+ home runs every year 35-36.
Please excuse my need to repeat myself 3 times in every paragraph…lol
If Big Papi was/is not on steriods, then Curt Schilling is not an annoying loudmouth.
Whatever one might say about A-Rod (and certainly there’s not much positive to say right now), it is curious why his name was the only one leaked. There are no other big names on a list of 104 players? Surely much of this has to do with Selena Roberts (as A-Rod rightly pointed out in hi interview). I’ve always viewed her as the Maureen Dowd of sportswriting, without a sense of humor. She doesn’t cover sports; she covers (and looks for) scandal. I’ve never read a positive Yankee story written by her.
“I think he only used steroids when no one was on base or after the Yankees were already winning by 8 runs.”
LOL, best comment…
If Big Papi was/is not on steriods, then Curt Schilling is not an annoying loudmouth.
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Why? Because you say so? Because you wish you could criticize a prominent Red Sox player the same way that so many Yankee players are in the cross-hairs?
Get a clue. Wishing DOESN’T make it so.