Manny Ramirez Suspended for 50 Games

The steroids controversy continues to haunt Major League Baseball. On Thursday, baseball suspended Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers for 50 games after he tested positive for a banned substance. Ramirez won’t be eligible to return to the baseball field until July.

Manny Ramirez Suspended 50 Games (Image: Newscom)

Due to his 50-game suspension, Ramirez will be forced to forfeit about one-third of his 2009 salary of $23.9M. On the season, he’s hitting .348 with six homers and 20 RBI. After winning on Thursday, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball at 21-9.

As could be expected, Ramirez denied that his positive steroid test was due to him trying to enhance his baseball performance. Here is the statement from Ramirez following the announcement of his suspension:

“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.”