Posted on 08/01/2005 8:57:30 AM PDT by nypokerface
You may have already seen this ....
Rafael Palmeiro suspended for violating drug policy
New York, NY (Sports Network) - Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days on Monday for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy.
Palmeiro filed a grievance with the Players' Association, challenging the suspension, but the Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel has denied the grievance.
"I'm sure you will ask how I tested positive for a banned substance," Palmeiro said in a statement. "As I look back, I don't have a specific answer to give."
The suspension comes only a few months after Palmeiro testified before Congress and vehemently denied ever using steroids.
Just last month, Palmeiro became only the fourth player in baseball history to record 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray. He notched the milestone hit on July 15 in Seattle.
08/01 13:00:45 ET
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STATEMENT FROM RAFAEL PALMEIRO
Thank you very much for joining me on this call today. I am saddened that we are here to address this issue, but because of the importance of it, I feel the need to make a brief statement and address your questions. At the outset, let me say that under the rules of the basic agreement and the order of the independent arbitrator, there is an order of confidentiality governing the specifics of this case. I will attempt to state as much as I can and be as forthright as possible, but there will be issues I can't address based on orders imposed on me by the basic agreement and the arbitration process. I am here to make it very clear that I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period. When I found out that I failed a test under the new drug policy, I filed a grievance and challenged the suspension on the basis that I have never intentionally taken a banned substance. Ultimately, although I never intentionally put a banned substance into my body the independent arbitrator ruled that I had to be suspended under the terms of the program.
I am sure you will ask how I tested positive for a banned substance. As I look back, I don't have a specific answer to give. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to explain to the arbitrator how the banned substance entered my body. The arbitrator did not find that I used a banned substance intentionally in fact, he said he found my testimony to be compelling but he ruled that I could not meet the heavy burden imposed on players who test positive under the new drug policy. I accept this punishment and want to address it publicly. I want to apologize to MLB, the Baltimore Orioles organization, my teammates, and most of all, my fans. Given my role with the No Tolerance Committee and my relationships with Congress, I feel the need to communicate a serious message to my fellow players and to kids everywhere. All of us have to be responsible and exercise extreme care in what we put in our body. I hope that all MLB players and kids will learn from what has happened to me. I have never intentionally used a banned substance, but I unfortunately wasn't careful enough. I take my role as a professional athlete seriously. I love baseball and have great respect for all of the players who played before me. I have always done my best to live each day in ways that would make my family proud. Everything I have accomplished is the result of hard work and dedication to being the best possible player I can be. I feel terrible that this has happened, but I think there is something to be gained from it. If my situation results in the education of current and future players about the dangers of taking anything without a prescription from a licensed physician -- that is a positive. At the end of the day, it is important for all players to understand the risk of contamination and to be very careful about what they put in their body. This suspension is going to be incredibly difficult for me, my wife and my 2 boys. Over the next week and a half, I am going to spend time with my family. I am going to come back and will be as determined as ever to help the Orioles win this pennant race that we are in. We have worked very hard to be in a position to bring our fans a title, and I will not let this be a distraction.
Finally, I would like to thank Commissioner Selig and Mr. Angelos for their strong words of encouragement. I had the opportunity to speak with both of them and I am extremely appreciative of their support and friendship.
STATEMENT FROM ORIOLES OWNER PETER ANGELOS
I am truly saddened by today's events. I have known Rafael Palmeiro for many years. He is a fine person, a great player and a true asset to his community. I know from personal experience that his accomplishments are due to hard work and his dedication to the game. I know that Rafael will accept the penalty under Baseball's important Drug Policy and that he will return to be a productive member of the Orioles.
STATEMENT FROM ORIOLES VICE PRESIDENT/BASEBALL OPERATIONS, MIKE FLANAGAN
I am obviously disappointed to hear the news of this suspension. Raffy has been a friend of mine for many years. He is one of the most dedicated and hard-working players in baseball. I know he would not violate the rules intentionally. I look forward to his return. We will surely miss him and his contribution to the club.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
This just in: 9 out of 10 professional athletes use steroids. Look at a team picture from the fifties and one from today. The pictures speak volumes.
I don't believe him. His credibility with me is pretty much shot at this point. Honestly, I feel like a fool for beleiving him in the first place when he made his blanket denial of being a user.
Geez, on top of everything, Rafael goes and insults our intelligence with that statement of his.
I'm sure you're aware that baseball players didn't even weight train until the 1980's?
Plus he's suspended as the Orioles battle the Yanks for a playoff wildcard spot.
The way they've been in free-fall lately, right now they're just battling to avoid yet another losing season.
Sure there is. Sometimes players reach these milestones just by hanging around long enough to reach them. Rickey Henderson had more than 3,000 hits in his career, and yet his lifetime batting average (.279) was surprisingly low for a guy who is supposed to be one of the all-time greats. Pete Rose is the all-time leader in hits, yet his career average (.303) isn't even among the top 100.
The 500-HR milestone isn't as common as the 3,000-hit mark, but as the "steroid age" of baseball progresses we're going to start seeing a lot of better-than-average (as opposed to "exceptional") players approaching this mark.
When I think of a modern hall-of-famer with relatively mediocre stats, I think of Yaz. But Yaz played in Boston and got a lot of PR that Palmeiro never got.
I agree with you about this, but Yaz had an odd career for a number of reasons. For one thing, he had the misfortune of putting up "good" numbers (by today's standards) at a time when pitching was more dominant than it is today. For example, he won a batting title in 1968 with a .301 average -- a figure that must be an all-time record for the lowest batting average ever to win a title.
He also hung around for way too long. If he had retired after 15 years instead of lingering for another 8 seasons, his "pure performance" statistics (career batting average, for example) would have been much better even though his "performance/longevity" statistics would not have been as impressive.
*Shrug*
There are performance-enhancing banned steroids, performance enhancing banned non-steroids, performance enhancing non-banned substances.
Obviously he's been using SOMETHING. Most players use SOMETHING, whether energy drinks, protein shakes, creatine, HGH, whatever. And the line between banned and not banned is frankly somewhat arbitrary.
I can believe that a player would INTEND to stay on the right side of the line but take substances that would edge across the line. I don't pretend to know any individual's intentions, unless they're a Yankee, in which case they're almost certainly gay. Sob stories may sound good or really really pathetic, depending on the sypathies of the listener.
The obvious solution for a well-intentioned person is to stay well clear of the line.
Having stood next to and chatted with Raffy two years ago, noone can convince me he's a steriod user. I lived in gyms for 20 years, and can spot a user in a few seconds. Raffy is not one. He's maybe 5'9", thin, average build, and looks like he's never worked out a day in his life; shocking considering his powerhitting accomplishments. The fact is, when you buy the expensive training supplements at any local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe, some of the products can contain traces of steriod-like derivatives. MLB is brand new at testing, and will take years to filter out results like this.
He won a Gold Glove in 1999 even though he only played 28 games at first base. That in and of itself pretty much renders the award meaningless.
Aside from Raffy's particular case, should a player be punished for only hitting .320 with 40 HR and 125 RBI every year if he is so consistent or a victim of bad timing that he never wins a title in any of those?
No. Palmeiro's career numbers, though, are subject to a lot of questions for the same reason Barry Bonds has a lot of skeptics. Palmeiro never hit for a lot of power early in his career, and wasn't known as much of a run-producer (he averaged about 20 home runs and 80-85 RBIs through his first ten years). His offensive statistics back then were remarkably similar to those of Edgar Martinez (good batting average and lots of doubles).
When he turned 30, he suddenly became an offensive machine -- exceeding the 100-RBI mark nine out of the last ten years and hitting more than 40 home runs four times after he reached the age of 33. Aside from the questions that arise when a player does this, there is also the simple fact that 40 home runs and 100 RBIs aren't what they used to be (which is why he can put up these offensive numbers and never win a home run or RBI title in the first place). He's not "a victim of bad timing" at all . . . he's a victim of inflated offensive numbers that have cheapened what used to be impressive statistics.
There needs to be an entirely separate Baseball Hall of Steroids Fame, so as not to taint the honorable players that came before.
So you are saying Edgar is a user as well? His peak slugging years were age 32-38.
Brian Roberts of the Orioles is an obvious steroid user. He showed little or no power until this year. Right?
Yesterday I thought of him as being a lock for the Hall of Fame. Now, I think there's no way he gets in.
You have to mean(right word?) average a players stats versus the league averages...
Al Kaline put up great stats versus what the league was doing on average in the Pitcher's era of the 1960s...same for Yaz...
It's always a possibility, right? Though in Edgar's case you have to look at his lower productivity earlier in his career in the context of his durability. I seem to remember that he was injured a lot back then, and missed substantial portions of a few seasons during what should have been his prime years.
Brian Roberts of the Orioles is an obvious steroid user. He showed little or no power until this year. Right?
He's only had one full season before this, so it's not as if we have an extensive track record to use in his case.
It appears that the only qctive player being honest about using steroids has been Jason Giambi.
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