While some Major League Baseball players need to take drug classes for addictions to prescription medication, marijuana and more, I am speaking more about performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
Pitcher Bartolo Colon, the veteran 39-year-old pitcher with the Oakland A’s, is the latest player to be benched on a 50-game suspension after testing positive for high levels of testosterone, a banned performance enhancing drug. As reported in www.examiner.com.
It was the second such suspension for steroid use in just one week, following on the heels of the ban handed out to San Francisco Giants 28-year-old star outfielder Melky Cabrera.
Both men seem to have a lot in common besides taking PEDs. They are both citizens of the Dominican Republic, currently play for rival Bay area teams, are former New York Yankees, and have made apologies to their fans after receiving identical 50-day penalties.
The obvious difference is that Colon is in the twilight of his baseball career, 11-years senior to Cabrera, and as a pitcher in the American League, which uses the designated hitter (DH) rule, seldom comes to bat except for inter-league play in a National League ballpark.
Colon becomes the 11th player, and the most recent, to receive a 50-day ban from baseball.
The others include Yusaku Iriki of the New York Mets, Jason Grimsley of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Guillermo Mota of the Mets, Juan Salas of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Dan Serafini of the Colorado Rockies, Eliézer Alfonzo also of the San Francisco Giants, J. C. Romero of the Philadelphia Phillies, Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Edinson Volquez of the Cincinnati Reds, and Cabrera with the Giants.
Hopefully, Colon will get through this suspension with his head still held high. He should take a 16 hour alcohol drug class and perhaps even lose a little weight if he wants to have any more productive years.