Alex Rodriguez suspended for entire 2014 season - CNN

Alex Rodriguez suspended for entire 2014 season

By Ray Sanchez, CNN

Updated 1423 GMT (2223 HKT) January 13, 2014

Alex Rodriguez is suspended for the 2014 regular and postseason over accusations of taking performance-enhancing drugs and having ties to the now-shuttered Biogenesis clinic in South Florida.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Alex Rodriguez: Performance-enhancing drugs – Alex Rodriguez is suspended for the 2014 regular and postseason over accusations of taking performance-enhancing drugs and having ties to the now-shuttered Biogenesis clinic in South Florida.
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Barry Bonds is baseball's all-time home run leader, but some commentators say there should be an asterisk by his record. Though he's said he never knowingly used steroids, two San Francisco reporters wrote a book alleging he used performance-enhancing drugs. In 2007, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstructing justice for allegedly lying to a grand jury investigating steroids and convicted of obstruction of justice. Here are some of Major League Baseball's biggest scandals:
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Barry Bonds: Perjury indictment – Barry Bonds is baseball's all-time home run leader, but some commentators say there should be an asterisk by his record. Though he's said he never knowingly used steroids, two San Francisco reporters wrote a book alleging he used performance-enhancing drugs. In 2007, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstructing justice for allegedly lying to a grand jury investigating steroids and convicted of obstruction of justice. Here are some of Major League Baseball's biggest scandals:
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Known as Rocket for his aggressive pitching style, Roger Clemens played pro ball for more than two decades, racking up seven Cy Young Awards. He left Major League Baseball under a cloud of steroid allegations, despite a court finding him not guilty of perjury in 2012 when he told Congress he never used the drugs.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Roger Clemens: Steroid allegations – Known as Rocket for his aggressive pitching style, Roger Clemens played pro ball for more than two decades, racking up seven Cy Young Awards. He left Major League Baseball under a cloud of steroid allegations, despite a court finding him not guilty of perjury in 2012 when he told Congress he never used the drugs.
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After his former Texas Rangers teammate Jose Canseco accused him of using steroids, Rafael Palmeiro appeared before Congress in 2005 to deny the allegations. Later that year, he was suspended from baseball for testing positive for steroids. He maintains to this day he has never knowingly taken performance enhancers.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Rafael Palmeiro: Steroid suspension – After his former Texas Rangers teammate Jose Canseco accused him of using steroids, Rafael Palmeiro appeared before Congress in 2005 to deny the allegations. Later that year, he was suspended from baseball for testing positive for steroids. He maintains to this day he has never knowingly taken performance enhancers.
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An Olympian and renowned long-ball hitter, Mark McGwire spent his entire career with the Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals, breaking the single-season home run record in 1998. In 2010, he admitted using steroids over the course of a decade but told Bob Costas in an interview he took them only for health reasons.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Mark McGwire: Steroids admission – An Olympian and renowned long-ball hitter, Mark McGwire spent his entire career with the Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals, breaking the single-season home run record in 1998. In 2010, he admitted using steroids over the course of a decade but told Bob Costas in an interview he took them only for health reasons.
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John Rocker's pitching career with the Atlanta Braves only lasted a few seasons because of his offensive comments about homosexuals, New Yorkers, Asian women and a black teammate in a Sports Illustrated article. Rocker faced large backlash and ultimately was cut by the Braves in 2001 and played for three other teams before calling it quits in 2003.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
John Rocker: Outrageous comments – John Rocker's pitching career with the Atlanta Braves only lasted a few seasons because of his offensive comments about homosexuals, New Yorkers, Asian women and a black teammate in a Sports Illustrated article. Rocker faced large backlash and ultimately was cut by the Braves in 2001 and played for three other teams before calling it quits in 2003.
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Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott faced lawsuits, fines from the MLB and suspensions during her career for her offhand comments and actions. Schott told ESPN in 1996 that "Hitler was good in the beginning, but he went too far." That comment drew a $25,000 fine and one-year suspension.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Marge Schott: Hitler observation – Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott faced lawsuits, fines from the MLB and suspensions during her career for her offhand comments and actions. Schott told ESPN in 1996 that "Hitler was good in the beginning, but he went too far." That comment drew a $25,000 fine and one-year suspension.
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Former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, center, was banned for life in 1990 for hiring a man to investigate Yankees outfielder Dave Winfield's background for any dirt. The ban was later reduced to a two-year suspension.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
George Steinbrenner: Dirty dealings – Former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, center, was banned for life in 1990 for hiring a man to investigate Yankees outfielder Dave Winfield's background for any dirt. The ban was later reduced to a two-year suspension.
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Cincinnati Reds switch-hitter Pete Rose was caught gambling on baseball games during the 1987 season. Fingerprints from betting slips and a handwriting expert's testimony ultimately led to Rose being banned from baseball.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Pete Rose: Gambling on baseball – Cincinnati Reds switch-hitter Pete Rose was caught gambling on baseball games during the 1987 season. Fingerprints from betting slips and a handwriting expert's testimony ultimately led to Rose being banned from baseball.
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Darryl Strawberry, right, was suspended multiple times throughout his career for cocaine possession and soliciting prostitutes. Strawberry released a book in which he claims that several players with the 1980s Mets committed the same offenses.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Darryl Strawberry: Cocaine, prostitutes – Darryl Strawberry, right, was suspended multiple times throughout his career for cocaine possession and soliciting prostitutes. Strawberry released a book in which he claims that several players with the 1980s Mets committed the same offenses.
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Pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was the first baseball player to be suspended for a drug-related offense. Ferguson was arrested in Toronto in 1980 for cocaine possession and promptly banned for life. However, the ban was lifted only a month later and he returned to the pitchers mound for the Chicago Cubs in 1982.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Ferguson Jenkins: First drug suspension – Pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was the first baseball player to be suspended for a drug-related offense. Ferguson was arrested in Toronto in 1980 for cocaine possession and promptly banned for life. However, the ban was lifted only a month later and he returned to the pitchers mound for the Chicago Cubs in 1982.
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Gambler Arnold Rothstein was the financial backer accused of being behind the fixed 1919 World Series. Eight Chicago White Sox players were allegedly bribed to throw the game with money provided by Rothstein. He denied all allegations before a grand jury and was later exonerated of any wrongdoing. All eight players involved in the fix were banned for life.
Photos: Photos: Baseball's biggest scandals
Chicago White Sox: The big fix – Gambler Arnold Rothstein was the financial backer accused of being behind the fixed 1919 World Series. Eight Chicago White Sox players were allegedly bribed to throw the game with money provided by Rothstein. He denied all allegations before a grand jury and was later exonerated of any wrongdoing. All eight players involved in the fix were banned for life.
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Story highlights

  • The New York Yankees say they "respect" the decision
  • Alex Rodriguez suspended for 2014 regular season and postseason
  • Decision will cost slugger $25 million
  • Rodriguez plans to appeal
An arbitrator Saturday upheld most of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez's 211-game doping suspension, keeping him out of the 162-game 2014 regular season and the postseason.
The ruling by Major League Baseball arbitrator Fredric Horowitz will not only cost Rodriguez $25 million in salary, it also further clouds the groundbreaking career of a player who will turn 40 during the 2015 season.
The 162-game suspension -- which is the most severe punishment in baseball history for doping -- highlights baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's recent high-profile crackdown on performance-enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez, one of the best players of his generation who was once considered an automatic Hall of Fame candidate, was defiant in a statement released Saturday. He will likely appeal in federal court.
"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one," said Rodriguez, who has struggled with hip injuries in recent years.
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The former Seattle Mariner, Texas Ranger and now New York Yankee player then took a swipe at Selig, whom he has claimed in the past had an unjustified vendetta against him.
"This is one man's decision that was not put before a fair and impartial jury," Rodriguez said, "does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable."
When the suspension ends in 2015, Rodriguez will be owed $61 million in a contract that runs through 2017.
Major League Baseball did not release details of the arbitrator's decision, which the players union said it "strongly disagrees" with.
The Yankees said in a statement that they "respect Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, the arbitration process, as well as the decision released today by the arbitration panel."
Saturday's ruling stemmed from Rodriguez's appeal of a his suspension by MLB, which accused him of taking performance-enhancing drugs and having ties to the now-shuttered Biogenesis clinic in South Florida.
Biogenesis was a former anti-aging clinic that MLB said supplied steroids to at least a dozen baseball players.
Rodriguez, one of 14 players suspended in the Biogenesis scandal, was the only one who appealed his suspension. Though he was suspended in August, Rodriguez played out the 2013 season because of the appeal.
Rodriguez, 38, is fifth on MLB's list of all-time home run leaders, just six behind Willie Mays.
Rodriguez, who has claimed he was the target of a MLB "witch hunt," probably will appeal Horowitz's decision in the courts or to seek to delay the suspension.
"No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players' contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me," Rodriguez said in a statement.