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David Ortiz would like you to know that he doesn’t take performance-enhancing drugs. The Red Sox’ slugger took to the Internet on Thursday in a tell-all article for The Players’ Tribune, documenting the fallout from 2003's leaked Mitchell Report, as well as invasive drug tests that have plagued him over the last decade. "I’m not driving across the border to Mexico buying some shady pills from a drug dealer," Ortiz said, citing GNC as the supplier for supplements that later turned out to be questionable under Major League Baseball's microscopes. "I’m in a strip mall across from the Dunkin’ Donuts, bro."
It isn’t the first time Ortiz has spoken up about the assumptions that have followed him throughout his career, calling into question both the validity of his statistical output and his potential as an eventual inductee in the MLB Hall of Fame. Last July, he called out an unidentified MLB Network host for determining that he was given a “free pass,” despite testing positive for PED usage. For Ortiz, over 40 tests since MLB instated their PED policies was anything but.
Of late, both players and former MLB commissioner Bud Selig have voiced concerns about PED policies and usage, particularly in light of ill-advised cover-ups by players like Melky Cabrera and Ryan Braun. In 2013, Dustin Pedroia told the press that teams received packets of information on approved and illegal supplements, as well as a handy app that lets players know exactly what substances are contained in each brand. It’s certainly a step in the right direction, but for those whose names have already been tarnished by positive drug tests, perhaps the only recourse left is the opportunity to speak up.
Here’s a guide to enjoying the 2015 MLB season, no matter how your team fares in October.
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