Baseball will have to confront fresh questions about steroid use in the sport after the Marlins’ Dee Gordon, the reigning NL batting champion, was banned for 80 games for using performance-enhancing drugs.
The startling announcement of Gordon’s suspension by Major League Baseball came shortly after the Marlins’ victory at Los Angeles on Thursday night – a 5-3 win that gave them a 4-0 series sweep. MLB said Gordon tested positive for exogenous testosterone and clostebol.
In a statement, Gordon said he he would accept the suspension.
“Though I did not do so knowingly, I have been informed that test results showed I ingested something that contained prohibited substances,” Gordon said Friday morning in a statement released by the MLB Players Association.
“The hardest part about this is feeling that I have let down my teammates, the organization, and the fans. I have been careful to avoid products that could contain something banned by MLB and the 20-plus tests that I have taken and passed throughout my career prove this. I made a mistake and I accept the consequences.”
The 28-year-old Gordon led the majors in hits and stolen bases last year. He batted .333, became an All-Star for the second time and won a Gold Glove at second base, but will lose about $1.65m in salary during the suspension and is ineligible for the postseason.
The stellar displays of last season helped him earn a $50m, five-year contract he signed in January.
“Dee Gordon is a very important part of our team, and we all love him, and we support him,” Marlins president David Samson said.
“That said, I do not like, or condone, what he did. He’s an important member of this organization and will be for many years to come. It’s a huge, huge disappointment. To the kids, to our fans, to his teammates, and to everyone in our organization who works hard every single day to put a product on the field and off the field that all Miamians will be proud of.”
After the Marlins beat the Dodgers 5-3, manager Don Mattingly, who was fired by LA last year after five seasons in charge, said: “Obviously, two different ends of the spectrum for us, and our team. You’d expect our team to be in there all excited, and then we get this news. Not quite the feeling, but from there, we’ll support Dee. These guys love Dee, and I feel like he’s one of our kids, to be honest with you.”
