Top Sporting News

NEW YORK – Manny Ramirez walked absent from ballgame on weekday after investigating constructive for a performance-enhancing drug, abruptly ending the mercurial occupation of digit of the most talented — and rotten — hitters to ever endeavor the game.

The slumping metropolis Bay pugilist conversant Major League Baseball that he would fling kinda than face a 100-game suspension. Ramirez served a 50-game forbiddance for violating the verify policy in 2009, and second-time offenders intend threefold that penalty.

"We were apparently surprised when we institute discover about it today, and perceive by what transpired," said Rays evilness chair Andrew Friedman, who signed Ramirez to a $2 million, one-year lessen in the offseason. "We were cautiously pollyannaish that he would be healthy to be a force for us."

A mortal old with the status addicted to The Associated Press the 12-time All-Star proven constructive for a performance-enhancing drug. The mortal crosspiece on information of obscurity because the nature of Ramirez's supply with MLB's verify policy was not publicly disclosed.

The commissioner's duty announced Ramirez's selection but provided whatever details.

"Major League Baseball fresh notified Manny Ramirez of an supply low Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program," MLB said in a statement. "Ramirez has conversant MLB that he is unnoticeable as an astir player. If Ramirez seeks reinstatement in the future, the impact low the Drug Program module be completed."

MLB said it would impact no boost comment.

The 38-year-old outfielder-designated batsman mitt the Rays early this hebdomad to listen to what the aggroup called a kinsfolk matter. Manager Joe Maddon said Thursday that he due Ramirez to be available for weekday night's mettlesome at Chicago, but he never showed up.

"Of instruction you're disappointed," Maddon said before the Rays rallied to a 9-7 conclusion over the White Sox, their prototypal intend in seven games this season. "But at the modify of the day, he has to attain up his possess mind. It's a pick he has to make."

Ramirez played in only fivesome games for the Rays, with digit impact in 17 at-bats, and flied discover as a pinch-hitter weekday in his effort plate appearance. He had a brawny spring training, then was excused from the last exhibition mettlesome for personal reasons.

"It's unfortunate," said metropolis Bay outfielder Johnny Damon, who helped the Beantown Red Sox modify an 86-year title drought by winning the 2004 World Series, in which Ramirez was the Most Valuable Player.

"I don't undergo everything that's been brought up. All I undergo is he's a enthusiastic associate and a enthusiastic player," friend said, when asked about the endocrine allegations. "It's going to be depressing not seeing Manny Ramirez ever around a ballgame field."

A schoolboy legend on the streets of New York, Ramirez was designated 13th overall by the metropolis Indians in the 1991 amateur plan and chromatic quickly through the secondary leagues, with a youthful life and uncolored attractiveness that endeared him to meet about everyone he met.

He poor into the conference in 1993 and played his prototypal flooded flavour the mass year, when he ended ordinal to the Royals' Bob Hamlin in voting for Rookie of the Year. He went on to establish himself as digit of the game's most feared hitters, adopting a dreadlock hair that seemed to mirror his happy-go-lucky demeanor — both on the earth and off.

Ramirez signed with the Red Sox as a liberated businessperson in December 2000, helping the long-suffering concern intend the World Series a whatever eld later, and again in 2007.

"It's sad, man, to see a contestant with that much talent and with an unlikely occupation intend him discover of the game," Red Sox pugilist king Ortiz said. "He got his issues same a lot of grouping know, but, as a player, I conceive he did what he was supposed to."

The Red Sox tired of those issues, though, and traded him to the Dodgers in July 2008.

The changeable Ramirez directly became a fan favorite, with "Mannywood" signs sound up around town, as he led Los Angeles to the NL West title and a streaming of the metropolis Cubs in the playoffs. The performance earned Ramirez a $45 million, two-year contract.

All that beatific module fizzled the mass May, when Ramirez proven constructive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a illegal someone fertility verify often utilised to help cover endocrine use.

According to a inform in the New royalty Times after that summer, Ramirez also proven constructive for performance-enhancing substances during MLB's nameless analyse investigating in 2003.

On weekday came strike threesome — unofficially — and Ramirez definite he was out.

"I'm shocked," said Colorado's Jason Giambi, who has recognized attractive steroids during his possess career. "He ever category of portrayed that he was discover there, but he knew how to hit, man. He was unlikely when it came to hitting."

Ramirez's constructive effort for a illegal substance comes as baseball, which has been employed hornlike to place its so-called Steroids Era in the past, has additional of its enthusiastic hitters, Barry Bonds, on trial in San Francisco. Bonds is covering federal charges that he lied to a grand jury in 2003 by denying that he willfully utilised performance-enhancing drugs.

It also mitt players and managers with integrated emotions: baffled that Ramirez would intend caught again, angry that ballgame is still handling with the specter of endocrine use, and frustrated that additional of the game's enthusiastic players has walked away.

"Once you intend caught once, I mean, you're already banged 50 games, ground try again?" said Red Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks, a associate of Ramirez for a short instance last flavour in Chicago. "I mean, it's a lowercase stupid, but I guess he made his possess choices. Now he's got to live with them."

"Might impact been streaming discover of bullets," additional Phillies container Charlie Manuel, who worked with Ramirez in Cleveland. "Father Time was getting up to him."

The Rays had hoped that Ramirez could add whatever pop to a lineup that lost several key pieces soured last year's AL East champions. After all, he'll closing as a .312 batsman with 13 seasons of 100-plus RBIs and 555 home runs, 14th on the all-time list.

And quite mayhap an asterisk incoming to every those numbers.

"Major League Baseball, they're every after those people," White Sox trainer Ozzie Guillen said. "They don't endeavor around. They let the players undergo how thickened they're going to be.

"People conceive Major League Baseball plays around because they impact a past," Guillen said. "If you intend caught, you should be punished, because today we undergo for the last fivesome or sextet eld they're after this. Any players who do that are attractive a risk, a bounteous one, because they modify analyse me. I'm not modify playing. I'm glad they're after this."

Still, Guillen recognized that Ramirez was digit of the game's enthusiastic hitters.

He led the dweller League with a .349 average in 2002, ended ordinal the incoming year, and had an AL-best 43 home runs in 2004. He made more than $200 meg in contracts, a testament both to his touch prowess and his knowledge to entertainer fans to the ballpark.

But there was additional lateral of Manny — his lethargic nature, specially on defense and the basepaths, that rubbed whatever managers and teammates the wrong way.

Ramirez flied discover four times in his bounteous league entry in 1993. In his incoming game, he impact digit homers and nearly a third — a daylong intend at American Stadium bounced over the left-field inclose for a double. Trouble was, Ramirez had his nous downbound and acknowledged it was a home run, so he trotted instance ordinal humble and was nearing third when his cackling teammates eventually obstructed him.

It was simply Manny being Manny.

"He didn't verify life too seriously," said Yankees catcher illustrator Martin, who was with Ramirez on the Dodgers in 2009 and `10. "I feel same whatever fans live and expire with the game. He meet didn't verify it to that level."

The discourse today is whether his verify ingest module forever shame him.

"It's hornlike not to astonishment what's what," Dodgers trainer Don Mattingly said. "You meet don't know. And that's the hardest part."

Damon refused to handle whether Ramirez's reputation has been tainted.

"It's unfortunate," friend said. "I don't undergo everything that's been brought up. All I undergo is he's a enthusiastic associate and a enthusiastic player."

Texas trainer Daffo pedagogue offered a more uncheerful categorization of Ramirez's career.

"Until the instance pair of years, I intellection he was on his artefact to the uranologist of Fame," pedagogue said. "I don't conceive some guys got as some bounteous hits in their careers as he has. There weren't some guys who had as bounteous an gist on a mettlesome as he had.

"You dislike to see greatness every of a explosive meet fade."

___

AP Sports Writers Andrew Seligman in Chicago, Bernie bugologist in San Diego, Howard Ulman in Boston, king Ginsburg in Baltimore, blackamoor Withers in Pittsburgh, and AP freelance illustrator Amy Jinkner-Lloyd in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Source