Report: Ortiz not sure if he took steroids

[Thumper]

BOSTON (TICKER) -- It appears Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is not sure if he has taken steroids.

 

Ortiz told the Boston Herald that he could not say definitively if he had ever used performance-enhancing drugs in the past. The burly designated hitter also said that if he did, it happened when he was much younger.

 

"I tell you, I don't know too much about steroids, but I started listening about steroids when they started to bring that (expletive) up," Ortiz told the paper. "I started realizing and getting to know a little bit about it. You've got to be careful.

 

"I used to buy a protein shake in my country. I don't do that anymore because they don't have the approval for that here, so I know that, so I'm off buying things at the GNC back in the Dominican (Republic). But it can happen anytime, it can happen. I don't know. I don't know if I drank something in my youth, not knowing it."

 

However, Ortiz, who hit a club-record 54 home runs last season, made light of the situation, joking that he should try steroids just to see what all the fuss is about.

 

"I should use steroids just to see what's going on," Ortiz joked to the Herald. "Nah. I have a good family. I want to see my kids learn and develop. I think I'm having an OK career. So, I take a lot of Advils, but I think I'm going to stop taking them. They say it (expletive) your liver."

 

Ortiz spent six non-descript seasons in Minnesota before signing with the Red Sox before the 2003 season. He has quickly become a Boston icon and one of the most popular players in baseball.

 

In 2004, Ortiz anchored a Red Sox squad which won the franchise's first World Series in 86 years - highlighted by a shocking comeback against the rival New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

 

The Red Sox became the first team in baseball history to come back from a three-games-to-none deficit to win a playoff series.

[Beckett95]

nothing real important here. something can be slipped into anyones drink at anytime with out them noticing. so really noone knows if they took steroids

[RedSoxRooter]

In 2004, Ortiz anchored a Red Sox squad which won the franchise's first World Series in 86 years - highlighted by a shocking comeback against the rival New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

 

The Red Sox became the first team in baseball history to come back from a three-games-to-none deficit to win a playoff series.

 

I just like how this is added to almost every AP story involving a player who played in Boston in 2004.

[MANNYHOF24]

Is this even a story?

[TedWilliams101]

That is a worthless and pointless "story"

[schillingouttheks]

Thumper...basically this is the same as me saying that I don't know whether or not I took steroids. I mean, a protein shake that I drank for football could have had some "performance-enhancing drug" in it as well. This isn't even a story.

[TedWilliams101]

No wonder... This story is out of context. It was said in a discussion about Barry Bonds and steroids.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2863623

[BoSox21]

all of his comments in regards to Bonds and steroid use in general were very neutral, but he does have a point. you never know when you might accidentally ingest a banned substance.

 

Jose Theodore the hockey goalie was banned from the last olympics because of a banned substance found in Propecia, a hairloss product he was using

[CrespoBlows]

Ortiz, if you ever took steriods, I want to say on behalf of Red Sox nation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you.

[TedWilliams101]

lol.

[BoSox21]

I could be mistaken but didn't he ever give a quote that was something to the effect of "they can test me all they want, all they'll find is a lot of red beans and rice"? I always chuckle at that

[jacksonianmarch]

Thumper...basically this is the same as me saying that I don't know whether or not I took steroids. I mean' date=' a protein shake that I drank for football could have had some "performance-enhancing drug" in it as well. This isn't even a story.[/quote']

 

not necessarily the same. In the DR, they toss horse steroids at kids who have a big league future. And they wont even tell them. So, he really MAY have taken steroids. But it is nothing really. That can be said about every dominican player in the majors.

[schillingouttheks]

not necessarily the same. In the DR' date=' they toss horse steroids at kids who have a big league future. And they wont even tell them. So, he really MAY have taken steroids. But it is nothing really. That can be said about every dominican player in the majors.[/quote']

 

Fine. I understand/understood that part. But it's still the same.

[Gom]

I can't believe you guys. This is as much an admission as you are going to get without a blood test. DAVID ORTIZ HAS TAKEN STEROIDS.

 

We're not talking as 16 year old kids in the DR trying to make it. I'm talking about his major league career, with 99.9% certainty while in Boston. You think if he came out and said he took them when he was 16 years old in the DR thinking that they were Flintstone vitamins, anyone would care? You guys are unreal.

 

So we basically both have steroid popping DH's. I'm just annoyed yours had better drugs than ours. I'm not playing holier than thou, two of my team's top three hitters with juiced up in Sheff and Giambi.

 

Read between the lines.

 

Payroll, I can live with the disparity. However, steroids are a pet peeve of mine. You are caught doing it, automatic one year suspension. Caught again, banned for life. If you make the punishment severe enough, you'll stop all but the most desperate and dependent users.

[ORS]

Right, because a guy saying, "I don't know what was what back in my underdeveloped country with loose drug enforcement laws", is the same as being a center-piece to a major Federal investigation and admitting use to a Federal Grand Jury. Same exact thing. Case closed.

[Gom]

Right' date=' because a guy saying, "I don't know what was what back in my underdeveloped country with loose drug enforcement laws", is the same as being a center-piece to a major Federal investigation and admitting use to a Federal Grand Jury. Same exact thing. Case closed.[/quote']

 

You think this statement even matters if he took steroids when he was 16? Last I checked, they were illegal in the DR as well.

 

You are so blinded by your love for your team that you couldn't be objective if your life was on the line. If they caught Ortiz in Balco with a needle sticking out of his ass, you'd think it was blood pressure medication.

 

Did you think he would come out and say something unless someone had something on him? "Umm..I don't remember if I did steriods. I might have. Maybe I had a cheeseburger today. Maybe it was lobster. I don't remember. Here honey, take this pill. GHB stands for Good, Healthy, and Beautiful." Get real.

 

This is as phony as Giambi having a press conference and apologizing for nothing in particular.

Yeah' date=' the "someone slipped me a steroid-mickey" defense is getting a little played out.[/quote']

 

How about not having a double standard for once? This is your quote from the Palmeiro thread. Sucks to be talking out of both sides of your ass and get caught, doesn't it?

[TedWilliams101]

Why is everyone getting worked up about this. He was just trying to explain that it is possible that Bonds got steroids with out know it. It is far more common than you think for an athlete to take a product that has a tiny bit of steroids in it. Ortiz never knowingly took steroids, he did everything he could to stay clear of roids. And I certainly woudn't care if he accidentally had shakes that had steroids in them when he was a kid in the DR... Give me a break. He's not defending himself, he's trying to defend others.

[Gom]

Why is everyone getting worked up about this. He was just trying to explain that it is possible that Bonds got steroids with out know it. It is far more common than you think for an athlete to take a product that has a tiny bit of steroids in it. Ortiz never knowingly took steroids' date=' he did everything he could to stay clear of roids. And I certainly woudn't care if he accidentally had shakes that had steroids in them when he was a kid in the DR... Give me a break. He's not defending himself, he's trying to defend others.[/quote']

 

How do you know he never knowingly took steroids? Because he is the darling of Red Sox fans? Get real. It wouldn't surprise me if Jeter took steroids, or Arod, or Papelbon, or anyone. How do you know? How could you possibly know? Coming out and saying that you may have taken them is asinine.

 

Ortiz went from 20 homeruns in Minnesota in 2002 to 31 in Boston the next year, and has ramped up to 41, 47, and then 54. Nah, steroids weren't involved. Just like with Giambi, that pituitary tumor was probably hereditary. Must be nice to live in fantasy land.

[MANNYHOF24]

How do you know he never knowingly took steroids? Because he is the darling of Red Sox fans? Get real. It wouldn't surprise me if Jeter took steroids, or Arod, or Papelbon, or anyone. How do you know? How could you possibly know? Coming out and saying that you may have taken them is asinine.

 

Ortiz went from 20 homeruns in Minnesota in 2002 to 31 in Boston the next year, and has ramped up to 41, 47, and then 54. Nah, steroids weren't involved. Just like with Giambi, that pituitary tumor was probably hereditary. Must be nice to live in fantasy land.

 

Maybe it was the fact that Ortiz never got consistent playing time really until mid way through 03. 2004 was the first season were he started the sesaon as a starter. Ortiz looks now like he did 10 years ago. I think what he has done is legit.

[MANNYHOF24]

You think this statement even matters if he took steroids when he was 16? Last I checked, they were illegal in the DR as well.

 

You are so blinded by your love for your team that you couldn't be objective if your life was on the line. If they caught Ortiz in Balco with a needle sticking out of his ass, you'd think it was blood pressure medication.

 

Did you think he would come out and say something unless someone had something on him? "Umm..I don't remember if I did steriods. I might have. Maybe I had a cheeseburger today. Maybe it was lobster. I don't remember. Here honey, take this pill. GHB stands for Good, Healthy, and Beautiful." Get real.

 

This is as phony as Giambi having a press conference and apologizing for nothing in particular.

 

 

How about not having a double standard for once? This is your quote from the Palmeiro thread. Sucks to be talking out of both sides of your ass and get caught, doesn't it?

 

Did you read the entire article, or just what was posted here. Read the entire transcript and you will see how badly this was taken out of context.

[HeadOfSoxNation]

Maybe it was the fact that Ortiz never got consistent playing time really until mid way through 03. 2004 was the first season were he started the sesaon as a starter. Ortiz looks now like he did 10 years ago. I think what he has done is legit.

 

That's a good point, but then again, so did Giambi. I mean when Giambi took roids...he never came up much slimmer that I can remember. He was a beast in Oaktown and a beast in NYY when he first arrived...it was after his famous apology that we saw him deflate like last week's helium baloon.

[Gom]

Did you read the entire article' date=' or just what was posted here. Read the entire transcript and you will see how badly this was taken out of context.[/quote']

 

Yeah, I read the whole article. Steroids can't make you hit the ball better. Utter nonsense. He didn't know what he did down there in DR, but he cleaned up his act. Horseshit.

Maybe it was the fact that Ortiz never got consistent playing time really until mid way through 03. 2004 was the first season were he started the sesaon as a starter. Ortiz looks now like he did 10 years ago. I think what he has done is legit.

As for regular playing time, he had 412 [2000], 303 [2001], and 415 [2002] at bats in the three season prior, and he was on the 60 day DL in 2001 for a wrist injury. Seems like he had ample playing time to me.

[ksushi]

Wow Gom, way to try to make Ortiz into Bonds. I think you're barking up the wrong tree here buddy. I bet you've been digging around the internet waiting for a Sox players name to come up in a steroids article.

 

Ortiz isn't a roids guy. Read the article a little better, it wasn't " I took roids in the DR when I was younger but now Im a better person who doesnt do that anymore" It was more like "Bonds maybe isn't such a bad guy, I'm a good guy and I've taken supplements in the DR that aren't approved my the MLB that I don't know exactly what they were, but really Bonds isn't a bad guy."

[ORS]

You think this statement even matters if he took steroids when he was 16? Last I checked, they were illegal in the DR as well.

 

You are so blinded by your love for your team that you couldn't be objective if your life was on the line. If they caught Ortiz in Balco with a needle sticking out of his ass, you'd think it was blood pressure medication.

 

Did you think he would come out and say something unless someone had something on him? "Umm..I don't remember if I did steriods. I might have. Maybe I had a cheeseburger today. Maybe it was lobster. I don't remember. Here honey, take this pill. GHB stands for Good, Healthy, and Beautiful." Get real.

 

This is as phony as Giambi having a press conference and apologizing for nothing in particular.

 

 

How about not having a double standard for once? This is your quote from the Palmeiro thread. Sucks to be talking out of both sides of your ass and get caught, doesn't it?

Last you checked? The next time you check about the legality of any substance in the DR will be the first time. Go through news clippings researching the topic and you will find it is common practice for the kids over there to be given substances during their development. Especially 10-15 years ago, which is the timeframe he's talking about.

 

Blinded by love? No, try able to read the text for content. The content is that he "may" have taken steroids back when he was in the DR. Anything else is reading between the lines, and fabricating a 99.9% certainty out of thin air says a lot about who has an axe to grind here.

 

And the connection to the Palmeiro case doesn't exist. Palmeiro was caught. He tested negative during the middle of the steroid controversy. So, at the height of the time when people were looking for users, Palmeiro didn't have the sense, like Ortiz does since he quit taking any supplement in that unregulated country, to monitor what goes into his body? Right.

 

You take asshattery to new levels every day. Carry on.

[TedWilliams101]

Comparing Bonds, Giambi, and Ortiz is ********. Bonds and Giambi, along with many other ballplayers, where suspected of using roids because inside people where claiming they saw it/provided it/etc. Bonds then supposedly testified that he had used roids, but thought it was flaxseed oil... Giambi came out and confessed. I have never heard anything credible pointing a finger at Ortiz. Not one. If every big slugger was being accused of roids, why haven't you ever heard anyone talk about Ortiz... Think about that. Innocent until proven guilty.

[a700hitter]

I can't believe you guys. This is as much an admission as you are going to get without a blood test. DAVID ORTIZ HAS TAKEN STEROIDS.

 

We're not talking as 16 year old kids in the DR trying to make it. I'm talking about his major league career, with 99.9% certainty while in Boston. You think if he came out and said he took them when he was 16 years old in the DR thinking that they were Flintstone vitamins, anyone would care? You guys are unreal.

 

So we basically both have steroid popping DH's. I'm just annoyed yours had better drugs than ours. I'm not playing holier than thou, two of my team's top three hitters with juiced up in Sheff and Giambi.

 

Read between the lines.

 

Payroll, I can live with the disparity. However, steroids are a pet peeve of mine. You are caught doing it, automatic one year suspension. Caught again, banned for life. If you make the punishment severe enough, you'll stop all but the most desperate and dependent users.

If he knowingly took steroids, why would he admit it? Has he been subpoenaed to testify with immunity before a Grand Jury ? Did he test positive? or is he having some attack of conscience? Who knows ...maybe next week O.J. will confess to the murders. Gom, your post is ridiculous.

[TheKilo]

I can't believe you guys. This is as much an admission as you are going to get without a blood test. DAVID ORTIZ HAS TAKEN STEROIDS.

 

We're not talking as 16 year old kids in the DR trying to make it. I'm talking about his major league career, with 99.9% certainty while in Boston. You think if he came out and said he took them when he was 16 years old in the DR thinking that they were Flintstone vitamins, anyone would care? You guys are unreal.

 

So we basically both have steroid popping DH's. I'm just annoyed yours had better drugs than ours. I'm not playing holier than thou, two of my team's top three hitters with juiced up in Sheff and Giambi.

 

Read between the lines.

 

Payroll, I can live with the disparity. However, steroids are a pet peeve of mine. You are caught doing it, automatic one year suspension. Caught again, banned for life. If you make the punishment severe enough, you'll stop all but the most desperate and dependent users.

 

And you don't think you're a troll? Give me a f***ing break.

[TedWilliams101]

Gom did you even read what Ortiz said and think about it in the contect of the conversation? He did not admit to taking steroids. He did the opposite, he said that he has never taken steroids, as far as he knows. The reason he said he didn't know if he had ever taken steroids accidentally in the DR was to show a point. He was showing that with all the supplements, it can be challenging to make sure you don't put anything in your body you don't want. Thats why he brought up his past in the DR. And the whole point of "I'll try steroids and see if it helps, then tell ya (JK)" was just a joke to help his point that he doesn't believe steroids contributes all that much to make a hitter better. It's sad that the media will do anything to make the headlines, even if it means twisting someone's words and making an innocent man look bad. Gom, it's the media that you should be concerned about, not the victim of the media.

 

Gom, you should probably go back to grade school and brush up on your reading comprehension. Growing up in NY has made you an idoit. But it's alright, it's not your fault, blame it on someone else. That is the way you live your life, isn't it?