David Ortiz has theory about leaked PED test that involves the Yankees
Former Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz thinks he knows why someone leaked the results of his failed PED test to the New York Times in 2009, and it has to do with the New York Yankees.
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Ortiz appeared on WEEI on Friday to promote his new book, “Papi: My Story.” During the interview, Ortiz said he believes his test results were leaked as a response to too many Yankees testing positive at the time.
Ortiz says on @DaleHolleyWEEI that NYT PED story in ’09 was a response to too many Yankees getting caught. That’s a new one.
— Chad Finn (@GlobeChadFinn) May 19, 2017
That seems a bit outlandish, right? Ortiz has shown a willingness to discuss the topic in the past, though he’s never owned up to the result or revealed what happened. This appears to be the first time he’s resorted to some elaborate conspiracy theory, though.
Instead of immediately criticizing Ortiz, let’s investigate his claims. The story Ortiz is referencing is from a New York Times report. That report leaked the results of what was supposed to be an anonymous drug test taken by major-league players back in 2003.
The 2003 test results should have been destroyed, but were not, according to the New York Times.
Baseball first tested for steroids in 2003, and the results from that season were supposed to remain anonymous. But for reasons that have never been made clear, the results were not destroyed and the first batch of positives has come to be known among fans and people in baseball as “the list.” The information was later seized by federal agents investigating the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes, and the test results remain the subject of litigation between the baseball players union and the government.
Around 100 players were featured on “the list,” though only four names from it were leaked to the public. Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa were the first two. Ortiz and former teammate Manny Ramirez leaked at the same time.
The fact that Ortiz and Ramirez’s names were released at the same time is possibly the best evidence Ortiz has to support his case. Ramirez wasn’t a member of the Red Sox at the time of the leak, but he and Ortiz were instrumental to Boston winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007. Ortiz can point to that and say someone was out to get the Red Sox.
But who? The New York Times got its information on Ortiz an Ramirez “through interviews with lawyers and others connected to the pending litigation.” In order for Ortiz’s theory to be correct, one of the lawyers would have had to have been a bitter Yankees fan looking to stick it to the Red Sox. That’s possible, of course, but seems farfetched.
It’s a little harder to navigate the “others connected to the pending litigation” line. That could include a lot of people, from members of the union to team employees.
Is it possible someone with the Yankees leaked those two names? Boston Globe reporter Chad Finn thinks that’s a plausible theory.
@PPokaski Sosa and A-Rod were too. Always suspected a certain Yankee official leaked it.
— Chad Finn (@GlobeChadFinn) May 19, 2017
It’s important to note that this is just speculation. There’s no hard evidence the leak came from a Yankees official. It just adds some fuel to Ortiz’s conspiracy theory.
In the end, does it really matter who leaked Ortiz’s name? Sure, the union would probably love to have that information, but it won’t change how the public views Ortiz.
Even if Ortiz’s conspiracy theory is right, and a vindictive Yankees person leaked his name, it’s not like he’s denying the test results. At this point, he’s simply looking for someone else to blame.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
