Did David Ortiz Just Link Leaked PED Test Results To The New York Yankees? 1
Sep 28, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) walks through the dugout before a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz thinks he found who leaked his name to PED’s — it’s the New York Yankees. 

Yeah, you read that right – David Ortiz, retired designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox has a theory and he’s definitely sticking to it. Ortiz believes that the New York Yankees are to blame for his performance enhancing drug (PED) tests being leaked.

Ortiz appeared on WEEI on Friday to promote his new book, “Papi: My Story.” During the interview, Ortiz says he believes that his test results were leaked because “too many” Yankees players were being tested and their information was leaked, which caused the Yankees to force leak his test results to the press.

Papi, come on man. I understand you’re upset about people finding out about you using PED’s but let’s break it down so fans and players alike can understand what exactly you’re talking about.

Back in 2003, the MLB started testing for performance enhancing drugs. Among the batch that they tested, about 100 players from both the National league and the American league had players on it that all tested positive for PEDs.

Big names such as Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were all players among the 100 on the list. This list was supposed to be “confidential” and the information on the list was supposed to be destroyed but here we are – talking about it and the players on it as if it was happening all over again.

The only way that this information could have been leaked is if one of the lawyers that Ortiz was in contact with had some sort of hatred towards the Red Sox and was wanting to get back at them by leaking the information to the press. To me, it seems a little far out there.

During Ortiz’s time with the Red Sox, he hit 483 home runs, 1,530 RBIs and had a .286 batting average for the 14 years that he played in Boston. If you compare his stats to the time he spent with the Minnesota Twins, he hit an average of nine home runs a season, compared to the 32 home runs averaged through the years with Boston — with his first year with Boston his home runs went from 20 to 31 in 2003, when he was allegedly tested for PED’s. Just in 2006 alone, he hit 54 home runs.

To me, it seems a little outlandish for a baseball organization to want to leak information about rival baseball players to the press. Face it Papi, you got caught for own idiotic decisions, not the press, or even because of the New York Yankees organization.

It was all you, and there’s no denying that. Ortiz insists that he’s clean, saying, “the only thing that you’re going to find in my blood is rice and beans,” as he jokingly talked to the early morning doctor that showed up at his Dominican Republic house at 7:30 a.m. with a briefcase full of blood test veils and urine cups.

“To this day, nobody has any answers for me. Nobody can tell me what I supposedly tested positive for. They say they legally can’t because the tests were never supposed to be public,” Ortiz said.

“I’m no bulls—ter. I never knowingly took any steroids. If I tested positive for anything, it was for something in pills I bought at the damn mall.”

Don’t worry Ortiz, I’m sure Red Sox nation still loves you, but Yankees fans and the whole world know the truth — no need to keep playing dumb.


MLB/New York Yankees writer | Radio show host for M&M in the PM on Power 90.5 | Passionate about New York Yankees baseball, public relations and Tennessee whiskey blends.