KANSASCITY, Mo. (AP) — The scourge of drugs and baseball claimed its third former MVP in a month when Miguel Tejada was suspended Saturday for 105 games after testing positive for an amphetamine.
The KansasCityRoyals infielder drew one of the longest penalties handed down by Major League Baseball. His ban came after Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was suspended for 211 games and Brewers star Ryan Braun got a 65-game penalty that will keep him off the field for the rest of the season.
All three stars have been dogged by doping allegations in the past.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Tejada tested positive for Adderall, a substance the 39-year-old has used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because those details were not made public.
“I apologize to my teammates, the Royals organization and to the KansasCity fans,” Tejada said in a statement released by the players’ association. “I have a medical condition that requires medication to treat. I took that medication while re-applying for a Therapeutic Use Exemption. Under the requirements of the Joint Drug Program, I made a mistake in doing so.”
MLB’s medical staff grants therapeutic-use exemptions that allow players to use drugs such as Adderall to treat ADD. But the substance has become a popular performance-enhancer, accounting for 10 of the 11 positive stimulant tests in the major league program in the year ending with the 2012 World Series, according to the annual report of the Independent Program Administrator.
The report, which was released in November, said that medication for ADD accounted for 116 of 119 therapeutic-use exemptions granted by Major League Baseball.
Tejada, who was already on the 60-day disabled list with a calf injury, previously tested positive under the league’s amphetamine policy. That subjected him to a 25-game ban for a second test and an 80-game suspension for a third. He is not challenging the penalties.
Tejada will miss the remainder of this season, which exhausts his contract with KansasCity. If he signs for next season, he would miss about two months before becoming eligible to play.
Tejada’s suspension is one of the longest non-lifetime bans in baseball history