Red Sox stars tested positive in 2003
It’s the news Red Sox fans have probably been dreading. And Yankees fans have probably been waiting for.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are both among the 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in a 2003 survey test. The Times cited lawyers with knowledge of the names on the list.
Ramirez’s inclusion is not a huge surprise, since he recently finished serving a 50-game suspension for using a banned substance.
But Ortiz? There could hardly be a bigger blow to the Boston sports fan.
Boston’s beloved “Big Papi” led the Red Sox to their stunning 2004 ALCS defeat of the Yankees and the end of the 86-year-old “Curse of the Bambino.” Boston won World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 with Ortiz and Ramirez manning the middle of the batting order in one of the most fearsome duos since Ruth and Gehrig or Mantle and Maris.
More than any other Red Sox from 2004, Ortiz is the symbol of Yankee-slaying. As more and more big names have trickled out from the 2003 list –- Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa -– Yankees fans have long wondered “what about Oritz?” because of the huge explosion in his offensive numbers during the Red Sox’s ascendancy and his equally fast decline once baseball instituted a testing program with penalties.
Results from the 2003 tests were supposed to remain anonymous, but they later were seized by federal agents.
Ortiz told a Times reporter on Thursday that he had no comment on the report. The Red Sox were playing an afternoon game against the Oakland A’s.
