David Ortiz Dishes On PED Tests: 'I Never Knowingly Took Any Steroids'

David Ortiz will always face questions regarding performance-enhancing drugs. And the Boston Red Sox slugger will always offer the same response.

“I never knowingly took any steroids,” Ortiz wrote in an essay published Thursday on Derek Jeter’s website, The Players’ Tribune.

Ortiz’s enthralling essay touches on several topics, but it’s mostly centered on the skepticism that hangs over his successful major league career. He’s a nine-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion and one of the most feared sluggers in Major League Baseball history, yet his accomplishments constantly are questioned because it came out in 2009 that he reportedly failed a PED test back in 2003.

“If I tested positive for anything, it was for something in pills I bought at the damn mall,” Ortiz wrote in the essay published Thursday. “If you think that ruins everything I have done in this game, there is nothing I can say to convince you different.”

Ortiz realizes his Hall of Fame candidacy could be impacted by PED suspicions even though he vehemently denies any wrongdoing. It’s unfair, according to Ortiz, who even outlined the PED testing procedure he’s been exposed to over the years.

“In some people’s minds, I will always be considered a cheater. And that’s bull(expletive),” Ortiz wrote. “Mark my words: Nobody in MLB history has been tested for PEDs more than me.

“You know how many times I’ve been tested since 2004? More than 80. They say these tests are random. If it’s really random, I should start playing the damn lottery. Some people still think the testing is a joke. It’s no joke. Ten times a season these guys come into the clubhouse or my home with their briefcases. I have never failed a single one of those tests and I never will.”

Ortiz’s article truly is fascinating, especially since the 39-year-old also works humor into an otherwise serious topic.