BOSTON — David Ortiz is a believer in Major League Baseball’s drug testing system.
Despite San Francisco’s Melky Cabrera and Oakland’s Bartolo Colon both getting suspended for testosterone use in recent days, Ortiz thinks MLB’s ability to catch the offenders is a testament to the program’s success.
“Our drug program is legit,” Ortiz said. “You don’t get away with [expletive]. You see the way they test you, the way they do it, tells you a lot. Those two guys are really good friends of mine. You don’t want to see a friend struggle, and I know they’re struggling big-time right now. But it is what it is. You’ve got to take responsibility for making decisions. Hopefully, they learned their lesson and move on.”
The Red Sox slugger admitted that he’s been tested between two to three times this season alone. The 36-year-old also revealed that one season, he was forced to undergo testing a whopping seven times.
“Everybody needs to be careful,” Ortiz said. “These guys that do the tests for us, they want to make sure that you watch everything they do, that you agree with everything that they are doing.
“They want to make sure that everything goes the right way, and I can tell you that because I’ve been tested more than 20 times [since 2004]. And they show you. It’s something that, me personally, I don’t have no doubt about our drug program.”
Based on Ortiz’s anecdotes, it’s a strict program indeed.
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