Justin Verlander has had it up to here with performance-enhancing drugs.
The Detroit Tigers pitcher has spoken out in the past against PED users in baseball, and it didn’t take him long to react the news that Miami Marlins infielder and reigning National League batting champion Dee Gordon was suspended 80 games for testing positive for PEDs.
The news of Gordon’s suspension broke in the wee hours of Friday morning with the MLB press release going out at 1:18 a.m.
Literally 15 minutes later, Verlander fired off this relatively NSFW tweet about PEDs in baseball. More specifically, Verlander’s anger stemmed from the fact Gordon was able to play while he appealed the suspension.
Gordon eventually dropped his appeal, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown. That’s when MLB announced the suspension.
Just last week, Verlander told FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the testing system needs overhauling and there should be stiffer penalties.
“How do you clean it up? Maybe more severe punishments,” Verlander told Rosenthal.
“If there is proven intent to cheat — i.e. you tested positive or it’s found that you were taking an illegal substance, PEDs, and trying to cheat the system, trying to go around it — I think it should be a ban from baseball.
“It’s too easy for guys to serve a suspension and come back and still get paid.”
Speaking of getting paid, Gordon signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Marlins in the offseason.
Thumbnail photo via Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports Images
