A-Rod Hit With 211 Game Suspension, But Will Appeal
And he’ll be in the lineup tonight.
(Photo: Mike Carlson/Landov | Licensed to Alpha Media Group 2013)
Alex Rodriguez, the one-time face of the league-turned-perpetual thorn in baseball’s side, has been hit with a 214 game suspension for his role and implication in the Biogenesis affair, the longest suspension ever assessed for PED involvement, as compared to the other 12 players suspended for 50 games today.
The suspension comes two weeks after former NL MVP Ryan Braun’s plea knocked him out for the remainder of the season – likely a warning to other implicated players to serve their time without a fight. A warning that A-Rod reportedly had to heed, or face a ban for life. However, that lifetime ban turned out to posturing on the MLB’s part, and when A-Rod called Bug Selig’s bluff the league immediately backed off that idea and made sure that the slugger had his due process.
A-Rod has a team of high-powered lawyers working on the case – the benefit of earning more than $350 million in your career – and they may have some ground to stand on. According to the collective bargaining agreement, a player in violation of the drug policy would get 50 games his first offense, 100 his second, and a lifetime ban on his third. However Bud Selig, who would love to give A-Rod the actual death penalty if he had that kind of power, will do his best to muddy the waters and make sure A-Rod spends every single day possible out of baseball.
It seems like even the Yankees were hoping to be rid of Rodriguez, and while it looks like he’ll live to see the field again, the significant suspension could still cost him a chunk of change, a number of fans, and a majority of his legacy.
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