For the third time in two weeks, the performance enhancing drug cloud has shown its ugly face over the game of baseball. Major League Baseball announced on Monday that Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin has been suspended eighty games after testing positive for a banned substance.
Dodgers RHP Josh Ravin suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, effective immediately.
— MLB (@MLB) May 2, 2016
The 28-year-old appeared in nine games for the Dodgers in 2015, but has not appeared in a game this season due to injuring his non-throwing arm in a car accident in March. Ravin released a statement through the MLBPA.
Josh Ravin released a statement through the MLBPA: pic.twitter.com/sULuodZWR3
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) May 2, 2016
“I have always tried to avoid doing anything in violation of the system and I take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions and my bad judgment,” Ravin said in the statement. “So, I have decided to accept the suspension and continue my ultimate goal to be able to pitch again in the major leagues.”
Ravin’s suspension comes on the heels of suspensions handed down to Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder/first baseman Chris Colabello. Gordon won the NL batting title in 2015, and Colabello had become a story of perseverance for making it to the big leagues after seven years in Independent Baseball. Those two, coupled with Mets P Jenrry Mejia’s lifetime ban in February for a third failed test, has caused players around the league to question if stiffer penalties are necessary.
“It’s apparent that guys are still trying to take things,” Cubs P Jake Arrieta told USA Today. “And I think it’s unfortunate. I think guys will continue to do so unless the penalties are stiffer. I personally don’t think that guys should get multiple chances when they fail a steroid test.”
Arrieta wasn’t the only one who voiced his opinion on the matter. Oakland Athletics P Sean Doolittle, who is also the team’s player rep, also felt strongly that stronger punishments are needed.
“Guys are pissed,” Doolittle told SFGate. “They want players to be more accountable for their actions. They want a more level playing field. They want punishments that will even further deter players from trying to cheat the system. They want penalties that might affect those players’ wallets even more than it does.”
Main Photo:
