As anticipated, Major League Baseball suspended 12 players on Monday for their involvement with Tony Bosch’s Biogenesis clinic. The list of 12 who accepted their suspensions was first reported by FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Here are the names:
-Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz
-Detroit Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta
-Philadelphia Phillies reliever Antonio Bastardo
-New York Mets outfielder Jordany Valdespin
-San Diego Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera
-Free-agent pitcher Jordan Norberto
-New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli
-Seattle Mariners catcher Jesus Montero
-Mets outfielder Cesar Puello
-Houton Astros reliever Sergio Escalona
-Padres reliever Fautino De Los Santos
-Yankees outfielder Fernando Martinez
Alex Rodriguez is the only player who refused to accept a deal, and his suspension is expected to be announced later on Monday. The three surprise names on the list were Bastardo, Valdespin and Escalona.
Shortly after the suspensions were announced, former MLB reliever Dan Meyer called out Bastardo on Twitter:
Hey Antonio Bastardo, remember when we competed for a job in 2011. Thx alot. #ahole
— Dan Meyer (@Dmy53) August 5, 2013
Meyer was a former Atlanta Braves, Oakland A’s and Marlins pitcher. He was a former first-round pick who had a lot of potential but never really panned out. Meyer retired before the 2011 season after he was apparently beaten out by Bastardo, who once tried to fight a squat machine in the weight room, for a spot in the Phillies’ bullpen. Now that Bastardo has been suspended for performance-enhancing drug use, Meyer obviously feels cheated.
He won’t be the only one. There will be plenty of other players who feel the same way as Meyer. While we as fans criticize players for cheating, we tend to overlook the fact that their cheating has taken money away from people who choose to play the game the right way.
