Manny Ramirez has shockingly announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. The news came in a press release from MLB, and it comes after Ramirez started off the season 1-for-17 with the Rays. I’m sure getting booed by Rays fans to start the year didn’t help his confidence, but Manny’s retirement is almost certainly related to a second drug-related offense.
Manny missed 50 games with the Dodgers for testing positive for a fertility drug in 2009, and a second suspension would have cost him 100 games, which would take care of most of the season.
LA Times writer Bill Shaikin wrote on twitter that “Manny tested positive for banned substance, would have been facing 100-game suspension had he not retired (or succeeded in appeal).”
The Rays said in a statement “We are obviously surprised and disappointed by this news. We will have no further comment on this matter.”
The news of his second drug-related offense likely will permanently harm his reputation. Many people were forgiving after his first offense, but a second offense shows a blatant disregard for the rules and integrity of the game, and it further proves he felt he could not play well without performance enhancers. If he tested positive a second time, one has to wonder how long he was using to begin with before finally being caught.
