Pedro Martinez has bizarre take on Fernando Tatis PED suspension

Jul 20, 2019; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez arrives at the National Baseball Hall of Fame during the Parade of Legends. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Fernando Tatis Jr. was suspended 80 games for using performance-enhancing drugs, and a Hall of Fame pitcher believes that part of the blame rests with MLB.

The MLB commissioner’s office announced on Friday that Tatis would be suspended after testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid Clostebol. His suspension will last through the remainder of the 2022 season and will force him to miss the beginning of the 2023 season.

During Tuesday’s “MLB on TBS Tuesday Night” show, Pedro Martinez said that he was disappointed in Tatis. But Martinez also blamed MLB for not providing enough education to players in the Dominican Republic before coming to the United States on how to avoid ending up in Tatis’ situation.

“Major League Baseball should’ve taken one percent of what they do, and they have all 30 academies in the Dominican Republic, and they don’t do enough to educate those kids about medications, trainers,” Martinez said. “We don’t have any ambassador in the Dominican Republic telling those players what to do, unless you do it willingly like I sometimes do.”

Martinez was not the only former player to assign partial blame to MLB. David Ortiz said on Monday that MLB did not handle the situation correctly.

While Tatis’ family, as well as former players from the Dominican Republic like Martinez and Ortiz, have come to his defense, the same cannot be said for some of his San Diego Padres teammates.