Miguel Tejada Suspended 105 Games By MLB


Kansas City Royals infielder Miguel Tejada has been suspended for 105 games for violating the MLB drug policy.

Tejada, who is currently on the 60-day disabled list with a leg injury, reportedly twice tested positive for amphetamines, and the suspension takes effect immediately. He apparently was taking Adderal for attention deficit disorder.

According to Yahoo, “Because Tejada had previously tested positive under the league’s amphetamine policy, he was subject to a 25-game ban for a second positive, which was found in a test this season. A third positive, in close proximity to the second, called for an additional 80-game suspension, totaling a concurrent 105.” The Tejada suspension carries over for the first 64 games of 2014, assuming the infielder doesn’t retire in the meantime.

Tejada’s suspension is said to be the third-longest in MLB history, behind A-Rod’s 211-game ban which is on appeal, and the 119-game sanction levied on pitcher Steve Howe in 1992.

Tejada told ESPN that he had a doctor’s prescription for Adderal: “I admitted I made a mistake. But I want people to understand one thing: I wasn’t using a drug to take advantage on the field, or be stronger or hit more home runs. I’ve been using it for the past five years and had medical permission from MLB. But my last permit expired on April 15 and they didn’t gave me another. I knew that I was in risk of breaking the rules, but at the same time, I could not stop using the medicine because I suffer from ADD. It’s not a vice, it is a disease”

Miguel Tejada, 39, was on a one-year contract with the Royals and was hitting. 288 with three home runs and 20 RBI. A lifetime.285 hitter with about 2,400 hits, 1,301 RBI, and 307 home runs, Tejada been a member of seven MLB teams, and was the American League MVP while with the Oakland A’s in 2002.

In 2009, he pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to Congress about performance enhancing drug use in the big leagues and was put on probation for one year.

[Image credit: Keith Allison]

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