Sports Illustrated is reporting
that Yankees megastar Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. Multiple sources are telling the magazine that Rodriguez's name appears on a list of players whose lab results from that year had been seized by federal agents as part of the BALCO investigation. 2003 was the final season A-Rod played for the Texas Rangers before coming to the Yankees, the year he won his first MVP award and his third consecutive home run crown. (It also happens to be the last season the Yankees went to the World Series.)
When asked about the results earlier in the week, A-Rod told a reporter, "You'll have to talk to the union. I'm not saying anything." Union reps did not respond to SI phone calls. There are 104 players on the list who tested positive in 2003—more than 5% of the league. It was the last year before it became a punishable offense.
Rodriguez tested positive for Primobolon which SI says "improves strength and maintains lean muscle with minimal bulk development...and has relatively few side effects." Players began turning to Primobolon because it was more difficult to detect since it passes through the system quicker than other drugs.
Among the controversy surrounding Joe Torre's recent criticism of A-Rod in the new book "The Yankee Years," one testimonial Torre has continually come back to is that he has never seen a ball player who trains to the degree that Rodriguez does.
