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| Nomar: ‘This List Has Become an Absolute Joke | 07.30.09 at 8:02 pm ET |
In 2002, one of the most vocal opponents of the concessions made by the Major League Baseball Players Association was then-Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. The shortstop expressed concern about whether or not testing that was supposed to be confidential would truly remain so. That concern seemed to gain further credence on Thursday when former Sox teammate David Ortiz’ positive test in 2003 (which was used to determine whether enough players tested positive to create a permanent testing program with penalties) was reported by the New York Times, citing lawyers familiar with the results.
Garciaparra was livid about the disclosure. Here are some of his comments:
“It’s so hard to even understand, I mean what is that list? This has become an absolute joke, I think it’s just a crock, I don’t even believe the list, it’s kind of ridiculous when you have a list like that and it doesn’t go through the proper channels. What is the truth about something like that? That’s just unfair.
“I know David and I know the guy is just so solid as an individual and cares about the game and what he does, I just hope he’s doing alright.”
“There’s a lot of guys having to deal with accusations and that’s unfortunate. I don’t know the truth. The only thing for me is that I don’t agree with people taking them at all by any means.”
“You have guys who are taking regular supplements at GNC and getting 50-game suspensions. That’s unfortunate. There’s a big difference between being a cheater and being irresponsible, they seem to put the same label on both.”
“There are flaws but it’s getting better. It’s not perfect but I think it’s headed in the right direction for sure. I think we all as individuals and fans of the game have to be aware of that, it’s not going to be perfect and we shouldn’t cast somebody a certain way until we hear the whole story.”
“There’s process that’s supposed to go on, if there’s a suspension a guy can appeal it and there’s a big process to see what happened, did any of those guys [listed] even have that chance? I guarantee they didn’t. It was a list that was supposed to be anonymous and now they’re saying it’s not. They didn’t have a process.”
“There was supposed to be just a number. I knew guys who didn’t take the test just to be positive because they wanted testing. Are those guys on the list? I don’t know. There are literally guys who said, ‘I’m not taking it, go ahead and put me on there because I want the number to be above [five percent], if those guys are on the list?’ How about that? People don’t talk about that.”
“I think there’s a bigger issue about a grand jury and stuff being leaked like that, I think we have a bigger problem there than steroids in baseball, that’s a lot bigger than stuff that’s supposed to be sealed and confidential. It’s not anymore. That hurts in all walks of life.”
“Then you’re going to have 100 guys trying to tell a story, but is this [list] even legit? I don’t know, that’s what you question. It’s one of those things where if it was in court it would probably be tossed out and not allowed.”
4 Comments for “Nomar: ‘This List Has Become an Absolute Joke”
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July 31st, 2009 at 9:44 am
Nomar is on the list which is why he’s so nervous and trying to make it seem as if the list is a joke or something. Can’t wait till his name is released and the tears he will cry then.
July 31st, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Enough is enough, who cares who’s on the list. As a baseball fan it’s about the game and the drama of New York Yankees and the Boston Redsox going into the ninth tied. That what’s great about baseball because for a couple of hours we can be whisked away from our problem and find joy in a child’s game.
I am a fan of the Redsox Nation and proud to be there since Joe Morgan broke my heart as a 7 year old since 1975. I played the game all the way through college and Pete Rose remains still in my mind one of the greatest players who ever played the game because of his undying will to win.
My second favorite team in the New York Yankee…, I love to see them lose. But, I think that Jeter and Rivera are great and it has been a great honor to watch their work. Why are we worried about Steroids? The guys who took them are the ones that have to worry as the owners that spend there money on false goods.
Every generation and every sport has issues. Who cares? Time to just have fun and enjoy the game.
Enough is enough, move on.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:15 pm
i think all this crap about the list is just to dis credit and damaging to baseballand tere is nothing cool about that. its gotin to the point that players are under the microscope and that is a challenge all by itself. never mind the pressure of the game its gotten to the point that its like a freakin circus its a f——g joke and that is why baseball has one less fan.
August 1st, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Nomar was right that nobody could trust it would be anonymous and we don’t know who the source is of these list leaks or what substances the leaked failures were. Ortiz could be no more a cheat than JC Romero with bad GNC supplement or a massive cheat like Manny. However the reason it is like this is because the player’s union played legal games to try and knock out failed tests to avoid a testing program. Cheating lawyers helping players cheat then Feds grabbed the list for BALCO type cases and this is all messed up now.