David Ortiz
The 2003 testing was agreed to and conducted only on the condition that the results would remain anonymous. Results from the tests, which met a threshold that led to the establishment of MLB’s current drug policy that includes random testing, were never destroyed and have been the subject of debate among fans and media about what should be done with the names from that period in which the substances were not yet outlawed under collective bargaining rules. The results have become a legal issue being contested by the MLB Players Association and the federal government. According to the Times, new information on Ortiz and Ramirez — the latter of whom, now with the Dodgers, returned earlier this month from a 50-game suspension for a subsequent violation of the game’s drug policy — sprang from interviews with persons connected to pending litigation. Earlier Thursday, prior to the posting of the story on the newspaper’s Web site, Ortiz responded to questions about the 2003 tests by telling a Times reporter, “I’m not talking about that anymore. I have no comment.”
