A bombshell report from ESPN on Wednesday is shedding new light on Alex Rodriguez’s involvement in one of MLB’s biggest scandals, including the lengths to which he went to beat baseball’s drug testing.
Rodriguez was drug tested 10 times while he was working with Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch, according to the report, but he never tested positive for failing a single drug test.
That was due in large part to advice Bosch had given A-Rod in order to avoid detection by the league.
When they first connected, one of Bosch’s first tips had been for Rodriguez to “use only midstream urine as a sample,” which had been advice other players had been given by Bosch.
That was only the tip of the iceberg.
Bosch told federal investigators he used a sophisticated, science-based approach so that Rodriguez could evade detection by MLB drug tests.
Bosch revealed his “extensive use” of peptides and human growth hormone and claimed to ESPN that it was his use of peptide synthesis that set him apart.
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He also told the outlet that growth hormone was a large part of his doping protocols, and he also tinkered with a designer peptide known as GHRP.
All of this was by design in order to trick the tests, according to Bosch.
“So, if they would have drawn blood for HGH, they wouldn’t have found it,” Bosch said. “Classic case of misdirection.”
from his arrest back in 2014 U.S. District Attorney's Office
Bosch also detailed that he and Rodriguez went to great lengths during the offseason to find ways to evade drug testing.
Bosch said he worked with Rodriguez to find the right dosage of performance-enhancing drugs.
It would start as early as 6 a.m., with Bosch arriving at the baseball star’s house to draw blood and then followed by rigorous documentation of what Rodriguez did during the day, saliva tests and an examination of how A-Rod “metabolized the medication.”
“Then, we would do a game day. So, OK, if it is a 1 o’clock game, you got to be there by 10. So, I would pretend I am the drug tester: ‘Piss here, please.’ And then I would take it to my lab under a fictitious name,” Bosch said. “Then, the lab results would come back. ‘OK, good, you’re clean.’
“So literally, if you follow the protocol, guess what — you are foolproof. Nothing is 100 percent guaranteed, but 99.9.”
Among the other noteworthy details from ESPN’s report was the fact that Rodriguez, during a January 2014 sit down with federal investigators, had ratted out several players who had worked with Bosch and that his cousin, Yuri Sucart Sr., had attempted to blackmail the former Yankees third baseman.
