Orioles All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts is unlikely to be suspended after admitting he took steroids once in 2003, according to sources close to the situation.
That?s because Roberts? offense is retroactive to the year it took place. In 2003, players who found in violation of Major League Baseball?s drug policy were not suspended, but had to undergo counseling. But in 2004, first-time offenders were suspended 15 games ? a number increased to 50 games in 2006.
In a statement first issued to The Sun, Roberts wrote: “In 2003, when I took one shot of steroids, I immediately realized that this was not what I stood for or anything that I wanted to continue doing. I never used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing drugs prior to or since that single incident.”
Roberts and agent Mark Pieper did not return phone calls Tuesday afternoon.
Orioles president Andy MacPhail simply said: “I take Brian at his word.”
If Roberts? admission is accurate, the steroids did not contribute to his jump from an average player to an All-Star. About two years after Roberts claimed he injected himself with a single dose of steroids, he earned his first All-Star selection during a season in which he posted career-highs in home runs (18) and runs batted-in (73).
In an average season during his seven-year career, Roberts hits 10 home runs with 61 RBIs. In 2003, he hit five home runs, and in ?04, he hit four with 50 doubles. His 18 homers during his breakout 2005 season nearly doubled his total from his first four seasons combined.
Roberts? name came up in performance-enhancing drug investigator George Mitchell?s report, based upon the allegations by former teammate Larry Bigbie, who was drafted the same year and followed a nearly identical promotional track through the Orioles farm system as Roberts.
Roberts? teammate and close friend Jay Gibbons admitted two weeks ago he had taken human growth hormone, and Major League Baseball levied a 15-game suspension on the Orioles veteran. Gibbons? 15-game suspension means he either failed a drug test prior to 2004 or did hGH after 2003.
In a statement released late Saturday night, the Orioles wrote they “support Major League Baseball?s efforts to institute the most comprehensive testing program of any professional sport and one that strives to eliminate the use of performance enhancing drugs from all of baseball.”
YOUR TAKE
What are your thoughts on Brian Roberts, Jay Gibbons and the 17 former Orioles in investigator George Mitchell?s report? Contact Sean Welsh via e-mail at [email protected] or phone at 410-878-6177 with your thoughts.
