Saying the last seven months have been a “nightmare,” Alex Rodriguez spoke to reporters on Monday hours after Major League Baseball suspended him for 211 games and said he was “fighting for his life” and did not deny that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez said simply that there would be a “forum” and a “time and a place” to have those discussions.
“We’ll have a forum to discuss all of that and we’ll talk about it then,” Rodriguez said when asked why he would not deny that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez will likely be able to play the rest of the season since the case is expected to go to an arbiter in November.
Rodriguez said he was “thrilled and humbled to have the opportunity to put on this uniform again” and repeatedly said, “at some point, we’ll sit in front of an arbiter and give our case.”
Rodriguez will bat fourth in the Yankees lineup on Monday against the Chicago White Sox and play third base. His suspension begins on Thursday, but MLB said Rodriguez is allowed to play until the completion of his appeals process.
“For me it’ll be business as usual,” Rodriguez said when asked how it would feel like to be back on the field. He said he felt like his first time at Fenway Park as a rookie in 1994.
Rodriguez also said he has seen all of the evidence that Major League Baseball has on him, and also said he had no regrets about comments he made on Friday in which Rodriguez accused Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees of colluding to void his contract or give him a lifetime ban.
Major League Baseball reportedly has evidence that Rodriguez not only extensively used performance-enhancing drugs, but also obstructed its investigation after the Miami New Times broke the Biogenesis Clinic story in January.
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