Arroyo: ‘Wouldn’t be surprised’ to be on drug list

[3arod13]

CINCINNATI (AP)—Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo(notes) admits he took amphetamines. Whether that put him on the 2003 list of players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, he says he’s not sure.
“What I said was anybody could be on the list,” Arroyo said before Cincinnati played Colorado on Friday night. “I said I wouldn’t be surprised if I was.”

Arroyo, who played for the Boston Red Sox from 2003-05, was quoted in Friday’s Boston Herald as saying he took androstenedione and amphetamines, which could have produced positive tests.
Any player who tested positive was supposed to be informed by the players’ union, and Arroyo said he was never notified.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported David Ortiz(notes) and Manny Ramirez(notes) were among the 104 players whose names were on the list. Arroyo played with them in Boston.


“Before (2004), none of us paid attention to what we took,” said Arroyo, who said he started to take androstenedione in 1998, when he was in Pittsburgh’s farm system. “That’s why I said anybody could be on the list. Back then, nobody knew what was in the stuff, because the (Federal Drug Administration) wasn’t regulating all of it.”

Androstenedione was banned in 2004 and amphetamines in 2006. Arroyo didn’t see any measurable boost on the field from what he was taking, but he believed they still helped.

“I’d take anything I can get from (a nutrition store) if you tell me it would make me better on the field,” said Arroyo, acquired by the Reds in spring training of 2006. “Of course I took an (amphetamine) on a day game—a 12:35 game pitching against Johan Santana(notes).”

The 32-year-old Arroyo said he now limits his intake to legal supplements such as protein, vitamins, ginseng and a caffeine drink he says he learned about from former teammate Curt Schilling(notes).

“There’s plenty of things that guys would like to take that we’re not allowed to any more,” he said. “Honestly, I would love to not take any of the supplements I take. I’d love to wake up in the morning and have some fruit and a bowl of cereal and have a good lunch, and maybe take a multivitamin for the day, but the reality is, I’m probably not going to be as good a major league pitcher if I do.”

[3arod13]

“Before (2004), none of us paid attention to what we took,” said Arroyo, who said he started to take androstenedione in 1998, when he was in Pittsburgh’s farm system. “That’s why I said anybody could be on the list. Back then, nobody knew what was in the stuff, because the (Federal Drug Administration) wasn’t regulating all of it.”

[Lokee]

I like his approach in being honest.

[3arod13]

“Before (2004), none of us paid attention to what we took,” said Arroyo, who said he started to take androstenedione in 1998, when he was in Pittsburgh’s farm system. “That’s why I said anybody could be on the list. Back then, nobody knew what was in the stuff, because the (Federal Drug Administration) wasn’t regulating all of it.”

This is exactly why those who tested positive in 2003 shouldn't be the only ones singled out, because testing positive. This has been going on well before, so here are many more players out there who did, and will hide, because there's no list to single them out.

[yanks12025]

How do we know he aint lieing about what he took back then. He could be saying this stuff because he knows his name is on the list and dont want to be tainted like the others.

[corsairs22]

How do we know he aint lieing about what he took back then. He could be saying this stuff because he knows his name is on the list and dont want to be tainted like the others.

sure thing. and he may have figured out that claiming to have only vague recollections about what he was taking, including one borderline supplement, is the most innocent alibi available.

[GoTigers]

I think he's being taken out of context. He said he'd take anything you could buy at a nutritional store. Back then you could buy androstein, and other things that were not regulated at a gnc. You couldn't buy hgh or the clear from those stores. The guys on the list for ped's knew exactly what they were doing, with the back door deals and shady doctors.

[pjbmd]

looks like preemptive damage control to me!
arroyo's strategy should spread through the league like wildfire--other players should pay attention
this way the intermittent release of names would stop

[Jags Fan Dan]

I think you guys with conspiracy theories about what he said and why he said it are looking a little too hard. What does this guy have to protect? He is NOT going to the Hall of Fame, whether he juiced or didn't juice. I think the point he is making is that a lot of guys were taking a lot of stuff because they did not think much about what they were doing and whether it was morally wrong or not. He is syaing they had been able to do it before, so what's the big deal. I take what he is saying as that he was looking for an edge over the next guy.

[suicide_squeeze]

I think you guys with conspiracy theories about what he said and why he said it are looking a little too hard. What does this guy have to protect? He is NOT going to the Hall of Fame, whether he juiced or didn't juice. I think the point he is making is that a lot of guys were taking a lot of stuff because they did not think much about what they were doing and whether it was morally wrong or not. He is syaing they had been able to do it before, so what's the big deal. I take what he is saying as that he was looking for an edge over the next guy.

Agreed Dan, but I also agree with Jimmy (GoTigers).

The serious cheaters....the ones making the conscious decision to use obscure doctors, and hidden prescriptions, and designer steroids made to be undetectible.....those actions speak for themselves. Those are the guys everybody's up in arms about. They were looking to cheat the game, the history, the system, for personal fame and fortune. That's not right, and they should be treated harshly when exposed.