When former LA Dodgers manager Joe Torre reacted to Manny Ramirez's fertility drug suspension with disapproval

In 2009, Manny Ramirez became one of the All-Stars to be implicated in drug use. Ramirez was suspended for 50 games by a league that is rife with PED controversy.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre reacted to Ramirez's fertility drug suspension with disapproval. Torre said that Ramirez disappointed the team and himself.

As reported by ESPN in 2009, Torre said:

"The worst thing I think a person can be is a disappointment to somebody else, and Manny feels like a disappointment. He feels very badly. Right now he's trying to gather his thoughts."

The former LA Dodgers star initially did not accept taking steroids.

Manny Ramirez's 50-game drug suspension in 2009

After receiving a 50-game suspension, Manny Ramirez issued a statement and said:

"Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility.

"I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."

When he tested positive for the second time in his career two years later, he was once again suspended. He disputed claims that he had used performance-enhancing drugs after being kicked out of the Australian Baseball League.

As reported by Sports Boston in 2021, Ramirez said:

"If it was something drug-related, you think it would not have come out, and [stories about], 'This guy tests positive for this and that?' I just got released from the team because I got injured and I can't participate in the games. Like everybody, your emotions get down [when you're released], but you've got to move on.''

That same year, former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 season as he became one of the athletes involved in the Biogenesis scandal.

Los Angeles Dodgers v Philadelphia Phillies, Game 1

Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York City, Manny Ramirez has had one of baseball's most colorful careers after joining the Cleveland Indians in 1993. Fans in Boston, where he won World Series MVP honors in 2004, dismissed the dreadlocked outfielder's frequently contentious actions as "Manny being Manny."