New York Mets Roster News 2016: Jenrry Mejia Makes Wrong Kind of History with Lifetime Ban
There is no better way to screw oneself up than failing a doping test for a third straight time — and that is what New York Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia did, forcing the MLB to hand a lifetime ban on him. The ban also happens to be the most severe punishment the league has imposed based on its anti-doping program.
Mejia will officially be ending his career in professional baseball, at least in the MLB, with the worst kind of distinction possible: being the first-ever player to get a permanent ban due to drugs. While the sport of baseball has had its share of famous personalities who were involved in drug-related issues and scandals — Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds, to name a few — not a single one of them received a lifetime ban due to three failed tests.
In all three cases, he was caught with anabolic steroids in his system. For those who aren't familiar with them, those substances are quite easy to detect in urine sampling.
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Two of those positive tests on Mejia revealed that he was taking boldenone, a type of banned substance that is old enough that it was first discovered used in horse racing several years back. It's just too outrageous to think about how a professional athlete like him could have been innocent of taking those substances.
Mejia could have been a great pitcher with a pretty incredible story to tell. He grew up in poverty in his native Dominican Republic, where he once worked as a shoe shiner, earning less than $10 every day. After signing with the Mets in 2010, he became an encouraging figure and good example for millions of kids in his country to work hard to become an established athlete. But the drug scandal is likely going to put a dent on his reputation in his own country.
Although he was supposed to make $2.6 million last season, he couldn't collect it because of the suspensions. At this point, the only remaining option he has is to make an appeal, but it still means he will be subjected to the minimum ban of two years, per league policy.
