At 44, former Chicago White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez became the oldest player ever to appear in the World Baseball Classic last month when he suited up for Team Cuba.
Now that distinction appears to be tainted as the nine-year MLB veteran has tested positive for anabolic steroids, according to the International Testing Agency (ITA).
The ITA informed Ramirez that a sample he took during the tournament was later found to contain ‘metabolites of mesterolone, metandienone, oxandrolone and stanozolol,’ all of which are banned.
These substances are ‘associated with promoting rapid muscle growth, increased strength and enhanced physical performance,’ according to the agency.
Ramirez, who weighed around 180 pounds with the White Sox, does have the right to challenge the provisional suspension.
He played in only one game for Cuba in the WBC as Team Asere failed to make it out of the group stage. Ramirez struck out in his only at bat.Â
At 44, former Chicago White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez became the oldest player ever to appear in the World Baseball Classic last month when he suited up for Team Cuba
Ramirez played in only one game for Cuba in the WBC as Team Cuba failed to advance
Ramirez broke into the majors in 2008 as a member of the Chicago White SoxÂ
The ban likely won’t prove too consequential for Ramirez, who last played in the majors in 2016 as a member of the Padres and Rays. In fact, Baseball Reference has no record of him playing in any organized league since 2018, when he was with the Diablos Rojos in the Mexican League.
Ramirez was a member of the Cuban team that won gold at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics.
A native of Pinar del Rio, on the west side of Cuba’s southern coast, Ramirez immigrated to the Dominican Republic in 2007 before auditioning for MLB teams and ultimately signing a four-year, $8 million deal to play for the White Sox.
He’d make his debut in March of 2008, playing center field, and got his first hit in early April. He’d go on to have several successful seasons, both in the infield and outfield, before his MLB career ended in 2016.
His best year came in 2014 when he was named an American League All-Star en route to a solid .273 average and .408 slugging percentage.
