Yankees: Performance enhancing drugs, and the baseball hall of shame

Unfortunately, a number of former Yanks have used PEDs to gain an advantage on the field.

Most recently, former Bomber Robinson Cano was slapped with an 80-game suspension following a positive test for furosemide, a diuretic that masks detection of other PEDs, in violation of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Although he denied knowing that it was a PED, he did not challenge the suspension.

Prior to 2009, Rodriquez maintained that he never used PEDs. Then in 2009, he admitted that he used steroids from 2001 to 2003 while he played with the Texas Rangers.

He was later caught using drugs as a Yankee, and he was banned for the entire 2014 season. Initially, he vehemently denied using PEDs, hired lawyers to defend him, and aggressively fought the ban. He eventually admitted that he had indeed used drugs as a Yankee.

Conseco, in a book published in 2005, accused Clemens of using steroids. Clemens’ name was mentioned 82 times in the Mitchell Report. Former Yanks Pettitte, who admitted that he once used a human growth hormone, was a close friend of Clemens. He said that Clemens’ trainer at the time, Brian McNamee, injected the star pitcher with PEDs. Conseco himself admitted to being a consistent user of PEDs.

Giambi also admitted to using steroids and a human growth hormone. He was identified by the FBI in the BALCO case along with Bonds.

Melky Cabrera, who played with the Yanks from 2005 to 2009, received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for high levels of testosterone while with the San Francisco Giants in 2012.

Francisco Cervelli was suspended 50 games as a result of the Biogenesis of America scandal in 2013. Although he maintained that he never received any drugs from Biogenesis, he didn’t fight the suspension.

Gary Sheffield admitted in 2004 to using a testosterone-based steroid that was given to him by BALCO after Bonds connected him to the laboratory. He said that he didn’t know that he was using a banned drug.

Chuck Knoblauch, a former Yanks second baseman, was identified in the Mitchell Report as a customer of Clemens’ trainer McNamee.