Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for one of the oldest and easily detected steroids, two New York newspapers reported in today's editions, casting doubt upon Palmeiro's suggestion that he was tripped up by a tainted dietary supplement.
The Baltimore Oriole slugger tested positive for stanolozol, the New York Times and Newsday reported, citing unidentified sources. The steroid is most notably associated with Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter whose positive drug test cost him his gold medal in the 100 meters at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Palmeiro, one of four players in major league history with 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, was suspended on Monday for violating baseball's new steroid policy. He said Monday that he had "never intentionally used steroids" and said he "wasn't able to explain ... how the banned substance entered my body."
Stanolozol, also known under the brand name of Winstrol, can be taken in pill form or via injection, said Don Catlin, head of the anti-doping laboratory at UCLA, which conducts Olympic-style drug testing.
Catlin said supplement contamination is occasionally associated with nandrolone, another steroid, but rarely with stanolozol. "It's certainly not at all common, nothing like nandrolone," Catlin said.
Gary Wadler, a New York University medical school professor and a noted steroid expert, told Newsday: "If it's stanolozol, it was a deliberate act. The likelihood of sabotage is remote and improbable."
In his book "Juiced," Jose Canseco wrote that Palmeiro had used Winstrol when the two played together with the Texas Rangers. In testimony before Congress on March 17, Palmeiro said, "I have never used steroids. Period." and added, "The reference to me in Mr. Canseco's book is absolutely false."
The injectable form of stanolozol could be detected in the body for as long as three to four weeks, Catlin said. The steroid has been readily detectable in drug tests for two decades.
"It's a very straightforward kind of case," Catlin said.
The Baltimore Orioles arrived in Anaheim on Tuesday. Palmeiro, their suspended slugger, left the team and returned to his Texas home.
"We support him," Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada said. "We're going to wait for him to come back and treat him the same way."
Tejada said the positive test surprised him.
"It's not only me -- everybody is surprised," he said. "Anybody can make a mistake in this game. He just made a mistake. He didn't kill anybody."
