HCG not found in Manny Ramirez drug test

No trace of the medicine HCG was found in Manny Ramirez's system at the time of his drug test, three sources with specific knowledge of the results have told The Times. It was a prescription for that drug, which is a non-steroid but banned by Major League Baseball, that led to the outfielder's 50-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy.

One of the sources with knowledge of the test results confirmed that the outfielder's sample was flagged for having an unusually elevated synthetic testosterone level, more than four times that of the average male. Sources also said that MLB's decision to move to suspend Ramirez would have happened only if the report showed a banned substance. Anti-doping experts said the absence of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), coupled with the league's action, indicated that the Dodgers' outfielder used steroids.

MLB officials had begun the process of disciplining Ramirez for a positive drug test when they obtained his medical records that contained a prescription for HCG. At that point he was suspended for "just cause" based on "non-analytical evidence" and for which a "therapeutic use" exemption was available but never requested. Once MLB had the prescription, Ramirez dropped the appeal and was suspended.

All the sources asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the test results.

Attempts to reach Ramirez were unsuccessful. The Dodgers referred all questions to MLB.

At the time his suspension was announced, Ramirez said in a statement that his doctor, "gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me." Ramirez has not publicly commented since but is expected to meet with his teammates this weekend when the Dodgers are in Miami, where he has a home.

Before the prescription came to light, Ramirez's representatives had been expected to argue on appeal that the elevated testosterone level was caused by DHEA, said authorities familiar with MLB's testing procedure, who also asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The World Anti-Doping Agency considers DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) a steroid and has banned it but baseball hasn't.

These authorities, however, said the league would not have considered a test a positive if it were known that DHEA caused the spike in a player's testosterone-epitestosterone (T-E) ratio, a key marker relied upon by international doping authorities to establish if an athlete is using steroids.