We know that steroids in baseball is a problem. Unfortunately, many players do not want to play fair. They are ready to do anything to become faster and stronger. Therefore, many baseball players use anabolics and medicines to increase performance. As far as we know, now the steroid problem exists in baseball but it’s not as huge as it was in the past.

Short Background of Ivan Rodriguez

The future athlete was born and raised in Puerto Rico. His father, named Juan, worked for a USA based construction firm (also he was a coach), and his mother, Eva, was a teacher in an elementary school. The guy’s first occupation involved delivering flyers in Puerto Rico supermarkets. Ivan learned baseball principles at an early age. The little boy played for Little League from the age of 8.

Career of Ivan Rodriguez

In July 1988, Ivan signed a sports agreement as a free agent with Texas Rangers and initially appeared in the team’s farming clubs, including Tulsa Drillers, representing the Double-A level, as well as a professional baseball league in Puerto Rico. The sportsman his debut in Major League Baseball on July 20, 1991 in a match against Chicago White Sox, in which he showed incredible results. In the vote for the best Rookie award he took fourth place. A year later he appeared for the 1st time in the All-Star match. On July 28, 1994, he was a catcher in a match in which Kenny Rogers played 14th in the history of the Major League. It was a good game. In 1999, having an average of 0.332 hits and a slugging percentage of 0.558, getting 35 home runs, including 113 RBI, he was selected MVP American League, that is he achieved Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award.

In January 2003, he passed as a free agent for the Florida Marlins. The player performed for this team in the World Series. Marlins defeated the NY Yanks soon after it.

In February 2004, the player signed a four-year contract with Detroit Tigers worth 40 million dollars. Two years later he appeared in the World Series, in which Tigers succumbed to St. Louis Cardinals in five games. On July 12, 2007, he was a catcher in a match in which Justin Verlander played a no-hitter. The famous sportsman also performed in the NY Yanks, Houston Astros, Rangers & Washington Nationals. He finished his career in 2011. He was 39.

Ivan’s Key Career Facts

Here are some interesting facts from Ivan’s career history:

1) Rodriguez was the fourth Puerto Rican who got into the Hall of Fame;

2) the athlete made his debut in MLB on June 20, 1991 at the age of 19, having spent only 2.5 years on the “farm”. In his entire career, he never played at Triple-A;

3) the athlete in 1991 finished fourth in voting for the title ROY AL, not having received any winning place. Jeff Bagwell this year was recognized as a rookie in the NL;

4) from 1992 to 2001, ten years in a row won the Gold Glove, repeating the achievement of Johnny Bench;

5) Ivan six times was a figurant in the lists of nominees for MVP. Only once he was a real candidate for the award, it was in 1999. In the same year, Ivan collected 252 votes and seven first places, and, as a result, became MVP. Rodriguez took the award from Pedro Martinez who received 239 votes and eight first places;

6) The sportsman started his career in a small farm in Texas. Before the arrival of the Puerto Rican, this Texas team was the team of the 2nd division. In fact, it was a baseball team in the football state. With Rodriguez, Texas first won the division selection – in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 1999. Unfortunately, the team all three times lost already in the first stage of the playoffs, and in all cases a winner was NY Yankees team. But it was the era of Yanks. But it was the beginning of an era when Texas from a small provincial team took a step towards the status of one of the main AL teams in which it is now;

7) Texas was the main team in the life of the athlete, but he achieved the main success with Florida. According to experts, after 2000-2002, no one else believed in Rodriguez. Therefore, he signed a good sports agreement with Florida only in late January. As it turned out, this was the beginning of the main adventure in Ivan’s life. Florida after a sudden victory in WS-97 for five years played poorly, it began the 2003 season in the usual rhythm, having received only 16 wins in 38 games. However, later this team began to show incredible results, Rodriguez became daddy and the true leader of that team. Only for the 2003 season and the fairy tale of this year he was to be included in the Hall of Fame. Rodriguez was a catcher in the sixth and decisive game of Miami with NY Yankees in the final of WS-03.

Ivan Rodriguez and Steroid Speculations

The famous sportsman was the object of steroid speculations throughout his career. Some people always suspect that some famous player accepts illegal medicines because they do not believe that someone can be incredibly successful without using dope.

In 2017 Ivan Rodriguez released a book called “They Call Me Pudge”. In the first chapter, he wrote that he never used anabolic steroids and other prohibited medications. He said that he constantly trained and adhered to a healthy lifestyle. This allowed him to be in permanently good physical shape. Some people believe Ivan and some do not. This is due to the fact that many athletes actually use steroids but tell everyone that they do not do it. It is known that for the use of steroids there is a responsibility, therefore they do not want to turn themselves in.

Possible Steroid Cycle of Ivan Rodriguez

We have no real evidence that Ivan Rodriguez ever used steroids. However, some people think he did. We can assume the following steroid cycle of Ivan Rodriguez:

• Trenbolone Acetate. Perhaps Ivan used this medication in the form of steroid pills, since the oral form of the drug is quickly excreted from the body. This allows baseball players to bypass anti-doping tests. Acetate is the most common form of Trenbolone. This ether is characterized by a minimum period of validity, is postponed to the fat depot. The active component begins to enter the blood, gradually splitting off. The high frequency of injection is due to a short half-life, which may not be very convenient for beginners. Acetate is required to be administered in a dosage from 50 ml to 100 ml every other day.
• Testosterone. Perhaps it was testosterone propionate, which belongs to illegal steroids often used by both novices and athlete professionals. Testosterone propionate is one of the most popular anabolic steroids used in bodybuilding. It promotes the rapid collection of muscle mass and increased strength. Due to some features, this steroid is also used during cutting. As the name implies, this steroid is a testosterone ester.
• Deca Durabolin. It’s no secret that the drug nandrolone decanoate is known among bodybuilders as Deca. This steroid is a long-known and quite popular anabolic, which has not lost its relevance among athletes. The thing is that it is very effective, especially if you need to gain muscle mass. The drug is characterized by high duration of the action, and therefore it is relevant for prolonged steroid cycles. The active effect of the steroid begins only after a two-week period after the start of the course (so the athlete may have used it in large intervals between games). It gives the following useful effects: a noticeable increase in muscle mass; anabolic index within 150 percent of testosterone; slight aromatization effect; minimal androgenic activity, which is not more than thirty per cent (30%) of testosterone.

This steroid cycle of Ivan Rodriguez is our estimate. We have no real evidence and our opinion is based on statistical data on the use of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs by other baseball players, such as Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds.