Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz Tested Positive in 2003

According to the New York Times, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are two more names listed among the 104 MLB players, who have tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003. Both were teammates for the Boston Red Sox for many years, and helped them win World Series Championships in 2004 and 2007. For many years, Ramirez and Ortiz were the best 1-2 punch in all of baseball and two of the most feared hitters. Ramirez is now on the Los Angeles Dodgers while Ortiz is still with the Boston Red Sox.

Not many people were surprised that Manny Ramirez's name was on the list. This was not the first time that Ramirez was caught in a positive test. A few months ago, Ramirez was suspended 50 games because Major League Baseball had proof that he used hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, a female fertility drug that is used to restart a body's natural testosterone production as it comes off a steroid cycle. When Ramirez returned, he was brought back with open arms from the Los Angeles community, even though other teams' fans were more critical of him.

Ortiz was asked about the drug test before an afternoon game between the Red Sox and the Athletics, and he replied: "I'm not talking about that anymore, I have no comment." The positive drug test on "Big Papi" has to be the more shocking of the two. Previous to this positive test, there have been no other indication that Ortiz had used PED's in the past, and has never had a positive test. Most columnists and fans were shocked with Ortiz.

Now that Ramirez and Ortiz have been named on the list, it will hurt their chances of getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It has tarnished both their legacies, and no matter what they do in the future, people will remember them for what they did off the field and not on the field. Some of the best players in baseball won't get into the Hall of Fame because of allegation of performance-enhancing drugs and steroids. The two prime examples are Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire. Bonds broke the single-season home run record and has the most home runs in history, and McGwire broke Maris' single-season home run record but neither one will ever get into Cooperstown because of the allegations.

Some of the other baseball superstars who have been named on the list have been Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez acknowledged having used banned substances from 2001 to 2003, but not since then. There are still plenty of players who have not been named yet, who are on the list.

The list was supposed to be kept confidential and done anonymously but new names keep getting leaked. Major League Baseball has to decide whether to destroy the list or name all the players who are on the list. I think that the MLB should just name all 104 players who are on the list. There were no penalties for a positive test in 2003. Penalties began in 2004, and suspensions for a first positive test started in 2005.