Projo Sports Blog

By Jay Weaver
Miami Herald

MIAMI - A Coral Gables physician linked in media reports to a federal inquiry into Manny Ramirez's use of a banned drug said Friday he has "never prescribed drugs of any kind whatsoever" to the Los Angeles Dodgers' slugger.

Dr. Pedro P. Bosch broke his silence two weeks after ESPN Sports published a story on its Web site saying the physician was under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for allegedly prescribing an illegal drug to Ramirez.

"ESPN even ran a clip showing me as I was leaving my office and getting into my car," Bosch said in a statement issued through a Miami publicist. "I consider the allegations of ESPN outrageous and slanderous, and issue this statement to correct the misrepresentations made by ESPN."

Bosch also said that Ramirez, who after a 50-game Major League Baseball suspension returned to the Dodgers' lineup this month, has never been a patient of his.

ESPN, based in Bristol, Conn., issued a statement, saying: "We stand by the original story which reported Dr. Bosch is being investigated by the DEA."

After the ESPN story broke, The Miami Herald confirmed that DEA agents are looking at whether Bosch, 71, wrote Ramirez a prescription for human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, as reported by the cable sports network.

HCG is on Major League Baseball's list of banned performance-enhancing substances.

Agents are also looking at whether the doctor's son, Anthony Bosch, 45, was the intermediary between his father and Ramirez. Ramirez owns a home in Pembroke Pines.

A federal law enforcement official confirmed that the DEA in Washington is conducting a review of the Ramirez matter, including the physician and his son.

But the DEA has not opened a formal criminal investigation, said the official, who could not be identified because the review is in the preliminary stages. Major League Baseball referred the Ramirez matter to the DEA.

Bosch, who has practiced medicine in Coral Gables for 33 years, said he has no knowledge of a DEA investigation involving himself, according to his statement.

He went on to say that he has never prescribed hCG - "not to Mr. Manny Ramirez, not to anyone else." "The allegations contained in the ESPN article are not only offensive but totally false," Bosch said.

The doctor's statement made no mention of his son, Anthony.

The prescription drug under scrutiny, hCG, is for female fertility, not a steroid. It often is used by athletes after a steroid cycle to restore the body's hormonal balance.

Ramirez's prescription for hCG was recorded on medical files turned over to Major League Baseball officials after tests showed elevated levels of testosterone in his body during spring training.

When Ramirez's suspension was announced, he released a statement: "Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy, that mistake is now my responsibility."

A representative for the DEA, Rusty Payne, said he could not confirm or deny whether the agency is investigating the Ramirez matter.

 Tags  Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez Pedro Bosch

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