Aug 3, 2007 8:21 pm US/Mountain
Tigers' Perez Suspended For 80 Games
DETROIT (CBS) ―
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Neifi Perez tested positive for a third time for banned stimulants on Aug. 3, 2007.
Elsa/Getty Images
Tigers infielder Neifi Perez was suspended for 80 games Friday after testing positive for a third time for a banned stimulant, a penalty that finishes his season.
Perez was suspended for 25 games on July 6 when he tested positive for a second time. Under baseball's labor contract, a player who tests positive for the first time is sent for counseling.
Perez has been the only player suspended by baseball for stimulants since they were banned before the 2006 season. His first suspension had been set to end after Friday night's game against the Chicago White Sox.
Under baseball's labor contract, a player cannot be disciplined multiple times for a positive test stemming from the same use of a banned substance, meaning Perez had to take a prohibited stimulant more than once.
Another positive test would lead to a suspension to be determined at the discretion of commissioner Bud Selig, with Perez having the right to have an arbitrator review the penalty.
His initial suspension cost him $396,175, and the second will cost him $792,350 — a total of $1,188,525 of his $2.5 million salary. He will miss the final 54 games of the regular season and finish serving the suspension next year, if he is signed.
Because of his initial positive test, Perez is subject to at least six additional tests over the next year.
The 34-year-old Perez is hitting .172 with one homer and six RBIs in 64 at-bats for the defending AL champions. His biggest contribution was when he started a spectacular double play to end the eighth inning of Justin Verlander's no-hitter.
Perez has a career batting average of .267 with 64 home runs and 489 RBI in 12 years in the major leagues.
Perez won a Gold Glove at shortstop in 2000 with the Colorado Rockies and also has played for Kansas City, San Francisco and Chicago.
Tampa Bay pitcher Juan Salas has been the only other player suspended this year under the major league testing program, a 50-game penalty announced May 7 following a positive test for a banned performance-enhancing substance. Twenty players have been suspended this year under baseball's minor league program.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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