by Tim Elfrink
CHAPTER EIGHT
came very late on a sweltering night in Tampa: In the Matter of Arbitration Between Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, panel decision number 131, grievance number 2013-02 (Alexander Rodriguez), Fredric R. Horowitz, Esq., Panel Chair, December 20, 2013.
Instead, Bosch later said: Scott Pelley, “The Case of Alex Rodriguez,” 60 Minutes, January 12, 2014.
give him an intramuscular injection: In the Matter of Arbitration Between Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, panel decision number 131, grievance number 2013-02 (Alexander Rodriguez), Fredric R. Horowitz, Esq., Panel Chair, December 20, 2013.
with Miami’s area code of 305: Anthony Bosch’s personal records obtained by the authors.
was nearing obesity in his late forties: In the Matter of Arbitration Between Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, panel decision number 131, grievance number 2013-02 (Alexander Rodriguez), Fredric R. Horowitz, Esq., Panel Chair, December 20, 2013.
newly banned-from-the-MLB cousin: Yuri Sucart bankruptcy, case 11-19621-AJC, filed April 10, 2011, Southern District of Florida.
The New York Daily News called it: John Harper, “Brian Cashman Says Strategy, Not Thumb Injury, Kept Alex Rodriguez on the Bench During All-Star Game,” New York Daily News, July 14, 2010.
him to deal to Rodriguez: Associated Press, “Alex Rodriguez Hits 600th Career Home Run,” August 4, 2010.
auctioned for $3 million: “McGwire’s 70th Home Run Ball Sells for $3 Million, Including Commission,” CNN, January 13, 1999.
four games in Cleveland, either: Ian Begley, “A-Rod Still Stuck on Homer No. 599,” ESPNNewYork.com, August 3, 2010, http://m.espn.go.com/general/story?storyId=5432846.
went through more than one hundred of them: Ibid.
starting with Willie Mays at 660: Associated Press, “Rodriguez Finalizes $275 Million Deal with Yankees,” December 13, 2007.
“A-Rod still is a very good”: Andrew Marchand, “Mr. October? Rodriguez Had Better Be,” ESPNNewYork.com, August 4, 2010, http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=5435643.
They met at a Tampa hotel: In the Matter of Arbitration Between Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, panel decision number 131, grievance number 2013-02 (Alexander Rodriguez), Fredric R. Horowitz, Esq., Panel Chair, December 20, 2013.
Denzel Washington and Sting: Owen Moritz, “A-Rod Joins Sting, Denzel Washington, Other Rich and Famous at 15 Central Park West,” New York Daily News, February 27, 2010.
“That’s a chapter of his life I think”: Tyler Klepner, “Mixed Feelings as Rodriguez Nears 600,” New York Times, July 21, 2010.
He wanted to be the lone member: Pelley, “The Case of Alex Rodriguez.”
“Being stuck at 599 was really”: Ben Shpigel, “Yankees Pull Further and Further Away,” New York Times, August 15, 2010.
address in the DR within seventy-two hours: Seth Kugel, “Like an Extension Cord That’s Really, Really Long,” New York Times, February 14, 2004.
play for the YSL as a teenager: Mel Zitter, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, December 27, 2013.
Bodega Association of the United States: Thomas J. Lueck, “Buyers of Ballplayer Phone Cards Say They Were Robbed,” New York Times, December 8, 2005.
An attorney for the Levinsons: Jay Reisinger, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
“That’s a lie”: Omar Minaya, interview by Gus-Garcia Roberts, April 2014.
an estimated $660 million: ACES website, accessed March 2014, AcesInc Baseball.com.
The two diminutive: Athletes Careers’ Enhanced v. Jeremy Gilmore; Kings County Civil Court, case number 023456/2009. (According to the process server in the suit, the brothers are five-foot-eight.)
who is older, entered college at age sixteen: Tiffany Hundley, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2014.
became a lawyer in 1985: New York State Unified Court System, Attorney Detail, registration number 1970722.
“‘Get these guys out of here!’”: Kirk Radomski, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2013.
ACES from superagent Scott Boras: Kirk Radomski, Jeremy Gilmore, and others familiar with ACES, interviews by the authors, October 2013 to January 2014.
“Seth would just talk my ear off”: Tiffany Hundley, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2014.
Radomski says that he visited the Levinsons’: Kirk Radomski, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2013.
Sam Levinson instructed Radomski: Affidavit of Kirk Radomski obtained by the authors, September 11, 2012.
Stanton has denied that the Levinsons: Michael S. Schmidt, “Role of Agents Raised in Scandal,” New York Times, August 24, 2012.
“you got ethics, you got rules. Sam’s not”: Kirk Radomski, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2013.
going directly from ACES to Radomski: Checks, dated 6/26/04 and 8/7/04, obtained by the authors.
In 2012, during Roger Clemens’s perjury trial: USA v. Clemens, United States District Court District of Columbia, trial testimony, May 21, 2012.
Nunez was hired in 2006: Jay Reisinger, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
It appears that Nunez was also a recruiter: Mel Zitter, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, December 27, 2013.
a baseball team executive disputes that: Baseball executive, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
“He wanted to get into a nutritional”: Christian Red, “How Ex-Yankee Melky Cabrera Has Done a Body Good,” New York Daily News, July 7, 2012.
All three times, he’d pissed clean: In the Matter of Arbitration Between Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, panel decision number 131, grievance number 2013-02 (Alexander Rodriguez), Fredric R. Horowitz, Esq., Panel Chair, December 20, 2013.
Another Facebook photo shows Paublini: Cesar Paublini’s Facebook photos, accessed March 2014, https://www.facebook.com/cesar.paublini.1?ref=search.
the corporation was nothing more: RPO LLC, Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, corporation filed April 11, 2012.
CHAPTER NINE
“He was trying to look more legit”: UM fraternity brother, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, October 2013 to January 2014.
“I’m playing racquetball and feeling good”: Julio Cortes, interview by Tim Elfrink, January 2014.
“But a sixteen-year-old kid? That’s not right”: A Tony Bosch client, interview by Tim Elfrink, January 2014.
“if everybody’s on it, wouldn’t that be fair play?”: Pelley, “The Case of Alex Rodriguez.”
that the school had no baseball diamond: Beth Feinstein-Bartl, “Bible School Coach Doing Divinely,” Miami Herald, July 1, 1993.
“It almost look[ed] like he was cut out of a rock”: Roddy Barnes, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, October 2013.
windshields and other dubious methods: Roddy Barnes and Anthony Cancio Bello, interviews by Gus Garcia-Roberts, October 2013.
Instead she suspected Martinez: Rana L. Cash, “Florida Bible Shows No Mercy, Has No Excuse,” Miami Herald, March 26, 1996.
“Only now that I’m thinking back”: Anthony Cancio Bello, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, October 2013.
Between the two private schools: Anthony Uttariello, “Martinez Resigns as Head Coach at Sagemont,” BrowardHighSchoolBaseball.com, June 1, 2012, http://www.browardhighschoolbaseball.com/2012/06/martinez-resigns-as-head-coach-at-sagemont/01012298.
Player of the Year in Broward County: Jame Oyola, “Brandon Sedell Looks to Lead American Heritage Baseball Back Atop Florida,” MaxPreps.com, March 7, 2011.
“[He] vehemently denies ever visiting”: Letter from David Kubulian to Tim Elfrink, August 2013.
Radomski did so in the team clubhouse: George J. Mitchell, “Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illega
l Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball,” December 13, 2007, http://files.mlb.com/mitchrpt.pdf.
exploded one of his testicles, resulting in surgery: Dick Rockne, “Manzanillo Has Surgery, Goes on Disabled List,” Seattle Times, April 10, 1997.
Manzanillo is cofounder of Manzy’s: Manzy’s Pitching Farm website, accessed March 2014, manzyspitchingfarm.com.
“I have no idea who you’re talking about”: Josias Manzanillo, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer: Michelle Kaufman, “Carlos Boozer’s No. 1 Choice Is Miami Heat,” Miami Herald, July 21, 2009.
Hank Kline Boys & Girls Club in Miami: Boozer’s Buddies Inc., Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, corporation filed June 21, 2010.
Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road in October 2013: CBF Sports Management website, accessed January 2014, cbfcamps.com.
though Fragela’s attorney, Richard Barbara: Richard Barbara, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
bragged about Manny Ramirez and Melky Cabrera: UM fraternity brother, interviews by the authors, October 2013 to January 2014.
“We gotta get dinner, you gotta”: Tony Bosch client, interview by Tim Elfrink, November 2013.
“He said [Bosch] was a person who”: Alfonso Otero, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, February 2014.
“Shit is fire got purple in it”: Details on Frankie Ratcliff’s arrest come from discovery in Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Rundle’s felony case, F-10-026345, closed November 8, 2010.
Now league investigators followed: A source with knowledge of the investigation, interview by Tim Elfrink, December 2013.
CHAPTER TEN
taking future pros like Danny Graves: Judy Battista, “Stellar UM Pitchers Get Perfect Chance to Shine,” Miami Herald, May 26, 1994.
an uncertified baseball agent in Miami: Gus Garcia-Roberts, “Cuban Baseball Agents: Risks and Lies,” Miami New Times, April 19, 2012.
“father figure” to the kid, according: Kevin Santiago, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, February 2014.
Chris Perez threw ninety-mile-per-hour fastballs: The Baseball Cube website, accessed February 2014, TheBaseballCube.com. Additionally, Greg Cote, “Morris’ Finest Season?,” Miami Herald, June 10, 2004.
“violating team policy,” fresh off setting: Susan Miller Degnan, “Cockroft Finds His Pitching Groove,” Miami Herald, May 1, 2004.
“It was ‘Alex has this car’”: Steve Tolleson, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2014.
Carlos, owns the Miami-based ABCO Products: ABCO Products Inc., Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, corporation filed December 18, 1979.
Nicaraguan American Chamber of Commerce: No byline, “Business Notes,” Miami Herald, August 22, 1999.
glossies of the string-topped cleaning implement: Observations from visit to factory by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2014.
“them because they would shoot him”: Miami Beach Police Department report filed April 19, 2012, in Miami Beach, Florida.
explained that Albir was a Hurricane: Associate of the UM team, interview by Tim Elfrink, November 2013.
“university policy” violations: Jorge Milian, “Two UM Players Suspended,” Palm Beach Post, January 22, 2005.
“He was sitting in a stall”: Kevin Santiago, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, February 2014.
Albir had failed the PED test: Raudel Alfonso, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, February 2014.
“It was a mistake, and Gaby’s moved on”: Alfonso Otero, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, February 2014.
When MLB investigated the program: A source with knowledge of the investigation, interview by Tim Elfrink, November 2013.
the Blue Jays and Marlins organizations: Ryan Patterson, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, February 2014.
exactly from whom he purchased them: Former associate of the team, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2013.
an Associated Press article on the statement: Associated Press, “UM: No Positive Tests,” February 7, 2013.
a remarkable third time in one college career: A source with knowledge of D. J. Schwatscheno, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, November 2013.
Like Kosar, he sat on the UM board of trustees: Associated Press, “A-Rod Named to Miami’s Board of Trustees,” January 23, 2004.
The pitcher also gummed up: Two sources familiar with the investigation, interviews by Tim Elfrink, November 2013.
“He’s the one who made it possible”: UM fraternity brother, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2014.
Globo Investments LLC, Ecolite Solutions Inc.: MAC Investors Inc. (corporation filed August 2, 2005), Ecolite Solutions Inc. (corporation filed June 21, 2010), Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations; Globo Investments LLC (corporation filed 2007), Texas Secretary of State.
Bosch to budding superstar Ryan Braun: Tom Haudricourt, “Details on Ryan Braun’s Ties to Biogenesis Begin to Emerge,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 24, 2013.
Anheuser-Busch as, yes, a brewer: Ben Bolch, “Braun Is a Premium Brew,” Los Angeles Times, August 17, 2008.
the tidy half of the Odd Couple: Mike Phillips, “Cleaning Up,” Miami Herald, April 18, 2003.
“And I’m extremely proud to be a role model”: Bon Nightengale, “Brewers’ Ryan Braun Considers Himself Role Model for Jewish Community,” USA Today, May 24, 2010.
the Brewers superstar’s fifth MLB summer: Braun statement released August 22, 2013.
speculation was rampant that he had: Ben Shpigel, “A Pariah Returns, to His Peers’ Chagrin,” New York Times, June 27, 2012.
keep him in Wisconsin until 2020: Joe Lemire, “Five Cuts: Breaking Down Brewers-Braun Contract Extension,” Sports Illustrated, April 21, 2011.
Ryan Braun’s Graffito, for dinner: Associate of Braun, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, December 2013.
sealed by a thin man with a mustache: ESPN.com News Services, “Collector Says He Acted as Instructed,” ESPN.com, February 29, 2012, http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7625905.
randomly tested three times that year: Todd Rosiak, “Transcript of Ryan Braun’s Statement,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 24, 2012.
they wouldn’t piss dirty: In the Matter of Arbitration Between Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, panel decision number 131, grievance number 2013-02 (Alexander Rodriguez), Fredric R. Horowitz, Esq., Panel Chair, December 20, 2013.
“opening day can’t come here soon enough”: Bill Glauber, “Brewers Fans Savor the Season,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 16, 2011.
Braun learned that he had pissed positive: Rosiak, “Transcript of Ryan Braun’s Statement.”
the urine sample had come back: T. J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada, “Braun’s defense raises more questions,” ESPN.com, February 25, 2012, http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/page/OTL-Ryan-Braun/ryan-braun-defense-raises-more-questions-doping-experts.
The case was settled out of court: Christian Red, “J. C. Romero, Former Phillies Reliever Suspended for Performance Enhancing Drugs, Says ‘Justice Is Served’ after Supplement Is Tainted,” New York Daily News, January 10, 2012.
spin that might help Braun’s appeal: Sasson lawsuit filed in Milwaukee County court, filed July 2013.
But it was a loophole large enough: Quinn and Fainaru-Wada, “Braun’s Defense Raises More Questions.”
“It’s a beautiful day in Malibu”: Todd Rosiak, “Braun Named NL MVP,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 22, 2011.
Braun had been suspended and was appealing: Mark Fainaru-Wada and T. J. Quinn, “Ryan Braun Tests Positive for PED,” ESPN.com, December 12, 2011, http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7338271.
“and anyone who writes that is wrong”: Teri Thompson, “Ryan Braun’s Initial Test Results Were ‘Insanely High,’” New York Daily News, December 11, 2011.
The de facto judge deciding hi
s fate: Shyam Das’s résumé available online, accessed March 2014, http://www.nmb.gov/arbitrator-resumes/das-shyam_res.pdf.
collected it from Braun in the locker room: Tom Verducci, “Answering Key Questions in Wake of Ryan Braun Suspension,” Sports Illustrated, July 23, 2013.
He had then mailed them to Montreal: ESPN.com News Services, “Statement from Dino Laurenzi Jr.,” ESPN.com, February 28, 2012, http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7625756.
“rather than having the samples sit”: Ibid.
Braun ruminated in his acceptance speech: Andrew Keh, “Braun Accepts M.V.P. Amid ‘Challenges,’” New York Times, January 21, 2012.
“It’s just a sad day for all the clean”: ESPN.com News Services, “Ryan Braun Wins Appeal of Suspension,” ESPN.com, February 24, 2012, http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7608360.
“Today is about everybody who’s been wrongly accused”: Rosiack, “Transcript of Ryan Braun’s Statement.”
“resources and opportunity to tamper with the test”: Jeff Passan, “Ryan Braun Doped, Lied and Cared Only for Himself,” Yahoo!, July 23, 2013.
He also made the same claims to his teammates: Jeff Passan, “Ryan Braun Tried to Discredit Urine Collector by Reaching out to Fellow MLB Players,” Yahoo!, August 18, 2013.
In an interview for this book, Braun’s: Ralph Sasson, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2014.
The league threatened to appeal to a federal judge: “Ryan Braun Wins Appeal Suspension.”
Das despite thirteen years of hearing MLB cases: Barry Petchesky, “MLB Fires Arbitrator Shyam Das, Days After a Second Player Successful Uses the Ryan Braun Defense,” Deadspin, May 14, 2012, http://deadspin.com/5910201/mlb-fires-arbitrator-shyam-das-days-after-a-second-player-successfully-uses-the-ryan-braun-defense.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Inside, Wilson Ramos lay silent: Juan Forero, “Washington Nationals Catcher Wilson Ramos Says Police, Kidnappers Exchanged Heavy Gunfire in Dramatic Rescue,” Washington Post, November 12, 2011.
“few rookie catchers this century”: Matt Eddy, “Infield, Pitching Staff Highlight 2011 Rookie Team,” Baseball America, October 12, 2011.
