He may have seen many ups and downs in his career but the biggest challenge of Alex Rodriguez’s career will be played off the field. Alex Rodriguez admitted to have taken performance-enhancing drugs in an interview given to ESPN.
A-Rod told Peter Gammons that he had taken steroids during his time with the Texas Rangers between 2001 and 2003 because he was trying to convince people that he was worth a $252million contract.
“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure,” Rodriguez said. “I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform – and perform at a high level – every day. 
“Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all-time.
“I did take a banned substance, and for that I’m very sorry. I’m deeply regretful. I’m sorry for that time, I’m sorry to my fans, I’m sorry to my fans in Texas. It wasn’t until then that I ever thought about substances of any kind. Since then, I’ve proved to myself and to everyone that I don’t need any of that.”
During his 2003 MVP season in the American League, Rodriguez had tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan however, post the 2003 season, there were no indications that he had taken any artificial stimulants again.
A-Rod told the press that he was not aware of what he took and that is something that will cause a great amount of stir as he was someone who was known for his diet and exercise regimes. Rodriguez claimed that the steroids were a way of living up to the expectations of the fans and his huge contract. 
“I felt like I was going up against the whole world,” Rodriguez said. “I just signed this enormous contract, I got unbelievable negative press, for lack of a better term. We were all bad at the time. I felt like I needed something, a push, without over-investigating what I was taking, to get me to the next level.”
In the 2003 MLB survey testing, 104 players were found positive but the results were kept confidential to find out whether mandatory steroids tests and penalties should be a part of the game from 2004. Rob Manfred, the Executive Vice President of Labor Relations for the MLB, said that I would be impossible to reveal the other names in the list of the 103 positive testers.
“We do not know the identity of those results,” Manfred said. “We could not reveal them. The union has the names, because it was involved in litigation in an effort to protect the anonymity of the tests.”
Manfred would not go as far as suggesting that the union would have been responsible for any leaks to the media. “We have separate confidentiality obligations, as does the union to every player on that list,” he said.
Alex Rodriguez may not be guilty for the tests that he had taken in 2003 but that was mainly due to the fact that tests before 2004 were not penalized. “We cannot penalize players for a 2003 positive test,” Manfred said. Donald M. Fehr, Executive Director of the Union explained why the results were never destroyed before the government got their hands on them. “In mid-November 2003, the 2003 survey test results were tabulated and finalized,” the statement read. “The MLBPA first received results on Tuesday, November 11. Those results were finalized on Thursday, November 13, and the players were advised by a memo dated Friday, November 14.
“Promptly thereafter, the first steps were taken to begin the process of destruction of the testing materials and records, as contemplated by the Basic Agreement. On November 19, however, we learned that the government had issued a subpoena. Upon learning this, we concluded, of course, that it would be improper to proceed with the destruction of the materials.”
Rodriguez told the media that he had been in contact with the New York Yankees who had been extremely supportive in the situation. The Yankees released an official statement that read: “We strongly believe there is no place in baseball for performance enhancing drugs of any type, and we support the efforts of the Commissioner to continually improve the testing process.
“We urged Alex to be completely open, honest and forthcoming in addressing his use of performance enhancing drugs. We take him at his word that he was. Although we are disappointed in the mistake he spoke to today, we realize that Alex-like all of us-is a human being not immune to fault.
“We speak often about the members of this organization being part of a family, and that is never more true than in times of adversity. Alex took a big step by admitting his mistake, and while there is no condoning the use of performance enhancing drugs, we respect his decision to take accountability for his actions. We support Alex, and we will do everything we can to help him deal with this challenge and prepare for the upcoming season.”
A-Rod said that his moment of reckoning came when during Spring Training in 2003, he was diagnosed with a herniated disk in the neck after just performing conditioning drills. “I realized, ‘What am I doing?’” Rodriguez said. “Not only am I going to hurt my baseball career, but I’m going hurt my post [playing] career. It was time to go out, stop being selfish, stop being stupid and take control of whatever you ingested.
“I realized that I don’t need any of it. What I have is enough, and I’ve played the best baseball of my career since. I’ve won two MVPs since, and I’ve never felt better in my career. That, I’m very proud of.”
In the three years that Rodriguez had an association with the drug, he had hit 156 home runs out of his 553. He has insisted that since those three years, he has been completely clean on all accounts and has also passed 8 or 10 tests since then.
“All my years in New York have been clean,” Rodriguez said.
“This was three years that I’m not proud of,” Rodriguez said. “It’s three years I’m throwing out there, but to really judge me on prior [to] Texas and post-Texas. That’s all I want. I also have nine years remaining in my career where I can do some pretty special things.
“It would be a dream to be in the Hall of Fame, and I hope one day that I get in. But my biggest dream right now is to win a world championship.”
