The New York Yankees third baseman had his 211-game ban for the "use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone, over the course of multiple years" and "for his attempts to cover up those violations and obstruct a league investigation," reduced to 162 by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz.

But he will still miss the entire 2014 season and post-season in what is the longest ban for doping in the sport's history.

The decision was welcomed by WBSC co-President Riccardo Fraccari, who told insidethegames the decision highlights the seriousness with which the MLB treats doping in the sport.

"The WBSC applauds the seriousness with which Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are addressing the global issue of anti-doping, which is in a strong and objective manner and serves - in both the short- and long-term - to protect the clean athletes, promote 'fair play' and maintain the integrity of our game," he said.

Alex Rodriguez was originally suspended for 211 games following his "use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances", but has seen the ban cut to 162 games ©Getty Images


Rodriguez, 38, is one of a few players who have been linked to a closed Florida clinic which allegedly supplied banned performing-enhancing drugs.

He has said he will fight to reverse the ban and attacked the ruling - which was in response to his appeal - as "one man's decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable."

He added: "This injustice is MLB's first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative programme from any variety of defence by accused players, or any variety of objective review."

"I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court.

"I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension.

"No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players' contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me."

Rodriguez was suspended last year along with 13 other players, including the Texas Rangers' Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers, and Everth Cabrera who plays with the San Diego Padres.

They each received a 50-game ban but Rodriguez was the only one to appeal.

Alex Rodriguez and 13 other MLB players, were banned following their link to a closed Florida clinic, Biogenesis, which allegedly supplied banned performing-enhancing drugs
©Getty Images



The accusations against Rodriguez appeared after a major investigation into a Florida drug clinic, Biogenesis, which allegedly distributed performance-enhancing drugs to a number of professional baseball players.

Rodriguez has not failed a drugs test since the overhaul of the anti-doping programme in sport a decade ago, but he did admit to using anabolic steroids back in 2009 over a three-year period between 2001 and 2003 while plying his trade with the Texas Rangers, but has denied using steroids since.

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