Robin Ventura: 'Natural reaction' to suspect burly players of PEDs

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Robin Ventura understands why some people might be suspicious of any players who appear bulked up when they report when workouts start following the lockout.

Now an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, Ventura was a two-time All-Star and a six-time Gold Glove third baseman from 1989-2004. He played through the height of the Steroids Era and the start of drug testing, then managed the Chicago White Sox from 2012-16.

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"I think that would just be a natural reaction," he said Tuesday. "I think even when there was testing, somebody showed up big, I think people still questioned that. So I don’t see any reason why that would change."

Speaking during a news conference called by the New York Mets to announce the return of Old-Timers Day for the first time since 1994, Ventura said he had not been aware Major League Baseball and the players’ association stopped steroids testing when the collective bargaining agreement and Joint Drug Program expired Dec. 1.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said the halt in testing is a concern.

Former Mets Daniel Murphy and Cliff Floyd also spoke during the virtual news conference. Murphy, who last played in 2020, was a member of the players’ ruling executive subcommittee when the union rejected management’s pandemic-shortened 60-game schedule two years ago. The union filed a still-pending grievance, claiming Major League Baseball did not play a season as lengthy as was possible.

FILE - New York Mets Robin Ventura watches the path of his grand slam hit off Houston Astros pitcher Jay Powell in the seventh inning of a baseball game on May 1, 2001, at Shea Stadium