Jenrry Mejía

Jenrry Mejía
New York Mets - No. 58
Pitcher
Born: October 11, 1989 Azua , Dominican Republic
Strikes: Right	Throws: Right
Debut in Major League Baseball
April 7,  2010  at the  New York Mets
Last MLB assignment
July 26,  2015  at the  New York Mets
MLB stats (until lifelong suspension)
Win-loss	8-14
ERA	3.83
Strikeouts	155
Saves	28
Teams
New York Mets ( 2010 ), ( 2012 - 2015 )

Jenrry Manuel Mejía (born October 11, 1989 in Azua , Dominican Republic ) is a Dominican baseball player who played five seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets .

In February 2016, Mejía was convicted of doping with anabolic steroids for the third time and is the first player to be banned from the MLB for life after the sanctions for such offenses were expanded in 2014.

Career

Mejía received his first professional contract with the New York Mets on April 4, 2007 and played until 2010 with various minor league teams in the franchise , most recently with the Buffalo Bisons .

Mejía made his MLB debut on April 7, 2010, was used 33 times in the 2010 MLB season and ended the season with a win-loss ratio of 0: 4 and an ERA of 4.62. Due to the manageable performance, he was transferred back to the International League in Buffalo in the 2011 season. After only five games, the year was over for Mejía, however, as he had to undergo Tommy John surgery and was then out until May 2012.

Mejía got his second chance in the major division at the end of the 2012 season when he was allowed to pitch 16 innings in five appearances in September. On September 24, 2012, he then recorded his first win in the 6-2 home win over the Pittsburgh Pirates . After only five games in 2013 , Mejía was 63 times for the Mets on the mound in the 2014 season , seven of them as a starting pitcher and was able to achieve all of his 28 saves this season .

Doping offenses and bans

On April 11, 2015, it was announced that Mejía had been banned for 80 games after testing positive for the synthetic anabolic steroid stanozolol . After the suspension expired, he was used 15 times as a closer at the Mets in July 2015 . Two days after his last game on July 26, 2015 against the LA Dodgers , the MLB announced that it had again convicted Mejía of doping. In addition to stanozolol, the use of boldenone , also an anabolic steroid, has now been proven. According to the catalog of penalties for steroid abuse updated in March 2014, the player was then banned for a full season (162 games).

In January 2016, the Mets extended the contract with Mejía for another year with an annual salary of around USD 2.6 million , knowing that he still had a 99-game suspension and that his salary would not have to be paid during this time . may. On February 12, 2016, the MLB announced that Mejía had tested positive for boldenone again. As this was the third positive test for anabolic steroids, the player was banned from the MLB for life under the agreed sanctions.

Mejía, together with his lawyer, defends himself in public against his banishment, claiming that his ban was an action coordinated by the MLB officials. He was the victim of a witch hunt and the players' association did not support him as it would have been expected. Mejia's lawyer said in an interview on his behalf that only the first doping test was positive, the result of the second, however, unclear. He was then pressured with the threat that a way would be found for a third positive test if he were to appeal the punishment for the second test . MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred contradicted Mejia's attorney's allegations that they had no factual basis.

In principle, according to the anti-drug guideline of the MLB, the player can apply to the commissioner to lift his ban after one year, but the minimum penalty is two years so that he could return to the MLB in 2018 at the earliest. The fact that he accuses MLB officials of a conspiracy against himself, however, raises doubts about a pardon from the MLB commissioner. Commissioner Manfred himself assures that if Mejía files an application for reinstatement, it would be examined fairly. However, he emphasizes that it is never good for a relationship to go public and say things that are not true.

Web links

Commons : Jenrry Mejía  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Player information and statistics from MLB  or  ESPN  or  Baseball Reference  or  Fangraphs  or  The Baseball Cube  or  Baseball Reference (Minor League) (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Major League Baseball, union tough drug agreement provisions . In: ESPN.com . Retrieved on 05/11/2016.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Mets Pitcher Jenrry Mejia Is First Major Leaguer to Get Lifetime Ban for Doping. New York Times , February 12, 2016, accessed May 11, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Jenrry Mejia latest player suspended for use of stanozolol. ESPN , April 12, 2015, accessed May 11, 2016 . 
4. ↑ Caught again: 162 games suspension for Jenrry Mejia. N24 , July 29, 2015, accessed May 11, 2016 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Jenrry Mejia Says Baseball Officials Orchestrated His Lifetime Ban. New York Times , March 4, 2016, accessed May 11, 2016 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Commissioner: Jenrry Mejia will get 'fair consideration' for reinstatement. ESPN , April 5, 2016, accessed May 11, 2016 .