The appeal hearing for New York Yankees' star Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension is expected to begin on Sept. 30, the day after the regular season ends, reports ESPN. The 38-year-old Rodriguez received the suspension for his connection to the Biogenesis scandal, but appealed the ban so that he could play for the rest of the 2013 season.
While most of the players involved with Biogensis received 50-game bans, and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun settled for 65 games, Rodriguez received the longest PED-related suspension in sports history due to a combination of his years of drug use and his attempts to both impede the investigation and cover up his violations. Rodriguez previously admitted to taking a banned substance in 2009, claiming that he had used while a member of the Texas Rangers for a period of time beginning in 2001. His upcoming appeal will be heard by arbiter Fredric Horowitz, who will decide whether to uphold the suspension, overturn it or reduce its length.
Rodriguez has provided decent production for the Yankees this year. He has played in 27 games since returning from a season-long hip injury, hitting .283/.372/.455 with four home runs and 10 RBI. He hit his 650th career home run in Toronto on Aug. 6, making him the fifth player in history to reach that mark. While the Yankees have appeared to publicly distance themselves from the star third baseman in light of his off-field problems, they are surely happy to have his bat in their lineup -- they currently stand 2½ games behind Tampa Bay for the second Wild Card, with Baltimore, Cleveland, and Kansas City close on their heels. Rodriguez has four years and about $86 million left on his contract after this season.
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