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Banned at age 26: Mets pitcher Mejia is first to draw lifetime drug ban

Sports

Banned at age 26: Mets pitcher Mejia is first to draw lifetime drug ban

Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia was in the major leagues with the New York Mets at 20. He was established in their bullpen at 24. He was suspended twice after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs at 25. And on Friday afternoon, at 26 years old, Mejia became the first player — major or minor leagues — to be banned for life because of a third positive test. A year ago, he was to be the Mets closer for as long as that fastball held up. He would have made $2.5 million in 2015. He could have made about $1 million in 2016, had he only shown up in late July — when his suspension was due to expire – and pitched.

There’s a tremendous amount of disappointment, I think to some extent, anger, to some extent, amazement that this could happen so soon after a previous suspension was completed.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson

Under pressure from Congress to toughen their drug program, major league players and teams agreed in November 2005 that a third positive test for performance-enhancing drugs would result in a lifetime ban. Mejia’s 162-game suspension had matched the longest under the big league program, a year-long ban served by the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez in 2014 that originally was 211 games before an arbitrator reduced it.