Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball

Alex Rodriguez was a player for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout the baseball season, Rodriguez regularly communicated with Anthony Bosch. Bosch testified that he provided Rodriguez with performing-enhancing substances that were banned by MLB. After stories about Rodriguez’s use of banned substances were reported in the news, MLB suspended Rodriguez for the 2014 season and postseason. MLB also contended that Rodriguez obstructed its investigation into his violations. MLB contended that Rodriguez was thus disciplined for just cause. Bosch’s testimony was corroborated with excerpts from Bosch’s personal notebook, text-message exchanges between Bosch and Rodriguez, and inferences drawn from the entire record of evidence. MLB also offered as evidence Rodriguez’s press conference falsely denying his relationship with Bosch as well as his role in facilitating Bosch’s own false denial. Rodriguez also attempted to get Bosch to sign a false affidavit attesting that Bosch never supplied Rodriguez with banned substances. Rodriguez argued that MLB failed to meet its burden of proving his violations by clear and convincing evidence. Rodriguez contended that the testimony and text messages used by MLB were unreliable. Rodriguez also argued that scientific testing did not prove that he used banned substances. The issue was heard by an arbitrator.