Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said Wednesday he was "hurt" by a Boston Globe story that raised the question of whether his strong start to the season has been aided by performance-enhancing drugs.
Ortiz, speaking to ESPN's Pedro Gomez in the Fenway Park dugout before Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins, said reporters have "no reason" to link Ortiz to PEDs.
"I have bad Aprils [and] they bury me, or some reporter buries me because of that," Ortiz said. "I have a good April [and] it's bad, too."
Ortiz had his 27-game hitting streak snapped in Wednesday's loss, going 0-for-5, but is still hitting .381 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 16 games.
Ortiz, who said he is a "big, firm believer" in Major League Baseball's drug-testing program, told Gomez he was tested Tuesday night. Ortiz also told the Globe he has been tested "probably" five times this season.
"You're going to make me look like that just because I'm hitting good through 15 games?" Ortiz said. "I mean, it makes no sense."
Ortiz, 37, told Gomez he never has entertained the idea of using PEDs.
"This is a stage in my career that it's never crossed my mind … to get involved with anything related to PEDs," Ortiz said.
Ortiz has been linked to PEDs in the past. The New York Times reported in 2009 that Ortiz tested positive for PEDs during the 2003 season. Ortiz later said a combination of then-legal supplements and vitamins likely caused a positive test.
"It's disappointing to me because of the hot start he's got to face that question, when, as he said yesterday, when he didn't get off to a good start a couple of years ago, he's got to face questions the other way," Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said on WEEI radio. "It's a disappointing thing. I guess we understand in the big picture where those questions come from. But, as David said, he's part of a program as every player on our team is, every player in baseball is. It ought to take a little bit more than a hot streak to raise that question, in my opinion."
MLB and the players' association said some of the players on the list never tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.