Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Davis banned 25 games for failed test

Baltimore Orioles first baseman/designated hitter Chris Davis has received a 25-game suspension from Major League Baseball after testing positive for amphetamines, often commonly called “speed”,  a banned substance by MLB. The Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly broke the news, which was subsequently confirmed by MLB:

Losing Davis is a huge blow to the Orioles, even as the team is comfortably 10 games ahead of the second-place Toronto Blue Jays, as the suspension includes any postseason games Baltimore might play:

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Davis was having a rough year, slashing .196/.300/.404, but had hit 26 home runs to provide Baltimore’s biggest power threat outside of Nelson Cruz. The 28-year old Davis hit 53 home runs in 2013, which was 20 home runs more than his previous career high, and that led to suspicions of performance enhancing drug use, though Davis has never tested positive for steroid use.

The Orioles have 17 regular-season games remaining, so the absolute-earliest Baltimore would have Davis back, assuming the team wins the division, would be the fourth game of the American League Championship Series, and the Orioles would have to win the division series in five games under this scenario. MLB has not commented on if Davis would be eligible for the World Series if the Orioles were to qualify.

Davis has said in the past he believes Hank Aaron, and not Barry Bonds, is MLB’s true home run king, because Bonds used steroids to help boost his total. Davis said this on his suspension: