Baseball in Fort Wayne

Normally I love to report the news of former Wizards and local ties. But, unfortunately the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Such is the case for now free agent, Dan Serafini, who was suspended 50 games today for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance that is in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The former Wizards player got one out over three appearances this season while pitching for the National League champion Colorado Rockies. Prior to the 2007 campaign, Serafini pitched in Japan for 3 1/2 seasons after 7 while playing with the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds.

In a statement, the left-hander said that any use of banned substances was for medical reasons.

“I want to make it known that I did not use any banned substances in order to gain a competitive advantage,” Serafini said. “However, while playing baseball in Japan, I suffered two significant injuries. … While trying to accelerate the healing process of these injuries, I took substances that were prescribed for me by a doctor in Japan.”

Also in his statement, Serafini indicated that he discontinued the use of the prescription when he returned to the United States. He also suggested contrition and remorse.

“While I regret the circumstances that led to my suspension, I have learned that a Major Leaguer should only rely on medical care provided by U.S.-based doctors,” said Serafini. “I apologize to the fans of Major League Baseball, and I know I will be more careful in the future.”

Serafini was a first-round selection (26th overall) by the Minnesota Twins in 1992 and was one component of the talented 1993 Wizards squad during their inaugural season. With the Wizards, he went 10-8 with a 3.65 earned run average over 27 games. He also had 147 strikeouts. He debuted with the Twins in on June 25, 1996.

You can read more about Dan Serafini in Baseball in Fort Wayne on page 106. Ironically, his photograph appears one page after Matt Lawton, the only other former Wizards player (to my knowledge) who has reached the Major League Left level to have been suspended for banned substance use.

Photograph courtesy of the Fort Wayne Wizards.

Read more about this story at: ESPN.com | MLB.com | Yahoo Sports

[tags]Dan Serafini, Fort Wayne Wizards, Steroids, Baseball in Fort Wayne[/tags]

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