Ramírez, oldest WBC player on record, tests positive for steroids
Alexei Ramírez, the 44-year-old Cuban who became the oldest player in World Baseball Classic history this March, has tested positive for multiple steroid metabolites. The International Testing Agency announced the result Wednesday from a sample collected during the 2026 tournament, where Ramírez appeared briefly for Cuba. The finding triggers a mandatory provisional suspension from the sport.
Ramírez played two innings in left field for Cuba, which failed to advance from pool play. He surpassed Roger Clemens' mark of 43 years and four months, set for the United States in a prior WBC. The prohibited substances-metabolites of mesterolone, metandienone, oxandrolone and stanozolol-are synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroids banned at all times, in and out of competition.
A former Chicago White Sox All-Star shortstop, Ramírez spent nine major league seasons, eight with the White Sox plus brief stints with the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays. He batted .270 with 115 home runs, 590 RBIs and 143 stolen bases, finishing second to Evan Longoria in 2008 American League Rookie of the Year voting and earning his lone All-Star nod in 2014.
Ramírez retains the right to appeal the suspension and seek its lifting. He previously won Olympic gold with Cuba at the 2004 Athens Games and silver at the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
