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2011 N.L. MVP

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — When word leaked out in December that 2011 N.L. MVP Ryan Braun had failed a drug test, some wrote him off as just another cheater.

Not so fast.

Major League Baseball announced today that the positive drug-test ruling, and 50-game suspension, had been overruled by a 3-man arbitration panel. It reportedly was the first successful appeal of a positive drug test in MLB history.

Braun, understandably, was pleased. “We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side,” he said in a statement. “I have passed over 25 drug tests in my career, including at least three in the past year.”

The 2-1 vote in Braun’s favor may not end speculation that he ingested a banned substance. According to anonymous sources cited by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Braun’s attorney won by raising doubts about the test sample’s chain of custody, not the accuracy of the result itself.

Indeed, in a statement, Major League Baseball said it “vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”

Braun is expected to arrive at Brewers’ training camp tomorrow.

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