By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. apologized privately to his San Diego Padres teammates for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, then publicly expressed remorse for the 80-game suspension that will keep him off the field well into next season.
“I’m really sorry for my mistakes,” the star shortstop said during a news conference in the Padres’ dugout on Tuesday.
“I’ve seen how my dreams have turned into my worst nightmares. There’s no other one to blame than myself. I haven’t made the right decisions in these past two weeks, month, even the start of the year. I made a mistake and I regret every single step I have taken,” the 23-year-old Tatis said.
Tatis, one of baseball’s brightest stars, was suspended 80 games on Aug. 12 after MLB said he tested positive for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Tatis originally said he accidentally took a medication to treat ringworm that contained the banned substance.
Asked about the ringworm story, Tatis offered a clarification, saying he had been dealing with a skin infection for some time, took some medication and tested positive soon after.
“There’s no excuses,” he said. “I need to do a way better job knowing what is going inside my body.”
Tatis was getting close to making his season debut after rehabbing following surgery on his fractured left wrist in mid-March. He was injured in a motorcycle accident in early December in his native Dominican Republic.
Tatis said he will have surgery on his troublesome left shoulder as soon as possible.
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