Just when you thought that baseball was on the downside of the Steroid Era, and that the scandals were thinning out, another bombshell hits the sport. Manny Ramirez has tested positive for a banned substance and has been suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball’s testing program.

According to sources, Ramirez tested positive for HCG — human chorionic gonadotropin — a woman’s fertility drug used by athletes to restart the body’s testosterone production after a steroid cycle. While the drug only amounts to circumstantial proof of steroid use, it was enough to suspend Ramirez under the collective bargaining agreement’s “just cause” provision, meaning that he could be “penalized for use, sale or distribution of banned substances, even where the agreement doesn’t specify a particular penalty, such as for a positive test.”

Ramirez withdrew his appeal almost immediately, instead choosing to serve his suspension right away.

In a statement, Ramirez blamed himself for the suspension, saying that the illegal substance in his system was given to him by his personal doctor for a legitimate health issue. Given the quality of MLB’s health care, it is highly suspect that a player would take a drug like this on a personal doctor’s recommendation and not seek the medical advice of his team’s doctor.

Manny’s statement, via the LA Times:

“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

“I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.”

While other stars have been named in steroid scandals, notably Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Jason Giambi (among many others), Ramirez instantly becomes the highest profile player to have actually been suspended by the league for a violation of the drug policy.

Ramirez will be eligible to return to the first-place Dodgers on July 3. During his suspension, Ramirez will forfeit about $7.7 million of his $25 million salary.

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