Japhet Amador, the Round Mound of Pound in Nippon Professional Baseball, became the first player to be suspended by the league for PED use in seven years.
There is no mistaking Japhet Amador on the diamonds of Nippon Professional Baseball. Listed at 6’4″ and 310 pounds, he certainly cuts an imposing figure. The NPB version of the Round Mound of Pound, Amador has been a steady power hitter for the Rakuten Golden Eagles over the past three seasons, after spending most of his career in the Mexican League, aside from a brief stint in the Astros organization.
However, the massive Amador will not be helping Ratuken for the rest of the 2018 season. He has been suspended for six months following a failed PED test, as his sample after a game on June 13 came back positive for chlorthalidone and furosemide ten days later.
Eagles' Japhet Amador banned six months after positive doping test | The Japan Times https://t.co/6FBcm1p6h1 #NPB
— Jason Coskrey (@JCoskrey) August 9, 2018
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With this failed test, Amador became the fifth player to be suspended for doping, and the first since 2011. That last test was due to a medication that infielder Hirokazu Ibata had been taking for his eyes, which had been approved by the league. However, he had forgotten to get an extension to continue using the medication, and received a warning.
The other three failures occurred a decade ago. Rick Guttormson, who was the first pitcher to throw a no hitter in NPB interleague play, was suspended 20 games in 2007 for a substance in his hair growth formula. The other two players, Luis Gonzalez and Daniel Rios, were suspended in 2008, banned for a full season. Both players were subsequently released shortly after the suspensions were announced.
As for Amador, he offered quite the entertaining defense for his suspension, and his claims that he did not willingly take such substances:
"“I haven’t used stimulants or anything to increase muscle, or thought about using diuretics or masking agents. I’ve been given many doping tests in the past and they’ve all been negative.”"
That line about not using anything to build muscle is quite entertaining, especially given his body shape. As one could see during his attempt at charging the mound, he is not the most athletic, or muscular, looking ballplayer. However, he has produced a solid .269/.338/.580 batting line with 20 homers this season, while even somehow managing to steal a base. This continues his impressive performance during his time in various foreign leagues, as Amador has a career .297/.370/.544 batting line with 308 homers in his 12 seasons in professional baseball.
Japhet Amador had made a name for himself in Nippon Professional Baseball as a feared power hitter. However, he will be waiting until next year to continue his career due to his suspension.