Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug, Major League Baseball said on Thursday. Ramirez, who signed a two-year, $45m contract with the Dodgers before the season, was hitting .348 with six homers and 20 runs batted in. The 36-year-old power-hitting outfielder had helped the NL Dodgers post a 21-8 record this season, the best mark in the major leagues. A 12-time All-Star player who came to the Dodgers last season by trade from the Boston Red Sox, Ramirez became the biggest name to be penalized since MLB began a testing program to detect use of performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. Ramirez waived his right to appeal against the suspension.
