Ortiz: No one in baseball has been drug tested more than me

David Ortiz's career is creeping closer and closer to its finale, and he wants to get something off his chest.

"Let me tell you, there’s not one player in baseball, not one player, that has been drug tested more than David Ortiz. I guarantee you that. I never failed a test," the three-time World Series champion told Tom Verducci in an exclusive for Sports Illustrated.

Ortiz, who has 37 home runs, 48 doubles, 124 RBIs, and a big league-best 1.039 OPS, was among the 104 MLB players who allegedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

When the list of names surfaced in 2009, Ortiz issued the following statement:

Today I was informed by a reporter that I was on the 2003 list of MLB players to test positive for performance-enhancing substances. This happened right before our game, and the news blindsided me.

I want to talk about this situation and I will as soon as I have more answers. In the meantime I want to let you know how I am approaching this situation. One, I have already contacted the Players Association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true. Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive.

Two, I will find out what I tested positive for. And, three, based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me - I will not hide and I will not make excuses.

Ortiz continues to deny he's ever used performance-enhancing drugs and said in 2015 that the steroid claim could damage his Hall of Fame candidacy. On numbers alone, Ortiz appears to be a shoo-in.

"I never failed a test. I kept on banging," Ortiz explained to Verducci. "So, you know, the reality is that it’s a noise that I think was more damaging (to some players’ careers) than anything else, because a lot of guys that were pronounced (as having tested) positive for things or having been caught using things, their careers went away. Yet I am (here)."