Report: Orioles' Davis used amphetamines to combat struggles

Baltimore Orioles infielder Chris Davis received a 25-game suspension Friday after testing positive for Adderall, a popular amphetamine. The 28-year-old reportedly took to the drug to rectify his woes at the plate this season, sources told Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

Davis emerged as one of the game's most dangerous offensive players last season, smacking 53 home runs with a 1.004 OPS through 160 games. The former All-Star's success came to a screeching halt in 2014, however, as he hit just .196 with a league-worst 33 percent strikeout rate, prompting him to turn to Adderall, a drug for which he previously wielded a therapeutic-use exemption.

The wonderment of his 2013 season had yielded to the misery of 2014, and when Davis’ troubles tracking the baseball out of the pitcher’s hand and concentrating continued, sources told Yahoo Sports, he turned to what he used in the past, well aware of the potential consequences.

...He did not apply for one in 2013 or 2014, two sources told Yahoo Sports. The Baltimore Sun reported he did not have one in 2012, either. Why Davis stopped asking for an exemption was unclear, as is whether both of the positive tests came this season, or whether his first positive came in the past.

Davis' suspension is somewhat unexpected, as the burly slugger decried performance-enhancing drug use last season when he said he recognizes Roger Maris as the true single-season home run champion.

“I do and the reason being, he was the last guy to do it clean,” Davis said on ESPN's Mike and Mike morning show. “There's a lot of things that have been said about the guys who have come after him and have achieved the record, but I think as far as the fans are concerned they still view Maris as being the all-time home run record [holder] and I think you have to. There's no doubt that Barry and Mark and any of those guys had ridiculous seasons and had some great years, but I think when you get to the root of the record, I still think it's Roger Maris'.”

The Orioles may have received a bit of positive news regarding the suspension, however, as CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports Major League Baseball will allow the team to place Davis on its American League Championship Series roster should the Orioles advance that far.