Marlon Byrd Feels At Home With The Phillies
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Phillies traded Marlon Byrd just before they went on their run of playoff appearances.
Instead of being bitter about being traded, Byrd feels like he was a part of the Phillies team that ended up winning the World Series in 2008.
"I absolutely loved my time here. I didn't finish up like I wanted to, when I got traded. It was a time in my life when I was trying to figure things out, figure out the game. By that time, the team was ready to win. They traded me, and brought in a piece to help them win," Byrd told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Wednesday.
Since being traded from the Phillies, Byrd has spent time with the Nationals, Cubs, Red Sox, Rangers, Mets and Pirates.
"The thought of coming back here, with my wife being from the Upper Darby area, Delaware County, and still on the team, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, so when Ruben Amaro called it was the easiest decision I've made in my life," Byrd said. "I had surgery on my knee, so when the team came back in town for the parade (in 2008), I watched the entire parade on TV. I wanted to be a part of that. I was so happy for them. I felt like I was a part of it, because of the closeness I had to the players on the team."
A career year in 2013 for the Mets and Pirates helped bring him back to Philadelphia. Byrd hit .291 in 2013, with 24 home runs and an .847 OPS. The Phillies signed the outfielder to a two year contract.
His career year at 35 years old, paired with a 50 game PED suspension, has raised questions about whether Byrd can repeat his performance of 2013, or whether he was taking a substance that helped aid his stats.
"I learned, 'don't be stupid.' There are certain guys in the game that cheat, they're dumb," Byrd said. "I think they're stupid for trying to cheat. But then there are guys who don't do their due dillegence. That don't check on every supplement they take, and I think they're dumb too. So I fit in that category. All I had to do was check the list, and do my due diligence."
Byrd said if he had simply done some investigating, he'd have known the generic version of the drug he was taking was not approved, and could cause a positive test. Byrd was suspended 50 games for testing positive for Tamoxifen. The drug is often used by those who are taking steroids to limit growth in the breasts.
"I was taking it, for my chest, because i had surgery. I was trying to get rid of the soreness in my chest. It wasn't a performance enhancing drug. They actually had it as a masking agent," Byrd said.
