Baseball star Alex Rodriguez among 13 players suspended for doping offences

Alex Rodriguez, baseball’s highest-paid player and one of the sport’s greatest hitters, was suspended for a record 211 games on Monday for alleged doping offences.

Another 12 players, including three All-Stars, were handed 50-game suspensions by Major League Baseball following a long investigation into links between top players and a Florida clinic accused of supplying performance enhancing drugs.

They were all treated as first-time offenders and will serve their penalties – about eight weeks in MLB – in time to rejoin their teams for the postseason playoffs.

Rodriguez was banned until the end of the 2014 season – the longest doping penalty ever handed by MLB – because he had committed other offences, said MLB commissioner Bud Selig. Rodriguez had previously indicated he would appeal to an arbitrator, allowing him to play until the case was resolved.

He was listed to play for the New York Yankees in Chicago yesterday against the White Sox. Although Rodriguez has never been punished for doping, he has previously admitted to substance abuse, but said he stopped using steroids about a decade ago. The 38-year-old is currently fifth on the all-time home runs list with 647 home runs but the ban threatens to ruin his prospects of overtaking Barry Bonds (762) as the all-time leader.