Alex Rodriguez’s appeal hearing concluded its first week with an apparent farewell to its most important witness.
Tony Bosch, the owner of the now-shuttered Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in South Florida, completed his testimony Friday after spending more than four days on the stand, according to Bosch’s spokeswoman, Joyce Fitzpatrick.
Bosch, who is purported to have extensive evidence linking Rodriguez to illegal performance-enhancing drug usage, underwent direct questioning from Major League Baseball from late Monday until early Thursday, and then faced cross-examination from Rodriguez’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, for most of Thursday and Friday. The hearing took place in a conference room on the 29th floor of MLB’s midtown Manhattan headquarters.
How independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz evaluates Bosch’s testimony figures to play a significant role in Horowitz’s ruling on Rodriguez’s 211-game suspension.
The schedule of Horowitz, who is based in Southern California, will put the hearing on hiatus for a week. It’s expected to resume on Oct. 14 at MLB’s office once again.
MLB likely will produce witnesses who will attempt to corroborate its allegation Rodriguez obstructed its investigation. When Team A-Rod gets its turn, it will focus on both the alleged conduct of MLB officials in pursuing the Biogenesis investigation and the interpretation of the Basic Agreement and Joint Drug Agreement as to what constitutes a proper penalty for what Rodriguez might have done.