Ryan Braun made some pretty strong comments yesterday about how his urine sample was handled by the collector, saying that he was a “victim of a process that completely broke down and failed.”
We’re still hearing different information regarding where the sample was stored in the collector’s home -- some reports say it was stored in a cooler in his basement while others say it was left in a tupperware container on a desk -- but the identity of the collector is no longer a mystery.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported yesterday afternoon that the collector’s name is Dino Laurenzi. He has collected specimens for MLB since 2005 and even the NFL and NHL through his job with Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc.
The Associated Press left a message on Laurenzi’s cell phone seeking comment, but they were able to speak with the collector’s father, Dino Laurenzi, Sr. He said his son was a collector for baseball’s testing program and is currently at spring training. He didn’t know his son was involved in Braun’s case, but said that any accusations about his conduct “would be unfounded.”
Laurenzi sounds like a pretty experienced individual by all accounts, so one wonders who stands to benefit by revealing his name to the press. It’s probably not Braun or even arbitrator Shyam Das.
