Ramirez and Ortiz will be added to the ever-growing number of major baseball stars who allegedly used steroids over the past decade, a scandal that has severely tarnished the sport's reputation.

Ortiz and Ramirez were at the heart of the Boston Red Sox batting order from 2003-07, helping the team win World Series championships in 2004 and 2007. The 2004 victory was the storied franchise's first since 1918.

Baseball has joined many other sports, including athletics, cycling and swimming where doping has been prevalent.

North America's professional league, Major League Baseball, only imposed mandatory drug tests in 2004, with fines and suspensions of 15 days for the first violation. The testing regime was stiffened in 2006.

Other top players linked to steroid use include: all-time home runs leader Barry Bonds, New York Yankees pitchers Roger Clemens, Andy Petitte and hitter Jason Giambi, and long-time Texas Rangers slugger Rafael Palmeiro and Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada.