Ryan Braun Photo: IC

Major League Baseball (MLB) has suspended former ­National League's (NL) Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun for the rest of the 2013 season for violating the league's joint drug prevention and treatment program.

The suspension of the Milwaukee ­Brewers ­outfielder, which was announced in a statement by MLB on Monday, will keep Braun out of the final 65 games of the 162-game season and any potential playoff games.

MLB did not specify why Braun had been suspended, though the 29-year-old is among at least 20 players in the league who have been implicated in the ­Biogenesis doping scandal which is being investigated by the ­commissioner's office.

"As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect," Braun, the NL's MVP in 2011, said in a ­statement. "I realize now that I have made some ­mistakes. I am willing to ­accept the ­consequences of those actions."

Braun, along with ­other big-name players such as New York Yankees ­slugger Alex ­Rodriguez, has been ­suspected of procuring performance-­enhancing drugs from ­Biogenesis, the now-shut Florida anti-aging clinic.

"I wish to ­apologize to anyone I may have ­disappointed - all of the baseball fans ­especially those in ­Milwaukee, the great ­Brewers organization, and my teammates," said Braun, a five-time All-Star who has won five Silver ­Slugger awards.

"I am glad to have this matter behind me once and for all, and I cannot wait to get back to the game that I love."

He was suspended for 50 games by MLB after he tested positive for elevated ­testosterone levels in October 2011 but that ban was overturned four months later after he ­successfully appealed.

It was the first time a ­baseball player had successfully challenged a drug-related penalty in a grievance, Braun having argued that testing protocols had not been strictly followed.

Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice-president for econo­mics and league affairs, said in a statement on Monday, "We commend Ryan Braun for ­taking responsibility for his past actions. We all agree that it is in the best interests of the game to resolve this matter."

Reuters - Global Times