Later that day, Gottlieb stopped hinting around and straight-up accused Beltre of taking performance-enhancing drugs, basing his opinion partly on the fact that Beltre is Dominican and “there’s a different culture there than there is here.”

“There’s a high percentage of baseball players that have tested positive that are from the Dominican Republic,” Gottlieb said, possibly referring to a 2013 NPR discussion that centered around the prevalence of PED use in the Dominican Republic after eight of the 13 players busted in the Biogenesis investigation that famously resulted in the suspension of Alex Rodriguez, were Dominican. (Rodriguez is American.)

In that discussion, experts revealed there are low barriers in the country for getting PEDs and high incentives to use them, mostly to catch the eye of MLB scouts in the hopes of getting signed to a lucrative contract.

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Those same experts agreed, however, that the incentive to use PEDs in the country goes down as players begin to age. They also said the culture was changing as testing in the country’s minor league programs has become more rigorous.

Perhaps Gottlieb didn’t listen that far. In his comments Tuesday, the Fox Sports host was insistent that Beltre’s Dominican heritage raised a red flag for him.

“If it’s a stereotype, it’s created upon the actual physical data of a high percentage of players that have been suspended from Major League Baseball for testing positive for PEDs who came from the Dominican Republic,” he said, also questioning Beltre’s continued dominance in the sport as he enters his late-30s.

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“Beltre’s from the Dominican Republic. Beltre’s also been as or more productive into his mid- and now late-30s as he was in this 20s. That we’re told is a telltale sign [of steroid use,” Gottlieb said.

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Gottlieb left out that at age 38, Beltre has never tested positive for PEDs.

“I’m a human being, and a thoughtful one, who loves baseball. I’m not going to be fooled…” he said. “I’m gonna suspect and it’s not because of me. It’s because all you baseball guys who turned their heads when players were using steroids.”

No surprise, Gottlieb’s comments did not go unanswered, not only by baseball fans, but by Beltre’s teammates, current and former, who defended the star online.

Gottlieb, meanwhile, is sticking by his hot take, whether its slander or not.

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He referred to those who criticized his comments as “hacks” before repeating his claims late Tuesday.

“I offered up statistical data showing that there is a propensity for Dominican players to test positive for PEDs,” he said. “Guys like other sportswriters who didn’t have the balls to point out that these guys were using steroids in the ’90s or in the early 21st century were the reason we got here to begin with. The problem is not me, the problem is guys like you who didn’t question how has Sammy Sosa gone from a platoon player to the most dangerous home run hitter in the sport?”

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He added, quoting Omar from “The Wire,” “If you come at the king, you best not miss.”

Beltre and any other MLB player he accuses of steroid use without definitive proof might say the same to him …