Alex Rodriguez to begin appeal of 211-game suspension Monday

Alex Rodriguez will begin an appeal against his 211-game drug suspension from Major League Baseball Monday, the day after the Yankees' season ends.

Rodriguez said that he will be present for every day of the appeals process, which will take place at MLB headquarters in New York.

Rodriguez, 38, said he expects the appeal to take five days.

“This has been a burden, a big burden,” Rodriguez said. “Let’s get it on.”

Rodriguez arrived Monday morning to begin the appeal, which he filed August 6 with an independent arbitrator. He began the process just one day after the MLB suspended him without pay through the 2014 season.

MLB commissioner Bud Selig accused Rodriguez of using human growth hormone and artificial testosterone over "multiple years," and for obstructing an investigation of performance-enhancing drugs among MLB players at a now-closed clinic in Florida.

“This is going to be a grueling process all the way through until it’s completely over,” Rodriguez said. “You’ll hear the full story when the time is right for me. That time is not just now.”