Baseball Writers Association of America secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell told Bloomberg News today that Alex Rodriguez wil be allowed to keep the AL MVP Award he won for the 2003 season.

Sports Illustrated reported this weekend that Rodriguez tested positive for two steroids during the ’03 season, when he was with the Rangers. Rodriguez told ESPN he used banned substances from 2001-03 while with Texas.

“He was elected the MVP and it’s his award to keep or give away or do what he wants with it,” O’Connell said in a telephone interview. “We’re not going to take it away from him and give it to someone else.” O’Connell said the decision is consistent with other MVP winners who have been found to have used steroids, including Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti.

“Listen, the wool was pulled over all our eyes,” O’Connell said. “We had an election and those were the guys that won. The awards are theirs.”