PHOENIX • Whether you believe he is innocent or has merely beaten the rap, a pro-active Ryan Braun made nearly everyone present Friday feel that he had never touched the stuff.

In question, of course, was Major League Baseball's drug-testing program's finding that the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder had tested positive for an unusually high level of testosterone. Independent arbitrator Shyam Das ruled Thursday in favor of Braun and a 50-game suspension that had been meted out to him was wiped off the books.

At issue in an appeal filed by Braun was a two-day delay in the sending of Braun's urine sample taken after a playoff game Oct. 1 by the collector of that specimen, who was to have sent that sample by Federal Express to the drug testing laboratory in Montreal.

When the 2011 National League most valuable player addressed reporters and some of his teammates seated in the stands in a news conference held close to home plate at Maryvale Baseball Park, Braun proclaimed his innocence for all to hear.

Barely reading from his notes, Braun, though citing legal ramifications from commenting on a couple of areas, took his audience through his unsettling offseason.

"This is without a doubt the biggest challenge I've ever faced in my life," the 28-year-old Braun said.

"Despite the fact that there have been many inaccurate, erroneous and completely fabricated stories regarding this issue, I've maintained the confidentiality of the process.

"I've tried to handle the whole process with honor, with integrity, with class, with dignity and with professionalism because that's who I am and that's how I've always lived my life.

"If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I would be the first one to step up and say, 'I did it.'

"I would bet my life that this substance never entered my body at any point."

Braun said he was tempted on many occasions to "come out and tell the entire story, attack everybody as I've been attacked as my name has been dragged through the mud and everything I've ever worked for in my entire life has been called into question."

The verdict in his favor was not about him, said Braun. "Today is about everybody who has ever been wrongly accused and everybody who has had to stand up for what is exactly right.

"We won because the truth is on my side. The truth is always relevant. And, at the end of the day, the truth prevailed.

"We're a part of a process where you're 100 percent guilty until proven innocent. It's the opposite of the American judicial system. But the system in the way it was applied to me in this case was fatally flawed."

Braun said that once he was found to have had a positive test, he told the players' association. "I had not done anything that could have possibly led to this test result. I told them, 'I promise you on everything that's ever meant anything to me in life — the morals, the values, the virtues by which I've lived in my 28 years on this planet, I did not do this.' "

Das ruled in Braun's favor because of a chain-of-custody dispute.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, people familiar with the details said Braun's sample was not dropped off that day at FedEx to be sent to the MLB testing lab in Montreal because the collector thought it was too late and the shipping company was closed.

Instead, sources said the collector kept the sample refrigerated at home for two days before making the shipment. Though the seals on the samples were unbroken upon arriving at the lab, that lapse became the basis for Braun's appeal.

Braun said Friday: "The collector left (the ballpark) at 5 o'clock. There were at least five FedEx locations within five miles of the stadium that were open until 9 p.m. and an additional FedEx location that was open for 24 hours. Why he didn't bring it, I don't know. What could have possibly happened to it during that 44-hour period?

"There were a lot of things we learned about the collector, about the collection process, about the way the entire thing worked that made us very concerned and very suspicious about what actually happened."

Major League Baseball's drug policy says that "absent unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are collected."

MLB officials argued that despite the delay in shipping, the collector did store the samples in the proper environment.

Das, who cast the decisive vote on a three-man panel, which includes one member each from the players' association and MLB, made Braun the first baseball player to have ever had a positive drug test reversed.

"The simple truth is that I'm innocent. I've maintained my innocence from day one and ultimately I was able to be proved innocent," said Braun.

The Brewers players first heard Braun thank them for their support during a clubhouse meeting (players only) before the club took to the field Friday. "They needed to hear it," said manager Ron Roenicke.

"Any time one of your leaders is questioned a little bit, I think it changes the way guys feel. With the outcome, hopefully it makes that group a little tighter.

"His character was in question this winter. I don't think his character will be in question again."

Assistant general manager Gord Ash said that, even though management had been confident of a good outcome, he admitted he had looked ahead to see who would be the Brewers' 51st opponent this season. "Dodgers," said Ash.

General manager Doug Melvin said, "As much as we trusted him and trusted the system, we all had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"But this wasn't like a guy going from 35 home runs to 60. He had put up big numbers before, probably a little better (Braun had 37 homers in 2008 compared to 33 last season)."

The Brewers, defending National League Central Division champions, entered camp knowing they wouldn't have power-hitting first baseman Prince Fielder, who has signed with the Detroit Tigers. And, until Thursday, they ran the risk of not having one-third of Braun either.

"The thing with Prince is that you knew it was coming for so many years," lefthander Chris Narveson said. "So you got ready for it. It's a little different than Braun's situation."

Discussing Braun's travails since last fall, when word leaked to ESPN that Braun had been suspended, Roenicke said, "Being the MVP should have been his best offseason ever and it wasn't."

Braun acknowledged that he had had scant fun.

"I can't ever get that time of my life back," he said. "It should have been an amazing time in my life. I should have been able to enjoy the offseason and I didn't. I've lived this nightmare every day for the last four months."

Major League Baseball voiced its displeasure with the decision Thursday, and this probably isn't the last we have heard about it.

"I'm not dumb enough to believe that this is just going to go away," said Braun.

"There's a lot of haters. There's a lot of people who have doubted me. There's a lot of people who continue to doubt me and who will continue to doubt me.

"But this is certain added motivation for me. And to say that I'm excited to get started would be a significant understatement."