When it came out last week that David Ortiz used steroids back in 2003, my reaction was far from surprised. For some reason, it did not surprise me to see Big Papi on the list even though there was no evidence to suggest that he used PEDs before.Nevertheless, a few of my buddies were actually surprised that Big Papi tested positive. I had no idea why. Didn't they see Papi's massive improvement in 2003? His sudden rise to prominence couldn't have simply been a fluke, right?
How could this be surprising for them? Most of the big names from that era have been linked to PEDs in some form and it seemed almost naive to think that any player from that era was actually clean.
But that got me thinking. Are there any star players from the steroid era, who I would be surprised to find out used steroids or any kid of PED? Here is the list that I came up with (in no particular order):
1. Ken Griffey Jr.
2. Derek Jeter
3. Greg Maddux/ Tom Glavine
4. Tony Gwynn
5. Mariano Rivera
6. Craig Biggio
7. Jeff Kent
8. Curt Schilling
9 Cal Ripken Jr.
10. Chipper Jones
So there you have it. I can honestly no longer say "no one would surprise me anymore" because the reality is this: even though baseball has taken a major hit from the steroid era, there are still players from that era, who I believe in and want to believe in. Call me naive, but the steroid era has not totally eroded my faith in clean baseball. If any of these guys are linked to steroids, I'll be in the same boat as my David Ortiz buddies, surprised and hurt that yet another big name has been linked to PEDs.
What star players (if any) would surprise you if they were linked to PEDs?
