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It was two years ago today that Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. Since then, Bonds' influence on the record books has tainted baseball history, and Bonds' has become the taint of baseball itself.
He took steroids - he's a big fat phony. And there are a ton of other players out there just like him. In fact, there are 104 names just floating around in the purgatory of baseball history. Now that sports media, the public and even legends like Hammerin' Hank are on board to release the list of players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003, it's likely that one of your favorite players is going to be mentioned.
That's ok. Dudes got pretty beefy back then, and I'm cool with plugging in a few asterisks here and there. Then again, there are a few players out there that will rock my soul if it turns out they jammed a needle in their butt to smash a few diggers. Here's a list of some of our Guyville favorites that will just break our heart if it turns out they tested positive.
Five Players We Hope Never Took Steroids
Albert Pujols
Even though he was born in the Dominican Republic, he's Mr. Middle America in our hearts. As one of the most feared hitters in the game today, Pujols has smacked over 30 home runs in the first 9 seasons of his career, making him a consistent slugger, but not vein popping out of the neck outrageous. Furthermore, the Pujols Family Foundation makes significant strides to help the development and care of people with Down syndrome, which means that if this guy's a cheater, there shouldn't be a Santa Clause.
Derek Jeter
The captain of the Yankees. Jeter never had any mind-blowing numbers, but this 10-time all-star and 3-time World Series champion has the heart and soul of the game. He busts his ass every day on the field, and he'll go down as one of the greatest Yankees to ever play.
Frank Thomas
As one of the more controversial entries to the list, Frank Thomas was just a big player that played the game hard. As a major advocate for drug testing, Thomas was the only active ballplayer to voluntarily interview during the Mitchell Report.
Vladimir Guerrero
Major League Baseball's "bad ball" hitter, this guy is so good at hitting baseballs out of the strike zone he got a hit off a ball that bounced in front of home plate. Notorious for playing baseball hard, Guerrero is one of the few players to bat without batting gloves, which he credits to the many years of pulling cows home with his grandfather in the Dominican Republic. Vlad is a real hometown hero, providing many jobs through his business ventures in his cement-block factory, a propane distributorship, a supermarket, a livestock and vegetable farm.
Ken Griffey Jr.
If Griffey didn't play outfield with reckless abandonment for his body, he would easily be the greatest hitter of all time. "The Kid" has the sweetest swing you'll ever see, and his 10 gold gloves and 13 all star appearances make him possibly the greatest all-around ball player of all time.
The greatest factor that makes these five players different from the Brady Anderson's of the world is that they were consistent throughout their career. Many of the steroid users over the past ten years were known to either have one outrageous breakout year, or do well over time and then end their carrier with a dramatic drop-off in statistics.
The next time you feel like playing with the big boys, play the same way our favorites did - hard, clean and with personalized bats. You'll feel like a legend of the game too when you have a Personalized Black Louisville Slugger (the same bat that Ken Griffey Jr. uses).
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