Alex Rodriguez and the Great Baseball Witch Hunt

The witch hunt had slowed down.

Whether because of empathy or just more important world events, the chase to find out every last steroid user in baseball had slowed. And then, with one leaked report from 2003 this weekend, the hunt is back on.

Alex Rodriguez, the man who so many—including myself—were counting on to erase Bonds from the top of the home run leaderboard, has admitted to using steroids between 2001 and 2003.

How could so many of us not suspected A-Rod?

Sure, we can look back and say “Well, I always thought he might have taken steroids.”

But if we were being honest, the majority of baseball fans didn’t actually think the highest paid player in the game had actually taken the drugs.

It may have been wishful thinking that he was clean, or it may be the fact that he’s never gotten as huge as Juan Gonzalez or Jason Giambi did. In any case, we’re left with the fact that the most talented hitter in the game and the man who produces the biggest numbers in the biggest market is for all intents and purposes no cleaner than Barry Bonds.

So where do we go from here? Do we light the torches and get back on the trail of hunting down every last user?

Are we better off if we find out that Albert Pujols has taken HGH? Or that CC Sabathia has eaten a steroid-laced hoagie?

On the one hand I want to know who’s clean and who’s not.

But on the other hand, I want it to be like the firing line where one gun doesn’t have real bullets in it. That way all of the shooters can have some doubt whether or not they actually shot the person.

I’m fine with assuming that everyone has likely taken some performance-enhancing drug, but I also want to retain some doubt about it in hope that the next great slugger will disappoint all of those on the witch hunt.