Nomar Garciaparra Juiced: No Doubt About It

Upon seeing this photo of Nomar Garciaparra in 2009, is there any doubt in your mind that his frail figure is that of a deflated post steroid injecting individual?

I will freely admit, during Nomar's days as a member of the Boston Red Sox, I was ignorant.

I defended Nomar, and strongly disagreed with anyone who even implied that Nomar may have dabbled with performance enhancement.

Nomar was everyone's favorite Red Sox player for years, and his face was the icon for the team.

In hindsight, Nomar's juicing couldn't have been more obvious. He was part of a "rare breed" of shortstops, a group that could play the position of a traditionally smaller man, yet put up the offensive numbers of a power hitting first baseman or outfielder.

With what we've learned about Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada, that "rare breed" was bred with one ingredient—steroids. And we'd be naive to think Nomar is any different.

Nomar, Pre-Steroids

Just an innocent, wide-eyed, young, and juice-free Nomar in 1992. Look at those guns. They are yearning for injections... yearning.

During Nomar's Juiciest Days

We all know this one. The Sports Illustrated cover that Nomar posed for in 2001 was cause for debate over Nomar's potential use of performance enhancers, including steroids.

At the time, I defended Nomar, thinking that his appearance was something any natural bodybuilder could easily obtain. But after seeing Nomie in 2009? No way this cover was au naturale.

Still Injecting in Boston

Yep, check out those forearms. Juicing away. 35 HR and 122 RBIs for a shortstop? Crazy. But we were told that the game was changing, that a new breed of shortstops was upon us. Right...

Frail and Deflated

There is no arguing this one. That man is clearly the crestfallen remains of a once proud and puffed-up juice artist. The power hitting, the constant and freakish injuries, the steep decline in performance... they all make perfect sense now. Steroids is the answer.