(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
It's sad, many people's childhood heroes are on this list. There are future hall of famers and scrubs, all-stars and pine-sitters. It shows you how rampant the use of PED's was. There are many questions that this list raises.
The Superstar Shortstops
Remember when the change happened? When shortstops went from defensive-minded, light-hitting top-of-the-order guys to slugging clean-up hitters? It was odd seeing guys going out and winning a Gold Glove and hitting 35hrs at the position. Well now, we see why. Among the names mentioned are: Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada. The only one not mentioned of that super four is Yankees Shortstop Derek Jeter, who was never a huge power-hitter to begin with. The sudden burst of power from the former light-hitters wasn't just at shortstop either. Which brings us to the next topic.
Skinny Boys to Juiced-up Juggernauts
It was strange how nobody raised any question when a guy like Brett Boone, who had previously had no more than 15 dingers and 69 RBI's, magically turned into a slugger, averaging 26 HR's and 97 RBI's between 1998 and 2004. It wasn't as if Boone was developing power early, he was 32 before he had his first 30+ HR season. It makes you wonder whether Boone found his stroke, or if he had done what many players had during the height of the steroid era, juiced his numbers. Other players who had similar paths include: Melvin Mora, Aaron Boone, Jose Guillen, Roberto Alomar, Gary Matthews Jr., David Ortiz
Once Promising Careers
When you hear the names of guys like Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Mike Hampton, what first come to mind? Guarantee you thought something along the lines of "Bust" or "Unfulfilled promise". That's because these are guys who had tons of hype around them, maybe even put together a huge year or two, and then never were the same. Prior and Wood were the two key components to the Cubs playoff run in 2003. Highly regarded as two of the best young pitchers the game had ever seen, they were expected to carry a promising young team to future World Series titles. But they flamed out due to different arm troubles and a rather random set of injuries. Wood is now closing and Prior may never pitch again, could steroids be the reason for the rapid breakdowns in the bodies of these promising young stars? Same goes for Hampton, who after having a Cy Young caliber season in 1999 with Houston and leading the Mets to their first World Series appearance in 14 years, bolted for Colorado and the big money deal. He proceeded to be torn apart by injuries, his body broken down, and when healthy he did nothing but underwhelm. Other players similar to this include: Brent Abernathy, Craig Monroe, Jay Gibbons, Alex Sanchez, Trot Nixon, Shea Hillenbrand
The "One Hit Wonders"
You know when you think about a team and go "that guy had a great year, but never panned out, what happened to him?". These are those guys. Guys who had a monster season, but fell off the face of the earth very soon after, if not immediately. Take for instance former Expos and Cardinals Third Baseman (and current Mets utility man) Fernando Tatis. In 1999, the year after the home run race that supposedly saved baseball, a 24 year old Dominican corner infielder had a sudden stroke of power, dominating opposing pitching and crushing balls like it was going out of style. In 149 games, Tatis hit 34 HR's and had 107 RBI's, more than triple the home run total and nearly double the RBI total he had in 1998, when he played 150 combined games for the Cardinals and Rangers. But what happened after that? Tatis proceeded to average just over 9 HR's and 36 RBI's over the next four seasons. It got so bad that at one point Tatis was out of baseball for 3 seasons. Was this mammoth season thanks to a PED overload? Other examples include: Brady Anderson, Sandy Alomar Jr., Roger Cedeno, Adrian Beltre





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