Ryan Braun: How Brewers Slugger Went From MVP to PED

In a matter of months, Ryan Braun went from being named MVP to a testing positive for PED’s, according to the Associated Press (h/t Washington Post).

It just goes to show you that in a matter of moments all the fame and glory can be stripped away in an instant. Braun is living proof.

Before this story broke today, Braun was widely considered as one of the best players in the league, and now, his reputation is tarnished by this story.

Braun is the centerpiece to a very talented Milwaukee Brewers team that made the playoffs last year. Just when Major League Baseball thought the steroid era was behind them, this debacle happens, and now, the reigning National League MVP could face a 50-game suspension in 2012.

So this brings me to the question that every Brewer fan has on their mind--why? Why would you choose to take PED’s after everything that’s happened with Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Rafeal Palmeiro and Mark McGwire?

I can’t answer for Braun, and I can’t even imagine what he was thinking. The MLB has the toughest drug testing system in major league sports, and you have to know you’re going to get caught, if you do it. Well, not Braun.

Which brings me to my next point. Once Braun was caught with taking PED’s, Braun denied taking PED’s, so this thing’s not going to end any time soon.

It seems like every few years, a big story breaks about a baseball player taking steroids, and it’s grown to affect the image of the league.

What’s even more disturbing to me is that he took the test right before he received the MVP. I’d like to be inside his mind when he received that reward. I mean, he had to be thinking the whole time, “I better enjoy this while I can.”

These stories make me sick, and Braun’s 50-game suspension (should it hold up) would absolutely kill the Brewers season. Just a selfish act from the MLB’s MVP.