Ryan Braun Positive PED Test Reminds Fans That Nobody Can Be Trusted in MLB

Ryan Braun is one of the most exciting and up-and-coming superstars in Major League Baseball.

After winning the 2011 National League Most Valuable Player award, it seemed like Braun, already one of the best hitters in baseball, was about to become even more of a household name. On Saturday, Braun's rocket toward superstardom came crashing down as it had been revealed he had failed a test for performance enhancing substances.

There weren't many words to describe the shock, and maybe anger, around Major League Baseball once the news broke. Braun was one of the sports most likeable athletes. Perhaps, the most glaring example of that was when former New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes took himself out of a game to sit on his lead in the batting title race last September.

Many superstars would have kicked and screamed like a nine-year-old who was just told that they couldn't get a Snickers bar in the checkout line at the grocery store. Instead, Braun congratulated Reyes and blamed himself for not getting the number of hits required to win the title. That drew the admiration of not only his peers, but fans as well.

Braun was class, grace and awe-inspiring in his first five seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. It was assumed that Braun would continue to ascend and become a fan favorite until he broke into Cooperstown in about 15 years. The recent PED test changes that dramatically.

It's not a foregone conclusion that Braun did use PED's, but whether the test is accurate or not isn't the point here. The real thing to consider is that just like in baseball's Steroid Era, players still can't be trusted.

Of the other names who have been caught with PED's, there's always been a "Yeah, I could see that" reaction amongst fans. Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez were three guys who if a positive PED test came out, it would be believable that they committed the crime,

Braun is a different case. He comes from a different era where testing for PED's is stronger than ever (And about to be even stronger with the addition of human growth hormone testing in the near future). It's widely assumed that the hitters in Major League Baseball are as legitimate as ever, and that because of this, pitchers have become more dominant. That's not the case.

The reality is that players will still try and find a way to get a competitive advantage. It may not be as simple as taking steroids anymore, but with the new technology that's going into PED's now, it could make finding a user more difficult. The result of that is a positive test for somebody like Ryan Braun.

There is a possibility that the test that Braun took was a flawed one. Braun has not come out with a lame excuse like Manny had with his fertility drugs a couple of years ago. He's going to let the process play out, and that's the route fans should take with this for now. 

The lesson here is that fans have to be careful not to think that the era of PED's in baseball is over. Anybody could be found to be using at any time. It's a sad reality that baseball has been trying to erase but still faces to this day.