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With the cloud of the steroid era traveling further and further away from the sports world, the wounds opened by this drug are beginning to heal. However, there is a select group of athletes that, if they ended up on the wrong side of a syringe at one point or another, would cripple any progress made in this issue:
Usain Bolt
The undisputed king of track and field, Bolt is the only hope for his sport to remain relevant. After capturing the attention of the entire sports world with world record-setting speed, Bolt remains adamant he is clean. Bolt has passed the rigorous test implemented by the commission of track and field. He has shown his speed is still improving by breaking his world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter set at the 2008 Olympics during this year’s World Championships.
Cal Ripken Jr.
The iron man of baseball whose record is considered one of the most treasured records in baseball — a sport where numbers are everything. Of course, the main positive that performance-enhancing drugs provide athletes is the ability to recover from injuries. If the athlete who was admired by every workingman cheated to maintain his health, it would cause a serious dent in a sport that can’t withstand too many more.
Pedro Martinez/Greg Maddux
These are the two most dominating pitchers of this era that haven’t shown up on the Mitchell Report. This is more towards Pedro who would be the most dominant pitcher if he was clean while at his peak. There are signs pointing to Pedro remaining clean. There is no change in his physique and no leap in performance from year to year — just a natural progression and downfall that comes with being an athlete. There are signs that point to usage, including playing for the Red Sox — a constant source of steroid allegations — as well as being Dominican, where the parallels with steroids never ends. As for Maddux, compiling over 350 wins against juicing players is staggering considering he was not a dominating strikeout pitcher. Instead, he thrived with his pinpoint control.
Michael Phelps
The Olympic darling of America, Phelps’ performance in the 2008 Olympics was something otherworldly. There has never been a link with Phelps and PEDs, but we all know he enjoys putting substances into his body after photos surfaced this year of him smoking marijuana.
Derek Jeter
The All-American baseball player — who, barring injury, will become the all-time hit king — is the darling of the baseball world. It would be a crushing blow to the Yankees as well as the entire league if Jeter was, in fact, a cheater.
Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey was the greatest player from the steroid era to never be associated with PEDs. We all knew Griffey was a special player, but unlucky injuries led to his record-breaking career coming up short of the expectations set for him. Griffey will end his career in the top five of home runs ever hit, which is the statistic all baseball stats strive to be. With the home run king under great suspicion, Griffey could and should go down as the greatest home run hitter in the steroid era. Ironically, the injuries that plagued him from becoming the greatest of all time statistically also add ample evidence to Griffey being clean. While many of the greats of this era were avoiding injuries with the help of PEDs, Griffey succumbed to the unfortunate ordeal of injuries — something that steroids seemingly eliminate.
Albert Pujols
Pujols is the most important name on the list. Unlike Griffey, who is to be remembered as the greatest player of this era, Pujols has the ability to carve his name at the top of the food chain in baseball. In the midst of his prime, Pujols is shattering record after record and is on pace to break the home run record, the same record that is held by alleged steroid-user Barry Bonds and is to be broken barring injury by admitted steroid-user Alex Rodriguez. Pujols is adamant in his stance that he hasn’t used PEDs. As we know, the only way to fix the past is with the future, and if the future bearer of baseball’s most sacred record were to abuse PEDs, it might be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Bangor Daily News