Just don’t tell me these guys cheated the game

by Eric Schwartz

Tuesday January 12, 2010 

Just don’t tell me these guys cheated the game thumbnail

The inevitable and the disappointing happened on Monday when Mark McGuire finally came clean and admitted to taking steroids.

That McGuire chose now to disclose the truth on his steroid usage is not all that surprising given that he will be in his first year serving as the hitting coach for the St Louis Cardinals. Questions would have followed both the former slugger and his team throughout the upcoming season.

During his apologies McGuire seemed a bit naïve saying “I truly believe (I could hit those home runs without any PEDs). I believe I was given this gift. The only reason I took steroids was for health purposes.”

Like many baseball fans I wanted to hope that McGuire was clean and that his 1998 home run chase with Sammy Sosa was real and not a product of juice. I also wanted to believe that Many Ramirez and Rafael Palmeiro were clean.

They were not and who knows who else has cheated the game.

That got me thinking about which Philadelphia Phillies player I least would like to find out is or was on performance enhancing drugs. It is not easy or fun to think about your favorite athletes in a smog-filled manner. No one wants to think that the guy whose poster hung in his room for 15 years is a cheat instead of a hero. But in the reality of today’s game, no one passes without suspicion.

On that note, here is one current and one past Phillies’ player who it would break my heart to find out has cheated the game:

Current Phillie: Chase Utley: While there are a few players on the team that can hit the ball harder and farther, no one represents the hardworking, blue collar nature of the city like Utley. He runs out every ground ball and gives maximum effort on defense. That combined with his natural ability has turned him into the NL’s top second baseman. He plays the game the way it was meant to be played and that’s why finding out he took steroids would sting so bad.

Past Phillie:Jim Thome: Before Ryan Howard brought his big swing – and figure — to the Phillies organization it was Thome who put the fans in the seats. An owner of 564 home runs, Thome hit moon shots in his three-year tenure in Philadelphia. His large size and natural swing gave Thome the appearance of an all-American power hitter. He never looked cut, just strong and his power was evident from his rookie season in 1991. With guys like McGuire, Sammy Sosa, A-Rod, Barry Bonds and Palmeiro all linked to steroids, Thome (564 home runs) joins Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas as the greatest “clean” power hitters of the era. But beyond that, Thome had a great presence in the community and came off as one of the few “good guys” in the game.

 Hopefully we never here these names linked with steroids. There are too few heroes left in baseball.

 So who are your choices?

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