Major League Baseball should not be honoring steroid users. Their presence does nothing but disgrace and dishonor the game. However, fans cannot deny that steroids are forever a part of Baseball history. In hopes of a better tomorrow and remembrance of the past, here is the all-time hitters that have used steroids lineup. The order is based on where I believe they would hit in a lineup together. It is not necessarily based on who was the best hitter.
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This list does not include players who are rumored to have taken steroids. Only players who have admitted, were claimed to in books, or have been suspended for steroid use are on this list (therefore Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell are not on this list).
Batting First: SS Miguel Tejada
Tejada is the first in our all-Steroid lineup. The 39-year old shortstop was suspended 105 games last season for steroid use and was implicated in Jose Canseco's book “Juiced” for his alleged steroid use. Tejada, the 2002 American League MVP with the Athletics, is a career .286 hitter. He has 307 home runs, 1,307 RBI and 2,407 hits lifetime. Arguably his best season came in 2004 with the Orioles. Tejada led the American League with 150 RBI, tied a career-high with 34 home runs and had 203 hits.
Batting Second: OF Jose Canseco
This would not be a legitimate steroid lineup without the “godfather” of steroids in it. Canseco, known as “The Chemist” for his work in dealing and promoting steroids, played 17 seasons in the Major Leagues. He was the 1986 American League Rookie of the Year, smacking 33 home runs and driving in 117 RBI for the Athletics. His best season came in 1988, winning the American League MVP and becoming the first player in MLB history to hit at least 40 home runs (42) and steal 40 bases in a season. Canseco also led the American League in RBI that season with 124.
He was a two-time World Series champion (1989 with the Athletics, 2000 with the Yankees) and retired with 462 home runs, 1,407 RBI and a lifetime .515 slugging percentage.
Batting Third: 3B Alex Rodriguez
Rodriguez has become the modern day “poster child” for steroid use (and the fact that he often acts like a child.) Rodriguez, who has been suspended for the entire 2014 season due to his role in the Biogenesis scandal, is a career .299 hitter. He is baseball active leader in home runs (654) and RBI (1,969). A three-time American League MVP, Rodriguez is 61 hits away from joining the 3,000 hit club. Provided he returns to Major League Baseball in 2014, it is likely Rodriguez will reach the 3,000 hit plateau. I would not be surprised if he managed to hit 700 career home runs. Rodriguez wants his legacy to be among the pantheon of baseball immortals. However due to his tarnished nature and disrespect to the game, Rodriguez will likely suffer the shame of being “unofficially” kicked out of baseball.
Batting Fourth: OF Sammy Sosa
Sosa, the once famed home run hitter of legend, has been reduced to a sham in the eyes of baseball fans. He stands alone as the only baseball player to have three different seasons of at least 60 home runs. He won the 1998 National League MVP with the Chicago Cubs, leading the league with 158 RBI and finishing second to Mark McGwire in home runs (66). His legacy began to deteriorate in 2003 after an article in the New York Times reported that Sosa used steroids. Sosa's lack of ability to speak English during a congressional testimony (something he had easily been able to do in the past) only added to the New York Times report. Sosa, who retired in 2007, finished his career with 609 home runs, 1,667 RBI and 2,408 hits. It's a shame that a man once so beloved by the baseball community has become a symbol of the worst baseball had to offer.
Batting Fifth: DH Mark McGwire
While primarily a first baseman, I'm putting McGwire in as the lineup's DH (we'll assume this lineup is playing in an American League ballpark). McGwire, who admitted to using steroids, shocked the baseball world by hitting 70 home runs in 1998. His record (which lasted until 2001) shattered the previous one (61) set by Roger Maris in 1961. McGwire would follow up his 1998 season by smacking 65 home runs in 1999. Some thought he could've broken his own Major League record, though that was not to be.
The 1987 American League Rookie of the Year played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues. He retired with 583 home runs and 1,414 RBI. Though the shadow of steroid use still haunts McGwire's legacy, he has managed to overcome his past. McGwire now serves as the Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach, proving that some steroid users can redeem themselves in the public eye.
Batting Sixth: OF Gary Sheffield
“The chef has served up a souffle.”
John Sterling's home run call about Gary Sheffield is forever in the minds (and possibly nightmares) of Yankees fans. Sheffield, who retired after the 2009 season, revealed to a grand jury that he took an undetectable steroid known as the cream. He played 22 seasons in the Major Leagues, having finished his career with nine all-star nods. He finished second in the 2004 American League MVP race as a member of the Yankees. The 1992 National League batting champion was a career .292 hitter, who smacked 509 home runs, drove in 1,676 RBI and had 2,689 hits.
Batting Seventh: C Ivan Rodriguez
Ivan Rodriguez is perhaps the greatest defensive catcher in Major League history. However Jose Canseco's book, “Juiced” mentioned Rodriguez has a frequent user of steroids, someone who Canseco “personally” injected. Rodriguez, who played 21 years in the Major Leagues, is a career .296 batter with 2,844 lifetime hits. He was selected to 14 all-star games and was named the 1999 American League MVP. Rodriguez also won 13 Gold Gloves awards and was a member of the 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins.
Batting Eighth: 1B Rafael Palmeiro
“I have never used steroids, period!”
Does anyone else remember that famous sentence Palmeiro uttered during his congressional testimony on the state of Major League Baseball in 2005? Palmeiro, who hit 569 home runs and drove in 1,835 RBI during his 20-year career, was caught and suspended by Major League Baseball for steroid use during the 2005 season. Weeks prior to his suspension, Palmeiro became one of the few players in MLB history to have more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in a career. The then 40-year old slugger retired after the 2005 season, shamed by his actions and his outright lies to the American people.
Batting Ninth: 2B Bret Boone
Boone, a three-time All-Star at second base, will round out the starting lineup. He was featured in Canseco's book “Juiced,” as having told Canseco “shush, don't say anything” when it came to his steroid use. Boone, who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, led the American League in RBI (140) during the 2001 season. He won four gold glove awards and was a member of the 1999 National League champion Atlanta Braves. Boone last played in MLB during the 2005 season. He retired with 252 home runs, 1,021 RBI and 1,775 hits.
Did I leave anyone off the list? Let us know in the comments section below!
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