From Heroes to Cheaters: MLB stars who destroyed their reputation with steroids

There isn’t another sport on the planet that is more associated with steroids than baseball. The idea of players taking substances that will help increase their power at the plate, or ability to fire in pitches has been extremely pervasive in the sport. We’ll look back at the most notable players who have been caught up in performance-enhancing scandals.

Outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the first players that comes to mind in this demographic is Barry Bonds. Bonds used to be a slender outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but bulked up in a colossal way during his career with the San Francisco Giants. He hit 73 home runs in 2001, which eventually raised an eyebrow.

There’s a case to be made that Mark McGwire’s summer of homers in 1998 helped save the sport from heading into irrelevancy. No one really cared at the time that he was effortlessly launching pitches over the wall. However, McGwire’s embarrassment with taking steroids was evident in an interview years later, stating that he “didn’t want to talk about the past.”

If it wasn’t for Jose Canseco, it’s possible that the pervasiveness with which steroids are used in MLB would not have come out. The former slugger was an admitted user himself, and decided to write a book that outed many other baseball stars. He’s looked at as a bit of a shady figure, but a lot of what he claimed has been proven to be true.

Sammy Sosa was the other figure central to the home run race in 1998. He and McGwire would take turns sending pitches deep into the night sky. Slammin’ Sammy, as he was known, didn’t speak a lot of English at the time, but would ingratiate himself to fans in the United States. Since his retirement, he’s tried to maintain a low profile.

Bar none, Roger Clemens is one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history. Unfortunately for his legacy, his name was dragged through the mud during several hearings in front of Congress. Clemens was asked some pretty detailed questions about his steroid use, most of which he denied. Others with close proximity to him confirmed the hurler’s performance enhancing drug use.

Fellow pitcher Andy Pettitte was caught up in the drama of the steroid era as well, despite being regarded as a mild-mannered player. His case was a little bit different, in the sense that he allegedly used steroids to help him recover from injury faster, rather than boost his on-field capabilities. Pettitte won 256 games in the major leagues.

He introduced the concept of mega contracts in MLB, and seemingly would do whatever it took to earn the incredible amount of money he was making. Alex Rodriguez would first ink a lucrative deal with the Texas Rangers, before gobbling up gargantuan paychecks with the New York Yankees. He would have a less-than-upstanding public persona for a few years.

Simply put, Jason Giambi was a slugger from the moment he made the major leagues. He looked to tear the cover off the ball as a young player with the Oakland Athletics, and would deploy a similar approach later in his career with the Yankees. Giambi won American League MVP with the Athletics in 2000.

It felt like Ryan Braun was well on his way to having one of the game’s most storied careers. He hit 34 home runs as a rookie, and won National League MVP at age 27. However, Braun would later admit that he took performance enhancing drugs during that MVP campaign, which put a lot of his accomplishments into doubt.

While most of the players on this list dabbled with performance enhancing drugs in the prime of their career, Robinson Cano would get popped for steroids later in his career. This does make some sense, considering that an older player would look to prolong their career with some assistance. Cano’s suspensions essentially ended his time in MLB.

While teams look to throw stars out at every position, they’re still also in need of quality talent around the diamond to fill out a lineup. Melky Cabrera was one of those players, who was solid on the periphery, if not spectacular. However, it seemed like he wanted more for himself, and chose the PED route to accomplish it.

He remains one of the most beloved figures in baseball history thanks to his dashing smile and affable personality. However, David Ortiz also tested positive for steroids back in his playing career with the Boston Red Sox. He has vehemently denied the results of the test, and his image has largely been untouched despite the allegations.

Playing in a cavernous ballpark in Oakland, shortstop Miguel Tejada was going to have a difficult time driving balls over the fence without a little help. In his heyday, he was one of the most feared hitters in the game, but was also lumped into the group of players who tested positive for steroids in their career.

Manny Ramirez’s inclusion on this list feels pretty disappointing to baseball fans, because he was naturally one of the most gifted hitters in MLB history. His eyesight at the plate, as well as his coordination to make solid contact since his days as a rookie were something to behold. Unfortunately, Ramirez wanted to take his production to the next level by using steroids.

In an era that featured some larger than life stars, Rafael Palmeiro always seemed to fly under the radar. He was posting some pretty impressive numbers throughout the 1990’s, but was flagged as a steroid user. This prompted the normally quiet Palmeiro to speak in front of Congress about the issue of performance enhancing drugs.