The greatest baseball of the “Steroid Era” gets little attention. As a matter of fact, you may not even know him as well as you used to. I still remember who he is.
When I was a kid, I got my first baseball card. Guess who it was? Ken Griffey Jr. While I don’t have that card anymore (it’s somewhere…somewhere), I still remember how great Ken Griff was. Then, injury after injury after injury diminished his spotlight. People soon forgot what a great player he was, catching some impossible balls to catch. However, Griffey is the only player that has an untainted history.
Barry Bonds is the home run leader. Yet, he’s with no team and he has ye to retire. He’s facing a series of court trials for allegedly lying under oath. His own fans question his greatness. Asterisk.
Mark McGwire was a great player. He did set the record for most home runs in one season. Then, of course, we found out steroids had a great part in that. His legacy has a big asterisk by it.
Sammy Sosa may be the best international player the game has seen. However, toward the end of his career, he couldn’t keep up. Steroids became a factor of his life. Asterisk.
Roger Clemons, arguably one of the best pitchers of all time, was even found to have taken a banned substance (allegedly). His own trainer and “best friend” turned on him. Asterisk.
Ken Griffey is the only one left from that era that has done good consistently (when he’s healthy). While he’s not the leader of anything in the league, few will doubt his ability to shake up a game. You saw him hit home run 600 when people least expected it.
Some will be quick to argue that A-Rod, Big Papi, Derek Jeter, and a few others should be considered. However, I will say that they are not from the “Steroid Era,” where juicing up was the norm. Now, they are “legit” and do not juice up…allegedly. Therefore, they are members of the post-”Steroid Era” that has not yet been named.
I won’t forget Ken Griffey Jr., a player I wanted to be like if I played baseball (minus the injuries). He’s one of the greatest of our era. Now if only I could find that card.
Great Article. My favorite baseball player of all time is Ken Griffey Jr. Growing up in the lates 80s early 90s there was no one better than Junior. Even though I lived on the east coast and I am a die-hard Mets fan he was still my favorite player. And Even with all the injuries Griffey just hit his 600 HR Steriod Free, so in my book that makes him # 4 on the all time HR list. I hope he goes to a contender in the near future and gets his shot at a ring and maybe come back into the spotlight