Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE
In today’s game of baseball, being accused or being associated with performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) makes you a target. In the case of Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun, a failed test will always be on everyone’s mind.
Last post season, Braun took and failed a test for PEDs. While Braun was allowed to appeal and won based on a technicality, we will never know if he actually failed the test. What we do know is a test was failed and the whole process of having Braun’s name cleared really left a black eye on the whole process. With the recent actions by Hall of Fame voters not electing one player from the Steroid Era into Cooperstown, and Lance Armstrong‘s confession that he used PEDs, Braun’s test and subsequent winning of his appeal still never answered the question about whether or not he’s clean.
Braun has strongly denied his use of PEDs, and fought hard to clear his name from that dangerous list. Considering he was the league’s NL MVP in 2011 and simultaneously failed a PED test just made everything even worse. Even with his suspension lifted, fans will never let him hear the end of it at opposing parks. On the other hand, his hometown fans seem to have forgotten the whole incident.
In 2012, Braun had another great season with 41 HRs and a .319 average. The previous season when he did win the MVP, he hit 33 HRs and a .333 average. So he displayed more power after his MVP season. Now, one might think that his numbers would have gone down if he indeed was caught with performance enhancing drugs, but it wasn’t the case. Or it could also be that Braun has found a way around the testing.
Either way, if he truly is innocent, it could potentially impact one of baseball’s best players from a shot at the Hall of Fame. For Braun’s sake, he better hope the voters believe his innocence.
