Sean B. Fitzgerald It doesn’t go something like this, it goes exactly like this.

A player who probably should be under suspicion for steroid use: Part 1

Now that Alex Rodriguez has officially come out of the closet (so to speak) in regards to taking performance enhancing drugs, I believe it's safe to say that we should and will suspect EVERY player when their stats look a little "iffy". In no way am I accusing any player of taking PEDs, but I think we should take a closer look at a players performance when suspicion is warranted. Whether it be because of spikes in their numbers or an unexplained resurgence late in their career. That being said, here's the player:

Greg Vaughn. You remember him right? He played in the majors between the years of 1989 and 2003 for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, and Colorado Rockies. In that time he amassed 355 homeruns, 1475 hits, and 1072 RBI's. I bring up Greg's name because of his phenomenal 1998 season in which he hit 50 homeruns and 119 RBI's. Prior to 1998, Vaughn had been playing in the majors for nine seasons and his career high in homeruns and RBIs were 31 and 98, respectively. In 1998, in increased his career high in total bases by 68 (342).

Obviously, you can credit his resurgence simply by having a terrific year where the winds were with him, the balls rolled his way, and he honestly worked out more effectively and efficiently. But we are at a crossroads as fans. Are we to believe these players to be honest, hardworking, righteous individuals who shouldn't be under our suspicion if they never tested positive for a banned substance? Or should we suspect every player who performs at an abnormal level now that we know that no one is beyond temptation. Personally, I don't believe Greg Vaughn took PEDs at any time during his career. I think he was a terrific player who outperformed his own abilities in 1998 to lead his team to the World Series against the Yankees. But what Alex Rodriguez did last week was take away our innocence as fans. Now, no one is beyond suspicion.

Next up: Jeff Franceour