The Steroid Witch Hunt: Part I

Editor's note: The following is the first in what I hope will become an ongoing series.

Obviously Bud Selig and the rest of his cronies have no intention of rating out all the players who ever stuck a needle in their nether-region. Think about it. We recently learned that 104 players tested positive for PEDs back into 2003, and so far we have one name.

Luckily, Bud’s got a pretty sweet excuse to fall back on. Those tests were collectively-bargained to be anonymous, and for the sake of labor relations, it’s probably best if they stay that way. But all this commie-uniony-type stuff isn’t going to appease the masses.

So maybe some intern could just leave the list lying around the league's Midtown offices. That way the public gets the names and Don Fehr deosn't get to complain. But until that happens, I’m going to take matters into my own hands, because clearly the commish just doesn’t have the stones.

I’m going to call guys out one by one. I’m going to make them pay. Just like A-Rod. So let’s begin.

Player One: John Jaha. You sir, did steroids.

John made it to the Majors in 1992 at the ripe old age of 26. He was pretty awful that year—.226/.291/.308—but that was just 147 at-bats. No conclusions to be drawn here. The next year John saw more than 500 at-bats, swatted 19 homers and had a .753 OPS. Not great, but also not 1992.

1994 was more of the same. A mid-.700s OPS and decent power. John was 28 by now and there was no reason to think he would get dramatically better. He would probably be a useful power bat off the bench for the next few years, but nothing more. But wait.

In 1995 Jaha was suddenly really good. He only made it into 88 games, but he slashed .313/.389/.579. Project that out over a full season and this guys an All-Star. And then in 1996 Jaha actually was an All-Star. Well, technically he wasn’t, but he probably should have been. 34 homers. 118 RBI! A .968 OPS. Holy crap John Jaha, who are you?

In 1997, however, Jaha was mostly injured and in 1998 he mostly sucked. Then in 1999 John came to Oakland and met Jason, Miggy and Randy, and suddenly he remembered how to hit a baseball. Like really far. That season was arguably the best of his career. 35 bombs. 101 walks. A .970 OPS. He made the All-Star Team, and was even named the league’s comeback player of the year. And all of this at the age of 33! What would Jaha do next?

Pretty much absolutely nothing. In the following two seasons Jaha crumbled into a pile of injuries and ineffectiveness. In 2000 and 2001 he left the park just once, and hit .175 and .089 respectively. So, at the age of 35 the Great Jaha was no more.

But 1999. I will always remember 1999.