What if?

We keep getting wind of all these baseball players taking steroids. Alex Rodriguez (or A-Rod or A-Roid, as they call him now), Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire...I can go on and on about all the different players who have been accused of using the 'roids, or have even admitted to it. The Mitchell Report released the names of 84 players last year who have taken steroids. Blah Blah Blah. As the reports of steroid users kept coming out, and the lists kept growing, one thought stuck out in my head more than any other, "What if Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. took steroids?"

Derek Jeter is widely known throughout baseball as one of the hardest workers and is a consummate professional. He is beloved by his home fans and is respected throughout baseball. No matter if you're a Red Sox fan or a New York Mets fan, Jeter is just one of those players you can't hate. When A-Roid mentioned that he would like to have Jose Reyes (shortstop for the Mets) batting leadoff for the Yankees (Jeter is the Yankees' shortstop), everyone in New York freaked out. How could he even insinuate that he wouldn't want Jeter as a teammate? It was like blasphemy.

Ken Griffey Jr. is just one of those guys that was meant to play baseball. His father used to play and now, Griffey Jr. is an almost certain first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has what is considered to be the sweetest swing in baseball. It's just so nice. Everytime I see it, it's like poetry in motion. And after 20 seasons in the majors, he is still one of the best players in the game. He has more than 600 home runs, while maintaining a career batting average of .288. However, for four seasons, Griffey Jr. was seriously injured and only hit 58 home runs combined. Oh yeah, there are only five other players in major league history with 600 or more home runs, and two of them have taken steroids, so that shows how good he really is.

So, the hardest working player in baseball, and the real life version of the "Natural" (1984 movie starring Robert Redford--baseball classic), what if they took steroids? Would people care more? What would happen to peoples' values as so many look up to Jeter and Griffey Jr. as role models?

If evidence comes up that shows either of these two great players did, at one point, take steroids, look up in the sky as you'll see the four horseman coming down to bring the apocalypse.