A-Rod was/is a douchebag so it didn’t really bother us when it was discovered that he once used steroids. In fact, the news was quite comforting seeing as he’d no longer have the privilege of breaking the all-time home run record without an asterisk next to his name.

But Manny Ramirez using performing-enhancing drugs? Now that hurts. See, Manny was Manny. He was the guy who couldn’t make an outfield catch for his life because he was too busy listening to music through his mp3 sunglasses. He was the guy who, in the middle of an inning, would take a bathroom break behind the scoreboard in left field at Fenway Park. He was the guy who made ridiculously dumb plays because he felt the need to constantly play the role of village idiot.

Little did we know he was playing us. Somehow a 50-game suspension and $8 million loss in salary doesn’t seem like sufficient punishment.

Now, all the juicers aside, who, in this era tainted by steroids, will go down as the best power hitter? Ponder it over while considering the candidates below:

Vladimir Guerrero

Possibly the best bad-ball hitter to ever live. He’s more likely to pull a ball rolling in the sand into the stands in left field than hit a pitch down the middle for a single.

Albert Pujols

The Natural. From his rookie season in ’01 at the age of 21, he’s been consistently hovering around 40 HR a season, while always hitting comfortably above .300.

Ken Griffey

The Natural of the ‘90s who effortlessly hit his first 500 home runs with the sweetest of swings before his body broke down on him.

Todd Helton

Maybe the Colorado air is the reason the Rockies’ best ever player has posted the highest batting averages in many of his seasons in the league. Regardless, it’s better he use that to his advantage than the juice.

My pick?

*drumroll*

Barry Lamar Bonds

Hell, they all cheated.  And Barry damn sure proved he was the best at it.

-Devin Chanda