It simply would not do Jeter’s entire career enough justice to just say that he is one of the classiest athletes in all of sports. There is absolutely nothing to genuinely dislike about this guy (Editors note: except his wrongfully awarded gold gloves). Jeter has never created any major controversy on or off the field, and he is a guy everyone can count on to come to the ballpark everyday and play his heart out for nine innings. It is basically impossible to argue that Jeter does not belong on the list of great players from the “Steroid Era”, especially since there has never been any reason to suspect that what he has achieved during his illustrious career is illegitimate. Whenever Jeter does decide to hang up the pinstripes, he will surely not have to wait any longer than five years to receive his invitation to Cooperstown.

Like Wojciechowski, if I were to ever hear a breaking news story on ESPN that has the words “performance-enhancing supplements” and “Derek Jeter” uttered in the same phrase, I too would give up on baseball forever. If there is one player I could never suspect of using PEDs it would have to be Jeter.  The realization that all of my fond memories watching number 2 as a young diehard Yankees fan at the old Yankee Stadium on those blistering hot Saturday afternoon summer games are, in fact, just another deceiving product from this tainted period in baseball would simply be too much to handle, even for someone who loves baseball as much as I do.  All of those great plays that personify why I have such high regards for Jeter—the incredible flip play to nail Jeremy Giambi at home plate in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS, the walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series that earned him the nickname “Mr. November”, and the incredible catch and subsequent dive into the stands against the Red Sox during the 12th inning of an extra-innings thriller on July 1, 2004 (I remember the date exactly since I sat about 20 rows away from where the play was made)—would merely become tarnished moments of greatness in an era where everything must be looked upon with skepticism. There would be no words to describe how devastating the day Jeter falls would be for all of baseball.

Although Wojciechowski did not go as into great of detail as he did with Jeter in his reasoning, he also mentioned Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Mariano Rivera, Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, Tim Lincecum, Trevor Hoffman, and David Wright as players whose steroid admissions would also compromise his faith in baseball. I certainly agree that a large majority of baseball fans would probably hate to hear these names fall under the PED clout. However, I feel that there are a few players Wojciechowski did not mention that would also fall under the same category. Here are some other active players I hope will never become marred by PEDs and why I do not ever want to see them fall from grace:

Mark Buehrle: He barely throws 88 mph and pitches to contact, but still manages to baffle and frustrate hitters.  Even more impressively, he has two career no-hitters under his belt, including the 18th perfect game in major league history, this season. There is probably not an easier player to root for in baseball.

Evan Longoria: There might not be a player with a brighter future.

Grady Sizemore: Someone who just plays the game right. He comes to the ballpark everyday ready to help his team win and does nothing but make big plays. If he played in New York or Boston, he would be a household name to even the most casual fan.

Ichiro Suzuki: I dread the day I hear that the best all-around athlete in baseball is nothing but a fake, and that his supreme athleticism is the product of a chemistry lab.

Chase Utley: see Sizemore comments.

Shane Victorino: An absolute gamer who hustles on every offensive and defensive play and would run through a wall for the Phillies if it meant making a run-saving grab—an absolute joy to watch.

These are names that baseball should look to as the symbols of what has been right about the game when there has been much wrong with it at the moment.  The players who Wojciechowski and I have mentioned who still have many years of baseball ahead of them will eventually become a major part of what will hopefully be the post-steroid era by sometime in the beginning of the next decade.  So far none of the revelations of steroid use that we have heard about over the past year or so have not been a tremendous surprise to the media or the fans because I suppose there was always reason to believe that the numbers of those who have been caught so far were not completely legitimate. However, if Jeter and the group of players referenced in this post were to ever end up on the same list as Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, Palmeiro, and McGwire, there would then have to be legitimate concern about whether baseball could ever recover from such a black eye.