I am a huge Albert Pujols fan.  I’m also glad that he is wrecking the ball because I own him in my fantasy baseball keeper league (seven years running!).  Obviously, that last part doesn’t really affect you unless you’re in said keeper league.  In any case, the question sometimes arises in fantasy baseball, especially nowadays, whether or not you care if one of your players is taking some kind of performance enhancing drug (PED).  The obvious answer is two-fold: 1) not as long as he’s putting up crazy numbers and 2) only if he gets caught.

Which brings us back to Pujols.

He is one of those players under scrutiny as every ballplayer that does well is.  It’s just natural in today’s game because of the steroids mess that started with Jose Canseco bringing it to the spotlight to Alex Rodriguez’s use.  So, is there any way not to think that Pujols is juicing?  I’d like to think so.  Sure, I can pull up the consistency of his stats, his command of the strikezone, and the fact that he was never named on any list as being under suspicion.  In fact, Pujols was erroneously mentioned as being a user at one point.  But because I say what I believe doesn’t mean that you’ll believe it too. 

In fact, I’d like to take back my, “I’d like to think so” statement above and say, “I believe so.”

Maybe I’m turning a blind eye or choosing to be ignorant, but with Pujols’ current chase of the NL Triple Crown (lead the league in Batting Average, Home Runs, and Runs Batted In), as well as the almost accepted opinion that all players juice, I’d like to think… no… I believe that Pujols is doing something special.  Why?  Because I love baseball and have since I was five-years-old and with the presence of steroids in the game, I need something to believe in.

And Albert Pujols is as good a bet to believe in as anything else.