Is "Big Boy" Howard the Last Honest Baseball Player?

In the stink and shadow cast upon the sport by Barry Bonds, it is only natural that questions begin to arise about Ryan Howard's stellar sophmore year. The 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, and 2006 All-Star Game Home Run champ is now only 5 slams away from beating Roger Maris' HR record of 1961.

The 700 Level posts a refutiation on any steroid links to Big Boy:

'Ryan Howard is everything that's good about the game.'

ESPN's Jon Miller believes that people attacking Ryan Howard are completely off base. He spoke out on a nationally televised game last week and also in today's Inquirer:

"From what I've seen and from talking to him and talking to his teammates about him, Ryan Howard is everything that is good about the game," Miller said. "He is a breath of fresh air in the game."

The TrekMedic notes:


Miller also states in that Inky article: "Ryan Howard is guilty of nothing more than having a great season," he said. "Why should his name ever be associated with that [steroids]?"