"It's Pathetic and Disgusting"

Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez is having a breakout season, ranking second in the Major Leagues in RBIs and second HRs. He is on pace to set career-highs in batting average, hits, runs, RBI, steals, slugging percentage, and home runs. It is his breakout power at the plate that is eye-catching. Ibanez has 20 HRs and is on pace to hit 57, which would be more than his 2008 and his 2007 totals combined. He has never hit more than 33 in a single season, and his .671 slugging percentage is more than 100 points higher than his career high of .516. It’s a sad reality that any player who, out of nowhere, demonstrates huge power numbers will be suspected of juicing. This especially true for aging players: Ibanez has played fourteen seasons in his MLB career, and turned thirty-seven this month. The sudden spike in Ibanez’s offensive stats has put him under the sinister shadow of the Steroid Era. Ibanez reacted to these notions with comments as strong as his new homerun-swing: he said on Tuesday, “I’ll come after people who defame or slander me…it’s pathetic and disgusting. There should be some accountability for people who put that out there…You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool—anything you can test…I’ll give you back every dime I’ve ever made [if the test is positive]”. This violent outburst will go a long way for Ibanez, as he continues to hit more long-balls. Such a vigorous response is far more convincing than what most suspected steroid users come up with as they try to clear their name, e.g. Barry Bonds.