All-Steroids Team: Catcher

If you haven't read the introduction to Boston Legends' All-Steroids Team, you can find it here.

Todd Hundley

The choice for backstop was a tough one. Do we choose Benito Santiago, who had never had a 20 hr season before exploding for 30 in 1996, at age 31? Or perhaps Javy Lopez, another known 'roider who holds the single season record for catchers with 42? We passed both of these players over, as both were All-Stars before artificial enhancement, and both continued to be useful hitters after their breakout seasons. Hundley is a different story. He came up with the Mets at age as a much-heralded prospect, but his first years in the majors showed little power, despite great defense. He battled injuries and never quite put it together. Hundley's first 4 seasons (1992-1995) as an everyday player look like this (he had limited at-bats as a backup in '90 and '91):

Year	Age			G	PA	AB	R	H	2B		HR	RBI			BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1992	23			123	390	358	32	75	17		7	32			19	76	.209	.256	.316	.572
1993	24			130	448	417	40	95	17		11	53			23	62	.228	.269	.357	.626
1994	25			91	323	291	45	69	10		16	42			25	73	.237	.303	.443	.746
1995	26			90	326	275	39	77	11		15	51			42	64	.280	.382	.484	.865

Home run totals of 7, 11, 16, and 15 in his first 4 years as a starter are certainly not the mark of a power hitter about to emerge as an MVP candidate, and Hundley appeared headed for an average career as a useful player, but not someone to build your lineup around. The next two years, however, saw Hundley set the single-season record for homers for a catcher (broken by Lopez 8 years later) and emerge as one of the most feared hitters in the game.

Year	Age			G	PA	AB	R	H	2B		HR	RBI			BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1996	27			153	624	540	85	140	32		41	112			79	146	.259	.356	.550	.906									AS,MVP-18
1997	28			132	508	417	78	114	21		30	86			83	116	.273	.394	.549	.943									AS

Are you kidding me? Hundley more than doubled his career highs in home runs and RBIs in his 7th year in the majors at the same time baseball was entering the heart of the Steroid Era. A guy who had only had an OPS over .650 twice rips off two straight .900 OPS seasons? The obvious argument to make is that Hundley did have his career years at ages 27-28, generally considered the prime for a ballplayer. And it is true that his first 6 years in the majors saw his average and slugging improve each year, but the remainder of his career put to rest any doubts that this guy was 'roided out of his mind in '96-'97. He was plagued by injuries as his body broke down under the stress of unnaturally added muscle mass and never hit 25 home runs again, while only topping 55 RBIs once from 1998 to his retirement in 2003. After back-to-back All-Star appearances in '96-'97, he wasn't ever selected again. Hundley's inability to stay on the field after these two ridiculous seasons due to nagging stress injuries is a clear sign of steroid abuse.

When the Mitchell Report came out, it was no surprise to find Todd Hundley' featured prominently as not only a user, but someone who brought other players into the steroid fold. Paul Lo Duca and Eric Gagne are two of the players he introduced to PEDs after a trade to the Dodgers. After the '97 season, Hundley only topped 100 games once, and left the game in 2003 after going 6/33 with 13 strikeouts in 21 appearances as a backup. Steroids made, and then destroyed his career. This sort of legendary steroid abuse, coupled with beyond shitty years without the drugs and was forgotten by many, but he earns the spot at catcher on BL's All-Steroids team.