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There's a section at Dodger Stadium in L.A. known as Mannywood -- at least there was until the hero of the fans tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for 50 games.
The fans in the section worshipped at the feet of superstar slugger Manny Ramirez. Many of them even dressed up to look like him on a regular basis.
Now, not so much.
Just a month and a bit into the baseball season, Mannywood is dead, and the Dodgers are playing without their star and fan favourite because Ramirez took a performance-enhancing drug and got caught.
It was a meteoric fall from grace for a player who had never been accused of steroid use in the past, but is now lumped in with a growing list of superstars who clearly chose to cheat to get ahead.
And steroid-using baseball players certainly aren't the only athletes to have their reputations hopelessly tarnished by their own doing. In fact, as you will see in our top 10, some athletes have committed far greater sins than taking drugs to earn their bad names.
10. Alex Rodriguez
You could also list Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro -- and the aforementioned Manny Ramirez -- in this spot, but A-Rod has the most to lose as he is still actively pursuing many of baseball's records and will be doing so for the next decade or so. The others have also had their names sullied by steroid accusations and could be excluded from the Hall of Fame, but A-Rod's star power tops them all. Ongoing revelations about his steroid use likely mean his name will remain 'mud' for years to come. A-Rod pre-empted a recent book detailing his cheating by admitting to steroid use on television, but we're pretty sure he left out a detail here or there.
9. Denny McLain
The last pitcher in baseball to win 30 games in a season, McLain seemingly had it all in the late '60s with a great Detroit Tigers team. By 1970, McLain was an embarrassment to the organization, having been suspended for three months for gambling and bookmaking and doing more stints in the same season for dousing sportswriters with buckets of water and carrying a gun. A year later he was bankrupt and on his way out of baseball. After his career, McLain ballooned to 330 pounds and continued his association with nefarious characters, such as John Gotti, Jr. He was eventually convicted of drug trafficking, embezzlement and racketeering and did a stint in prison.
8. Roger Clemens
After a brilliant career that lasted well into his 40s, and included an unprecedented seven Cy Young awards, Clemens didn't even get to go out on his own terms after being named (82 times) in the infamous Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs. Nobody wanted him anymore after his former trainer Brian McNamee described how he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone. To this day Clemens denies using any PEDs but there may be considerable evidence to the contrary which has already hurt him in the court of public opinion and could bury him in his battles in court with McNamee and U.S. Congress.
7. Marion Jones
The sprinter won five medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sidney and was an American hero for a short time, but today she's a parolee after spending six months in jail for lying to federal agents during the BALCO investigation. Jones, a poster child for the PED-producing BALCO lab, forfeited all the medals she won in 2000 after finally admitting to steroid use in 2007, at which time she received a two-year ban from track and field and announced her retirement.
6. Mike Tyson
Once one of the greatest and most dominant heavyweight boxing champions the world has ever known, Tyson has become a cartoon character who destroyed his good name and frittered away millions of dollars. Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, including 12 in the first round and became the youngest undisputed heavyweight champ at age 20. His downward spiral started in 1990 when unheralded Buster Douglas knocked him out in Tokyo and ended his reign as champ. In 1992 he was convicted of raping a beauty pageant contestant and served three years in prison but he came back to gain a share of the heavyweight crown before losing it to Evander Holyfield in 1996. In a 1997 rematch with Holyfield, Tyson proved he was at rock bottom as a boxer when he was disqualified for biting off part of his opponent's ear. He later declared bankruptcy, despite earning more than $300 million during his career.
5. Ben Johnson
There was no bigger hero in Canada in 1988 than Ben Johnson -- at least for a few days. On Sept. 24, 1988, Johnson beat American arch-rival Carl Lewis in the 100-metre final at the Olympics in Seoul, setting a world record with a time of 9.79. Across the country, Canadians watched and rejoiced as CBC's Don Wittman made the call and to this day millions of people can remember where they were when the big race took place. But just a few days later, it was all up in smoke. Johnson tested positive for steroids, the gold medal and the record were stripped and, after a few token denials, Johnson eventually admitted he'd been systematically cheating for years. His "yeah, but everybody's doing it" excuse didn't help him win back the hearts of his fans.
4. Michael Vick
Kids everywhere have heard of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, not because he was a great player who could throw and run like the wind, but because he's the guy who kills dogs. Vick could have had it all. He was one of the most popular players in the NFL and had huge endorsement deals. But he was no role model and that became apparent when he pleaded guilty to being a key figure in a dogfighting ring. Vick is now at the tail end of his federal sentence in Leavenworth, but after details of brutality involving dogs came out, it's doubtful he'll ever win back the hearts of football fans.
3. Barry Bonds
Before he ever took a steroid (allegedly), Bonds was already a Hall of Fame player who most pundits would have put in their all-time starting nine. A brilliant outfielder with an unparalleled combination of power and speed, Bonds was a true star until he decided he wanted to get in on all the home run fun by bulking (or BALCOing) up. Once a skinny, speedy kid, Bonds became huge (especially his head) and started belting home runs like no other hitter before him. He should be a national hero for setting the single season (73) and all-time home run records (762) and being named MVP seven times, but instead he's just considered the biggest cheat of them all -- a player who hijacked the baseball record book and was forced into retirement because nobody wanted to be associated with his bad name.
2. Pete Rose
Baseball's all-time hits leader earned the nickname "Charlie Hustle" because of his head-first, all-out style and was one of baseball's most beloved figures throughout his playing career. But three years after his playing days ended, while he was working as manager of his hometown Cincinnati Reds, Rose became embroiled in a gambling scandal. Amid accusations he bet on games involving the Reds while he was a player and manager, Rose agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball. In 2004 he admitted to betting on games involving the Reds, but said he never bet against his own team. Either way "Charlie Hustle" is never getting into the Hall of Fame.
1. O.J. Simpson
You can't fall much further than O.J. did. Once the best running back in the NFL and the first to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season and later a star in Hollywood, Simpson is now in prison, serving a nine-year sentence for his role in an armed kidnapping/robbery in 2007. In the minds of many, he's where he belongs after he was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Although a jury set Simpson free, in 1997 a civil jury found him liable for the murders.
Disagree with our picks? Send yours to topten@sunmedia.ca.