The Great Home Run Chase of 1998 was not the start of the Steroid Era; it was merely the culmination of years of steroid use within the game. Memoes connected to Bud Selig have already shown the commissioner knew of steroids within the game as early as 1993. And 'roid use had undoubtedly been trickling into the game years before that, probably as early as the mid-1980s. But the year steroid use began clearly affecting the game's numbers was 1994. (As if the strike that year wasn't bad enough.)

With just 113 games played that year before the strike, these were the Top 10 home run leaders:

1. Matt Williams - 112 games - 43 home runs
2. Ken Griffey Jr. - 111 games - 40 home runs
3. Jeff Bagwell - 110 games - 39 homers
4. Frank Thomas - 111 games - 38 homers
5. Barry Bonds - 112 games - 37 homers
6. Albert Belle - 106 games - 36 homers
7. Fred McGriff - 113 games - 34 homers
8. Jose Canseco - 111 games - 31 homers
9. Andres Gallaraga - 103 games - 31 homers
10. Kevin Mitchell - 95 games - 30 homers

The home run totals in that strike-shortened season would have been normal home run totals for entire seasons just a few years before the strike. And, as you examine the home run leaders each year leading up to 1994, you notice a constant climb in the numbers. The totals plateaued briefly following the strike, but then exploded again in 1997 and beyond.

It would be wrong to assume all of these players were on steroids. But it would be foolish not to think many of them were. And, as fans examine the Steroid Era, we need to look beyond 1998, back to at least the early 1990s, if not earlier.

Brett Boone - A second-baseman who early in his career was jacking 15 homers a year, his power numbers exploded at the same time he became bulked up. The numbers started climbing - not surprisingly - in 1998, and in 2001 and 2003 he cranked 37 and 35 homers respectively. Perhaps coincidentally, testing started naming names in 2004, and he was suddenly out of baseball in 2005. Perhaps not coincidentally.

Trot Nixon - This one pains me, because I am a huge fan of Nixon. But if you were to draw-up a middle-of-the-road player who would be a candidate for performance enhancing drugs, Nixon would be the poster boy. Drafted in 1993 as a likely future superstar, Nixon never lived up to the hype, and by 1999 he was an underachieving prospect struggling for a fulltime roster spot. That's a lot of temptation. His numbers jumped in 2001 through 2003, and then he fell off.

Ryan Howard - Howard was one of the players nominated by reader Junior13 yesterday. And the success of players like Howard add an interesting wrinkle to the arguement, which is: How do we know who is currently using things like Human Growth Hormone that are undetectable? We don't know, and all we are left with is speculation -- which may be justified given the cloud of suspicion over baseball. Howard didn't come into baseball until testing was already up and running. He's put up huge home run numbers since coming into baseball, but a lot of that could be due to the small ballpark he plays in, or even just natural power. It's not clear if he is on something, but that kind of power can't help but make you wonder. It's certainly open to debate.

Manny Ramirez - Another nominee courtesy of Junior13, Manny has been an offensive monster since his first full season in the bigs in 1995. His numbers have been consistent throughout his career. What goes against him is his career spans the Steroid Era. Considering the time he is playing in, the numbers he puts up and how hard it works at hitting, it wouldn't be a big leap to assume Manny used at this time. However, what works in Manny's favor is his consistency; there has never really been any spike in his numbers. And a lot of suspected PED users saw a spike in their numbers somewhere between the time of 1998-2003. The debate is certainly open on Manny, and I was ready to condemn him, but considering his consistency and the lack of a spike, I tend to lean toward 'no' on this one.

Welcome to the first installment of The Great Witch Hunt, where we nominate, debate and compile a list of players fans think used steroids during the steroid era. While we know some players used steroids because of evidence in The Mitchell Report or other investigations (Bonds, ARod), the bigger question fans have on their minds is: Who else used?

Unfortunately, we'll likely never know for sure who did steroids during The Steroid Era and who didn't. But by discussing the cases for and against certain players, we can get a better idea of what happened during this era. This is not a court of law, so 'beyond a reasonable doubt' doesn't apply here. And while some may say it is unfair to speculate, as we state in this blog's summary, it was more unfair of basball players and the Players Union to soil baseball's cherished records while protecting and encouraging the use of performance enhancing drugs. So turnabout is fair play.

How this works is tell us who you think used and why -- or who didn't use and why not. And help us debate the case for each player nominated.

Today's nominees are:

Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez - Another player with Texas Rangers' links. He was with the Rangers during the height of the steroid era, and if you want proof, just take a look at how bulked-up he was then. (He wasn't called "Pudge" for nothing.) Then take a look at how skinny he became when he joined the Tigers, and MLB started naming who was failing tests. Just like Jason Giambi (who we later found used roids) did at that same time, Pudge showed up skinnier than a runway model . . . and his production has never been the same.

Luis Gonzalez - In 2001, when Bonds was jacking 73 homers, Gonzalez suddenly morphed from a mediocre player into a guy who was belting more than 50 long-balls. And then he fell off. His 2001 numbers are essentially a stamp on his baseball card screaming "ROIDS!!!".

Sammy Sosa - So far Sosa may have only been busted for a corked bat, but we all know beyond a shadow of a doubt he was juicing. If his ridiculous home run totals during the Steroid Era aren't damning enough, just look at how skinny he was when he came into baseball, and how skinny he mysteriously became again when failing tests started meaning having your name named.

Nomar Garciaparra - When Nomahhhh debuted in 1997, he was a skinny guy with great range at shortstop and a great bat. Then the skinny kid with the great bat somehow started bulking up (remember the 2001 SI cover?) at the same time 'roids were prevalent throughout the game. Unfortunately for Nomar, this was one case in which steroids hurt a career instead of helped it. Nomar's skinny frame couldn't handle being bulked up; it hurt his range at short tremendously and led to a multitude of injuries. Imagine if he'd stayed clean . . .

Tell us what you think of these nominees, and your thoughts on other players during the Steroid Era.