Ten years ago today, The Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed.  While no one would argue the illegal performance enhancers he used (mainly weed) should count against his ability to create nasty, filthy raps, it’s a different story when you dive into the discussion of baseball and steroids.  This week’s Top 7 looks at some of the most seemingly ludicrous seasons that have had in the last 10+ years, ones that make you wonder how in the world they improved so much.

7. Luis Gonzalez
The 57 home runs that he hit in 2001 are not called into question very much, partly because he is skinny, and partly because he is well-liked in the media, but good Lord—before then or since then, he hasn’t hit more than 31 in a season.

6. Jay Bell
This is probably the best example of how many freaking home runs were hit in the late 90s and early 00s.  Jay Bell hit 38 home runs in 1999.  Of course, these suspicions do not have to be about juiced-up players, as juiced-up balls could have something to do with it as well.

5. Bret Boone
He went from a skinny, contact-hitting middle infielder to a guy who could destroy opposite field bombs with his patented wrist-flicking motion.  During the 2003 ALCS, he also became the first announcer in history to say less than ten words in a seven-game series.

4. Gary Matthews Jr.
If there were a website called “Least Surprising News” (and there may be), one of the top sports stories of the year would be Matthews being accused of using HGH in 2006 — a contract year where he improved his numbers significantly across the board, leading to a $50 million deal given by a front office who also seems to be on some kind of drugs.

3. Brady Anderson
I’m still not sure how this one happened even if he was juiced out of his mind, but somehow in 1996, Brady hit 50 bombs.   He never hit more than 24 prior to or after that.

2. Paste (Bases Loaded)
No one gives Paste credit for perhaps helping usher in the steroid era.  After all, he played around the same time as Jose Canseco (late 80s), and hit 60 home runs when the league leader would struggle to crack the low 40s.  Some would say that the Jersey star was helped a lot by his aluminum bat, but it had to be something even more than that.   

1. Barry Bonds, 73 homers
This one almost shouldn’t make the list only because it isn’t suspiciously shady, it IS shady.  It’s always funny when certain commentators say that Bonds “allegedly” used steroids.  He did.  He said so in his grand jury testimony that was leaked.  It happened.  He is a certified steroid user—one with a good chance to break the all-time home run record this season.

The Top 7 is written by Jason Major.  He's juiced out of his mind right now.  Email him @ jason@joesportsfan.com