Baseball Hall of Fame: After the Steroid Era

As we move towards the end of the Steroid Era in baseball, hopefully we have seen the last of the widespread use of illegal drugs in our national pastime.

However, as much as Major League Baseball and fans try to put the Steroid Era behind us once and for all, the issue of steroids in baseball will come back to the forefront in the next five to 10 years.

Many of the players that were at the heart of the steroid scandal will retire and become eligible for the Hall of Fame.

This will pose the greatest challenge ever faced by the sports writers who vote on Hall of Fame inductions.

Their decisions on whether to induct fan-favorite, borderline players will seem trivial when compared to the decisions they will have to make as to what should be done with the Steroid Era ballplayers.

The sports writers have already decided not to induct Mark McGwire, who has been on the last two Hall of Fame ballots. This decision was based almost solely on his association with steroids.

So, the question is, how will the writers address the decision on what to do with the large number of steroid-era players that will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in the coming years?

Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds are two of the greatest hitters of all time; both of whom are at the center of the steroid scandal. Rafael Palmero is without a doubt a Hall of Fame-caliber player, and is also at the heart of the steroid scandal.

Then we have Roger Clemens, who could be considered the President of the steroid scandal in Major League Baseball.

These are just a few of the many ballplayers who, without question, have Hall of Fame numbers but are associated with steroids.

The problem is that many Steroid Era ballplayers who will be eligible for the Hall of Fame have only "allegedly" used steroids. By not inducting a player into the Hall of Fame because of allegations of steroid use, the writers are essentially concluding that the player used steroids even though there is no definitive proof.

However, when the sports writers approach their decision of whether or not to allow Steroid Era players into the Hall of Fame, one thing is for certain: they must be consistent across the board.

The writers cannot sit back and decide which players they think used steroids and which players they think did not use steroids. They cannot decide to induct Barry Bonds into the Hall of Fame but leave out Roger Clemens.

They must be consistent.

It is a shame that just when we think we have moved past the steroid scandal in Major League Baseball, the issue will soon come to the forefront of the most sacred honor in the game: induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.