The Steroid Era and the Hall of Fame

For the past few years the discussion as to whether or not players in the steroid era should be allowed into the Hall of Fame has been an issue that has separated baseball fans.  Some fans and ‘purists’ stand firm that the Hall of Fame should not be tarnished by those players who used steroids, while others make the argument that all the players were using steroids and therefore it didn’t give an advantage to any one player.

Now I must admit I have been torn on this issue.  A large part of me says that players like Bonds, Clemens and Sosa should never be allowed in the Hall of Fame, but I don’t feel that way for all players who are suspected of steroid use.  Today though I heard a statement by one of the greatest sports commentators of all time, Bob Costas, as he stated what he felt the baseball Hall of Fame should do.

He began by immediately pointing out that the steroid era is not the only time in baseball history in which you can place an asterisk next to the accomplishments of the players.  Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier major league baseball was only played by white players, which let’s be honest, limited the talent level of professional baseball.

Later on in baseball history there was the adjusting of the mound height.  Most fans don’t realize this but when you pitch off of a lower mound it is much easier for hitters to make solid contact.  In high school I pitched a game on a higher mound and had my best performance ever.  My fastball had better downward movement and my off speed pitch never went above belt high.  The mound was a huge reason for that.  The higher the mound the greater the increase of the angle at which the ball is traveling making it harder to hit.

There is the expansion era where the talent pool began to thin out because there were so many more players added to the league.  Yes expansion was good for business but it lessened the average skill level of players.

Then finally the steroid era came into existence.  Did steroids change the game?  Yes, in a lot of ways.  Guys physically recovered faster from injuries, power numbers began to grow for players who were never power hitters (Sammy Sosa), and the game became about the long ball and not the fundamentals.

I still don’t like the fact that the steroid era happened but when you put it into context with what has occurred over the course of the past 100 years of baseball you begin to see that the game has always had times when you can say that the play of the game has been affected by either decisions made by the players or decisions made by the leadership of the game.

Therefore I believe that players in the steroid era should be put in the Hall of Fame but it should be stated that they were playing in the steroid era and for any player listed in the Mitchell Report that should be put on their plaque.  The Hall of Fame is a museum of history and facts and being a part of the steroid era is a fact in baseball history and should be noted.