OPINION

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By Bryson Raquet

Syringe being filled with steroids. Photo credit: Pixabay

Should Major League Baseball players who have used steroids or any other performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) be inducted in the Baseball Hall Of Fame? This is a timeless question in the major leagues that comes up every year during Hall Of Fame balloting and selection, because some of the best hitters of all time have been found guilty of using these supplements to illegally enhance their games. 

Notable players who have admitted to or been accused of using steroids and other PEDs include Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Alex Rodriguez.

Unlike most eras in Major League Baseball, the “Steroid Era” never really had a beginning or end. Players have been using PEDs since the 50s, and the MLB didn’t ban them until 1991. However, the league did not start requiring players to get tested until 2001, so a plethora of players were still using through the 1990s. The MLB was not entirely aware of this until 2003, when they did an investigation at the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), a supplemental firm in California. A federal court and grand jury called Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and dozens of other professional baseball players who were BALCO customers. This investigation was being led by federal agents and the United States Anti Doping Association (USADA). BALCO was selling non-traceable PED’s to dozens of players in the MLB, meaning the players could take the supplements and still pass a drug test.

Barry Bonds waiting in the on deck circle. Photo credit: flickr user randomduck via Wikimedia Commons.

There have been many different opinions about whether these past players should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. In the argument for the players, some baseball fans and analysts make the point that all of the players who used PED’s should not be grouped together and frowned upon. Instead, Cooperstown should look at the players’ individual statistics before and after they used PEDs to ultimately make the decision on whether or not the player will be inducted. Another argument that many of the players accused of using steroids have made is that they did not know they were taking them. This is the argument Bonds has made. He said that he thought he was using linseed oil and rubbing balm that was given to him by his personal trainer. This was found to be false, and Bonds has been denied entry to the Hall of Fame each time he has been considered. Players are only eligible to be nominated for the Hall of Fame if they played ten seasons, have been retired for five seasons, been approved by a screening committee, and get 75% of all ballots. The fact that baseball is not necessarily a “steroid sport” is the strongest argument that the PED users have. While strength does help a batter’s ability to hit the ball, other factors, like the ability to read a pitch and get your timing right, are all based on baseball skill and science.

The majority of baseball fans and sports analysts are against the players being inducted. The common excuse of “everyone used PEDs in that time” does not stand, because even though many players did use them during that era, the majority of players were not on steroids and had to compete against players who had an unfair physical advantage over them. The players are essentially making an argument that they were “peer pressured” by other players into using PEDs. 

I believe that the superstar players, such as Bonds, Sosa, and McGuire, who used PEDs should be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but they should either have a special section for these players and others who have used PEDs or something should be engraved into their plaque in Cooperstown, showing that they have used them. Bonds, Mcguire, and Sosa were seen as baseball heroes when they were still actively playing and during retirement, until they admitted to using PEDs. For this reason, I believe that even though they used steroids, their entire careers should not be frowned upon.

I posed this question to baseball players and fans at Collegiate. Henry Bush (‘21) said that “They should be inducted, because PEDs were so available and widely used during that time it would be unfair to disqualify that many players from the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s.” I asked a captain of the varsity baseball team, Heth Alexander (‘21), the same question. Alexander said, “I believe that certain players who used PEDs should be allowed in the Hall of Fame. The committee should take a look into players’ performance before using them. For example, many believed that before Bonds used PEDs, he was already having a Hall of Fame career, thus a player like Bonds should be inducted. A player like Jose Conceco, who juiced the entire time he was in the league, should not be inducted.”

Sammy Sosa taking a swing. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons user Googie man.

In 1998, Sosa and McGuire went back and forth all season in the “Home Run Race.” The two were both determined to break Roger Maris’ single season home run record of 61. McGuire ended the season with 70 home runs, shattering the record, and Sosa, also breaking the record, ended with 62. The race of 1998 was a huge marketing win for the MLB. Players had been on strike in 1994 because they wanted a salary cap. The teams did not finish their full seasons, and American sports fans were turned off from baseball. Sosa and McGuire revitalized baseball with the Home Run Race and brought new excitement to the game. Say what you want about how Sosa and Mcguire may or may not have ruined their careers, but what these two players did for the game of baseball is unforgettable. Despite this, neither has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

Bonds then went on to break McGuire’s single season record for most home runs in 2001 with 73, and he also has the record for the most home runs hit in a career, with 762. His stats may have been tainted by the use of steroids, but he still deserves to be put into the Hall of Fame for this unbelievable milestone.