Let Them In...With an Explanation

Roger Clemens...7 Cy Young Awards.  Barry Bonds...73 home runs in the 2001 season, and 762 home runs in his career.  It is hard to believe that these men will not get into The Baseball Hall of Fame one day.

Both of these men have been accused of using banned substances to further their careers. It is important to note that "using banned substances" means cheating, plain and simple.  It seems clear that, based on a balance of probabilities, if all of the evidence were to be heard regarding these accusations, they would very likely be found to have used these substances.  Certainly. almost no one believes that they did not knowingly use them.  Because of this, they have not been voted into the Hall of Fame, and it looks like they never will.

They should be in.  Their careers, even absent any drug use, would have warranted a first ballot entry into the Hall of Fame.  One way to deal with this, and to clear their way into the Hall, is to make sure that Major League Baseball's official record book reflects their actual careers - probable drug use and all.

Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961, earning him an "asterisk" which emphasizes that he needed 8 more games to hit those 61 home runs than the beloved Babe Ruth took to hit 60 homers in 1927.  In fact, there is no asterisk, but there is a bracket after Maris' record indicating the number of games he took to hit those 61 home runs.

Bonds and Clemens do not have anything after their various records to indicate how, in part, they likely earned some of those records. There should be brackets after their various records - and those of anyone else who, on a balance of probabilities, likely used drugs to further their careers and to cheat - saying something like "probably, in part, through performance enhancing drugs".  These men would be furious at such an inclusion in the record books.  Let them sue - they will likely lose.

With the official records book reflecting their actual carers, these men should be included in the Hall of Fame.  There are many in the Hall who were less than perfect men.  It is the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Perfection.  Expose their warts, then let them in.