Currently, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds have enough votes to be inducted into baseball Hall of Fame. Here’s why the time is right to let them in.
According to the man tasked with tracking National Baseball Hall of Fame ballots, Ryan Thibodaux, currently, 77.7% of ballots have been in favor of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds to be inducted into Cooperstown. If this trend continues, both players will exceed the 75% threshold and be honored as Hall of Famers.
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While many will never accept both players as true members of baseball’s elite class, here are three reasons why it’s time to just move on and let them in.
Baseball Enabled Steroid Use
A little over 30 years ago, the FBI launched an investigation code-named “Equine” into the illegal use and sale of steroids. In the investigation, two MLB players were named: the “bash brothers,” Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.
This led FBI agent Gregory Stejskal to inform MLB as early as 1994 about the pervasive use of steroids in the game. Baseball, as you might have already guessed, did nothing about it.
In fact, it wasn’t until about a decade later, after Bonds and Clemens had been implicated in baseball’s PED scandal, that baseball created a comprehensive anti-drug policy.
They Never Tested Positive for PEDs
Another reason why it’s time to let Bonds and Clemens in is that they never tested positive for any substance while under baseball’s drug policy. As a result, they never had to serve a suspension for breaking baseball’s rules.
Sure, the eyeball test will tell you that Barry Bonds must have been using something. His head became larger and suddenly he had more power than ever before.
Sure, Roger Clemens found new life and endurance during the second half of his career, winning 3 of his 6 Cy Young Awards after turning 34 years old.
The fact of the matter is, however, they never failed a test. As far as we’re all concerned, they’re no different than someone like Rollie Fingers who notoriously used spitballs to gain an advantage.
Precedent Already Set
Finally, with players like Mike Piazza (2016), Jeff Bagwell (2017), and Ivan Rodriguez (2017) being inducted into Cooperstown having also been implicated in the PED scandal, the precedent has been set by the BBWAA to vote players suspected of using PED’s into the HOF.
Piazza, Bagwell, and Rodriguez all faced accusations and speculations, just like Bonds and Clemens did. They also never failed a drug test, also similar to Bonds and Clemens.
So what’s really the difference? There is none.
The cloud hanging over them will always be there, but the right thing to do here is to let them in.