The Hall of Fame steroid dilemma

The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) announced its newest inductees on Wednesday. Three players made it this year: first  baseman Jeff Bagwell, left fielder Tim Raines, and catcher Ivan Rodrigues.

If you’re like many casual baseball fans, you may only know whom one of those players are, “Pudge” Rodriguez, and recognize the names of the other two. Which is a bit surprising in a year with so many well-known players hoping to be awarded with the HOF honor.

This year’s nominees also included the second-greatest relief closer of all time, Trevor Hoffman; the home run king* (asterisk) Barry Bonds;  Roger Clemens, with 354* career wins; Manny Ramirez, with 555** (he was caught ‘roiding twice, hence the double asterisk) career home runs. The list goes on, but a few things stuck out this time around.

If you juiced but your numbers are so good they’re impossible to ignore and you were never technically caught, you’re likely getting in the HOF. If you juiced, got caught and your numbers don’t break records, you’re probably not getting in, yet. If you dominated your position during the steroid era and it was rumored you may be on steroids, you’re likely not getting in, yet. And if you were a stand-up player but your numbers don’t speak, Adios, amigo.

Bonds and Clemens headline the impossible-to-ignore category. It’s always been rumored they ‘roided, but concrete evidence isn’t there. They each received around 55 percent of the 75 percent of the baseball writers’ vote they need to get in. It’s likely they’ll be elected in the next couple of years.

Ramirez falls into the second category. His numbers are clearly HOF-worthy but he was suspended twice for steroid use. He received 23.8 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility.  It’ll be interesting to see where his numbers head in the future.

In the third category is where the majority of this list of players fall – dominant players who just weren’t quite Bonds or Clemens. Jeff Kent, Sammy Sosa, and Gary Sheffield lead this category. Kent is the all time home run leader at second base, yet he only received 16.7 percent of the vote. Sosa received just 8.6 percent of the vote, yet he has over 600 home runs. Sheffield totaled 13.3 percent of the vote and he has 509 home runs. All these guys numbers shout HOF but their vote percentage indicates they aren’t reaching the Hall anytime soon.

The final category is led by Edgar Martinez and Curt Schilling. They each played through the steroid era and haven’t had the ‘roid stigma stuck to them, but their numbers are shy of HOF numbers. Martinez received just shy of 60 percent of HOF votes in his eighth year on the ballot. He ended his career with over 2,200 hits and 300 home runs. Schilling, on the other hand, earned 45 percent of votes, having finished his career with 216 wins and over 3,000 strikeouts. But these men will likely not reach the HOF.

Leaving the question; how will these categories change in the coming years? A few years ago it appeared maybe no ‘roiders would get in. Now Bonds and Clemens appear to be a few years away.

Will that trend move Ramirez, Kent, Sosa, and Sheffield up, in likelihood, over the next few years?

Obviously it’s impossible to say right now, but with big names like Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz recently heading into retirement, the questions must be answered.