Today, Roger Clemens is getting indicted for perjury that happened during his testimony against Brian McNamee in Feb 2008.  When will Major League Baseball get beyond the Steroid error?  That cloud is what is wrong with Baseball in my mind.  The sport itself has been cleaned up but for the next year or so, we're going to be flooded with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens trial reports.  Barry Bonds is scheduled to go on trial for the same in March of next year.  Can't we just be over it?  I just want to watch baseball. I long for the days where we discussed these guys positions in the Hall of Fame.  Look, I understand that steroids is wrong.  I understand that athletes using steroids is something we don't want our children seeing for fear of their doing the same.  I get it, parenting responsibilities and all.  Hopefully, the trials will go swiftly and we can get back to watching baseball and enjoying the game.  Simpler times will never come again.

What I don't get is why every time one of these stars is brought up on charges, there's this "Uh oh, there goes his HoF entry...".  I didn't get it for Pete Rose.  I don't understand why it is that way for Mark McGuire.  If the Hall of Fame was some moral shrine, there would be far fewer busts adorning its halls.  So we know that Clemens likely used steroids.  We know that Bonds did as well.  Petite, Manny, A-Rod, Ortiz, Sosa and countless others did as well.  If pitchers and hitters were both using steroids, how exactly did one have an advantage over the other?  They're both roidin' it up and many fans have fond memories of those grand achievements. (albeit tarnished memories)  Are we really going to stand here and discount everything they did?  Will we do the same in ten years when we're putting A-Rod into the Hall of Fame?  Nostalgia will replace the tarnish with memories of warm summer breezes and fond images of heroic achievements by our favorite players.  I know exactly where I was when McGuire hit his 62nd home run and I'll never forget it despite his stupid antics in front of Congress.  In our mind's eye, the steroid allegations will go away in the same way that we forget that Babe Ruth was a terrible role model and a drunk.  The one thing that will remain is their performance on the field.  Performance that happened during a time where some large percentage of other players were also using steroids but didn't get caught or accused.  That's the standard to measure against and singling out these players simply because of their proximity to the public relations nightmare that is MLB's steroids issue is part of what's wrong with baseball.

Somehow, we can forgive Arenas for taking a firearm into a team club house.  We can forgive Kobe's rape and dismiss Walker's gambling debts.  We can forgive the entirety of the Bengals and all their infractions.  We can forgive Vick's dog fighting fetish and look the other way from Tiger cheating on his wife.  But steroids???  Nooo.  That's too much.  Give me a break.  Discount Clemens and Bonds' achievements in the same way that we'll amplify Griffey's, but in all of those cases and many more, the candidate is still worthy of the Hall of Fame.  Tiger will still go down as the greatest golfer in history, no matter the outcome of his divorce.  Few moral standards are sacrosanct in sports.  Steroid use during a time where everyone was using them is not one of those moral standards.
 

Further Reading

Barry Bonds' career stats.
Roger Clemens' career stats.
Mark McGuire's career stats.