Should players like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and other Steroid users be allowed in the Hall of Fame?

Question

Pete Rose can't get in so why should they. At least Pete Rose didn't cheat.

Answer 1

No they should not be allowed in, and all their records should be erased. Sammy Sosa is my biggest disappointment, without the help of steroids and cork bats he might not of even hit 200 home runs. I really hope he does not make the Hall of Fame.

Baseball just isn't what it used to be, I miss the real players of the game; like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and yes Pete Rose.

Answer 2

They should definitely not be in the Hall of Fame.

Think about the old legends: Ruth, Mantle, Mays, and Aaron. Here we have four guys of substantial power who worked their way to the top without artificial hormones. Are they and many others going to have their records broken because of cheaters? Yes. However, that doesn't mean that we can's stop these records FROM BEING RECOGNIZED. If we keep these players out of the Hall of Fame, they will never receive the ultimate honor that the old legends got, and that is enough justice for me.

Think about all the players that didn't cheat also. Today we have stars such as Mike Mussina, who is a great pitcher. Nevertheless, he does not receive as much recognition as he deserves. Perhaps this is because the steroid munchers have tainted his stats and what he really could have accomplished. There are also hitters such as Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard (whom I am fairly certain are not juiced) who get a lot of recognition, but perhaps not as much as they should.

And yes, Pete Rose deserves to be in much more than they do because although he was crooked, he did not cheat in the sport.
However, this gambling will keep him out of the Hall of Fame and instead into the Hall of Shame.

Answer 3

No they shouldn't get in.

The Hall of Fame rules has character as one of the criteria. While steroids were not officially banned at the time in baseball rules, they were still illegal to use in that way. So while they didn't break baseball rules, they still broke the law. This alone should have made it impermissible in the sport and makes them cheaters and lawbreakers.

Unlike McGwire, Sosa, and Palmerio, Bonds does have statstics before his alleged use that make him a contender to be in the Hall of Fame. However, if he has committed perjury as the feds believe he has, this reflects on the character issue in the Hall of Fame rules and he too should not even be considered based on his presteriod numbers.

Pete Rose doesn't deserve to get in whether he bet on his own team or not because there is one rule in baseball that is the death penalty and every player is aware of it. It is the most famous rule in baseball and it is the no gambling rule. Major League baseball was almost destroyed by the Black Sox Scandal and it changes much of what happened to the sport after including the antitrust laws and the commsioners powers over the sport. Rose knowingly broke that rule and deserves the baseball death penalty for it. He also broke federal gambling laws doing so. This is different than the 1951 Giants stealing signs or Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry using a spitball. In those cases, there is no dobut that the player or team was trying to win, and they didn't break the law to do so. Of any rule, the no gambling rule is the rule that cannot be compromised or plea bargained down.

Answer 4

Baseball is using these players as an escape goat for bad rules & regulations. If Major League Baseball can't implement standard steroid policies & then regulate each players distrubution & use of such banned substances then we CANNOT hold the players accountable without first holding Major League Baseball & its commisioner accountable!!! Most substances that are now "banned" from baseball were not banned even 2 years ago. Therefore, if a substance is not banned how can we say these players did anything wrong! Ethically,maybe! Legally, absolutely not!!! Put them in the HOF because these players are great & they still have to hit a round freakin ball with a round freakin bat a long ways.

Besides, if they didn't hit home runs would you as the casual fan even know who these guys are? Would you go watch? I think NOT!!

And put Pete Rose in the HOF too!!! & one side note, betting on baseball when your a player or manager is cheating!! Just in a different way!!

Yours Truely,
Steroid distributor & proud user.......lol

Answer 5

Yes! Baseball won't even say what you can and can't use, and they never have. Steroids or whatever, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds saved baseball's ashes after the disastrous strike of '94.

No one is even sure if they did anything wrong, or if it was wrong, whether they broke any rules.

They're baseball heroes.

Answer 6

It's sad isn't it? You look up to someone and realize that everything they've done was by cheating. It makes you not appreciate sports like you used to. I don't think they should, only because I think Bonds is a complete jerk! But that's my personal opinion of him. They need to look at his whole career and determine when the steroid use started. I'm sure these players haven't cheated their whole career, but who knows.

Bottom Line: these players have to live with themselves and they are the ones that truly know what they did wrong. I just don't think I could take such an honor like the Hall of Fame if I cheated to get there.

Answer 7

I think it depends on circumstance, were they using before nomination? I guess a better way to put it is was it them or the steroids that acheived such greatness? I think if they WERE users and then cleaned up, their record while using should not be considered, that of course would only work if they were honest about it all. I love baseball and I have a bit of a blind spot toward the players, but if their entire career was spent dirty (as users or cheaters) than no because THEY didn't acheive those things, substance abuse did.

Answer 8

In my opinion all these players and several other steroid users should never be allowed in the Hall of Fame.
Rose shouldn't either. He violated rule #1 and then lied about it.

Answer 9

If Pete Rose can't get in...HELL NO they can't get in! They also need to give Roger Maris his record back.

They need to shut the Hall of Fame down all together...How can ANYONE keep a man like Pete Rose out of the Hall...he bet on OTHER teams not his...I have seen so much worse...corking bats, vaseline, steroids, I could go on and on...Shut it down until Pete makes it in...sorry sore subject.

Answer 10

I agree with your logic- if Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson don't get in, then certainly 'roid users should not. The only issue might be that we only know who's been caught, and none of these guys have. It is wrong to disallow someone on supposition and rumor, which to me means Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose should be in, and also McGwire, Sosa, and (even much as I hate him) Bonds. I think it's up to baseball historians to leave a black mark on these men's names, leaving their names and pictures to be forever synonymous with 'roid-fueled statistics.