The Steroid Era

Through the late 1980’s until late 2000’s, Major League Baseball went through what is known as “the steroid era”. The steroid era was a time in which many players in baseball used performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s) to make them better and to boost their stats. While steroids were banned from baseball in 1991, people weren't getting caught until 2003 and continued using PED’s until MLB’s testing got better in 2007. The steroid era produced some of the best players the game has ever seen. Steroids led athletes to have unrealistic body figure as some players had their muscles stretching out of their jerseys. Monstrous athletes such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens dominated the MLB for over 15 years. Records were broken and legacies were created,

but the real question is, are they cheaters? As of today, some of the best players of all time are not voted into the Hall of Fame because they have been accused of using steroids. The Hall of Fame is the highest honor in all of baseball and it showcases the best players to ever play the game. Were the steroid era players the best to ever play? Stats say yes, while Hall Of Fame voters say no.
Many passionate baseball fans would argue that players who used steroids are cheaters and should not be considered for the hall of fame. During the steroid era there were great players who did not use steroids such as Ken Griffey Jr, Derek Jeter, Ichiro, and Greg Maddux. Griffey hit over 600 home runs in his career, Jeter and Ichiro collected over 3,000 hits in their careers and Maddux recorded over 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts in his career. None of these guys used steroids and they are all no-doubt hall of fame players which gives fans no reason to believe that the people who “cheated” during this era also deserve to be hall of famers. “Earning election into the hall is a privilege, not a right” (Zimmerman). Lots of voters and fans are strong believers that steroid users did not earn anything in their career. “Cheaters don’t deserve a Hall pass” (Matthews). With all the passion that fans have, they express very strong opinions on players because in their minds steroids are cheating and cheating is wrong. “The game has no place for cheaters” (Verducci). While there were many unbelievable and amazing players who used steroids, the argument is simple, they cheated.
Many feel that “the Baseball Hall of Fame remains a joke” (Levy). Voters have excluded steroid linked players and so called “cheaters” from the Hall of Fame for years now when some would argue that there already are cheaters in the Hall. Ty Cobb is a proven cheater, and not to mention, a Hall of Famer. “Ty Cobb was the best player in the game during the early 20th century but he was notorious for cheating in any way possible. He would sharpen his cleats for the sole purpose of cutting the infielder’s leg when he slid into second. There is even strong evidence to suggest that he gambled on his own games. But he is in the Hall of Fame” (McHugh). While Ty Cobb did not use steroids, he was still cheating.
Baseball analysts have argued that there is a cheater in the Hall, yet voters won’t allow, Bonds, Clemens or McGwire (who are statistically better than Cobb) into the Hall of Fame. Some fans would say that these guys made the game interesting. “People came out to stadiums and watched Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds chase all of the records...baseball was popular again” (McHugh). In some people’s eyes, the steroid era players saved the game. They made it more exciting. People willingly spent money to come to stadiums just so they could potentially watch these players break records.
The steroid era witnessed Barry Bonds become the all-time leader in home runs, it watched Roger Clemens win seven Cy Young awards (most of all time), and saw Mark McGwire break the single season record for home runs.

This era destroyed records, but also made the game more interesting and exciting for most fans. Bonds for one “said he believes ‘without a doubt’ he belongs in the Hall of Fame” (Berg). During the steroid era, “Barry Bonds ended his career with seven MVP awards, 14 all-star teams, eight gold glove awards and ranks as the second best position player of all time” (Berg). Bonds was a “five tool player” as some would say. He had great knowledge of the game, he could hit for contact and power, while also being able to make amazing plays in the outfield along with stealing over 500 bases in his career. Mark McGwire “ended his career with 583 home runs, which was the fifth most in baseball history” (Kalbrosky). McGwire was able to change the game with his power. Almost every pitcher he faced was in fear of what he was able to do with the bat. Another great player of the steroid era Roger Clemens won the most Cy Young awards of all time. To be a Cy Young award winner, it means you are the best pitcher in the entire game for an entire season and Clemens did it seven times. Yes, these players did use steroids, but not all history is good, and people argue that baseball cannot hide from its history because at that time in baseball, steroids were a part of the game. It is impossible to say that these players do not have Hall of Fame credentials by looking at their stats, but factoring in that they used steroids has kept most voters

away.
The controversial debate of whether or not the MLB players who used steroids should be in the Hall of Fame still goes on today. Every year the voting opens, baseball writers and analysts debate for weeks on live TV while also posting their strong opinions in online articles. For now, the all-time leader in home runs, and the man with a record breaking 7 CY Young awards, both remain out of the Hall of Fame. As years go by, the debates get even stronger as some try to prove how much these players cheated, while others try to build up their legacies. With so many facts and strong opinions on the simple question “Should players who used steroids be in the Hall of Fame?” the ongoing argument may never see an end.