An Unenviable Dilemma

Giants’ great Barry Bonds on Hall of Fame ballot with Roger Clemens

By Katy Williams

The Baseball Hall of Fame released their ballot this week, and for the voters of the Baseball Writer’s Association, this is going to be one of the most difficult ballots yet. This year’s ballot marks the first time that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will be up for consideration

(Getty Images)

The ballot has featured players suspected of steroid use before, with Mark McGwire being the most well known example. However, none of the players on the ballot up until this point have been as successful on the field, and investigated and hated off the field, as Bonds and Clemens.

Clemens won a record seven Cy Young awards during his pitching career, and Bonds holds the record for career home runs at 762, along with winning a record seven MVP awards. Both have faced legal trouble for supposedly lying about using steroids during their playing career, but neither was criminally convicted and both maintain their innocence.

Its impossible to speculate exactly what the writers will do, but overall there seem to be three different approaches. A large group of writers does not want to taint the Hall of Fame with any players linked to steroids during their career. Another group believes that it is impossible to know who exactly was using and wasn’t, so if they were not caught during their career there really is nothing you can do. A third group of fence sitters doesn’t think they should get in on the first ballot, but maybe time will be kind and they will be able to get in after a few tries.

If past results are any indication, both of them are going to have a tough battle ahead. McGwire has been on the ballot six times, and has never gotten more than 25% of the vote. In the past two years, his total has dipped to under 20%.  A player needs to receive 75% of the vote to be admitted. There was speculation that he may be forgiven over time, because he did admit to using steroids and apologize, but so far the writers have been unforgiving.

The results of the voting will be announced in January. Until then, we can only speculate on what exactly the writers will do.