By CHASE GARDNER
Throughout history, Major League Baseball has honored the best of the best by inducting them into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and more players have been honored into the hall.
Corruption is sneaking its way in though. Two cheaters are up for nomination to be inducted into the 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Barry Bonds was drafted in 1986 by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a left fielder and showed major ability from the start. In early 2001, Bonds showed a major transformation, going from a trim 185 pounds to a bloated 228 pounds of pure muscle. After this transformation he broke Hank Aaron’s homerun record of 755. Suspicion grew when Bonds continued to knock balls out of the park even in his older playing years. the MLB comisioners ordered a drug test for Bonds, Bonds had traces of Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), a form of steroids never approved by the Food and Drug Association, let alone the MLB. The worst part is Bond’s has been able to keep his record as the homerun king even those he was using illegal enhancers.
In 2008 Seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens was indicted for steroids use. Clemens injected Human Growth Hormones (HGH) into his legs to aid him in pitching. Clemens retired in 2007 with 4672 strikeouts and a career earned run average of 3.12.
It is not fair to let people who used drugs into this famed group of ball players, while not let in players like Pete Rose or “Shoeless” Joe Jackson for illegally gambling, which is cheating but nowhere near as bad as using enhancers. Cheaters never win, so letting Bonds and Clemens into the Hall of Fame would tarnish the honor of the great sport of baseball.
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