It’s Time to Come Up With a Solution to the PED/Hall of Fame Issue and Move On

By Ken Reed

Ever since the possibility of PED-enhanced baseball players being enshrined into the Hall of Fame came up, I have been strongly against it.

Basically, I believe the essence of sport is fair competition, a level playing field, if you will. Major League Baseball players who took PEDs scoffed at that ideal. They graduated from the win-at-all-costs (WAAC) school. They aren’t about fair competition, they’re about getting an edge anyway they can. They are me-me-me people, primarily concerned about enhancing their fame and fattening their pocketbook.

But here’s the overarching problem: By all accounts, there weren’t just a handful of stars using PEDs during baseball’s steroid era. Some people believe as many as 25%-50% of all players were on some type of juice. So, then the question becomes, how do you weed out the honest ones?

Odds are great we’ve already enshrined several players into Cooperstown who took PEDs at some point in their careers, including possibly David Ortiz, the latest player voted into the Hall of Fame.

Something has to be done. If not, the PED debate will go on for at least another decade as proven PED players like Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez have many years left on the Hall of Fame ballot. For years now, the PED debate has sadly overshadowed discussions about the great on-field accomplishments of everyone on the ballot — clean and dirty players alike.

To be honest, it’s very hard for me to stomach honoring guys (e.g., Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons, A-Rod, Mark McGwire, Ramirez, etc) that clearly tried to cheat the game and their fellow competitors. But there are so many top players from that era (including Ortiz) who we are not sure were clean during their playing days.

As such, my solution — at least at this point in time — is that the Hall of Fame needs to create an entirely separate wing for the PED era (not sure exactly what years that would entail but it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out given what we know today). Yes, create a separate wing with a big display at the front of the wing explaining the PED era … for example, the fact PED use was prevalent during this period; that we can’t be sure who used and who didn’t; that it’s highly likely some of the Hall of Famers in this wing are tainted due to PED use, etc.

Then, once the PED wing is created, let’s go ahead and induct all the guys who would clearly be in the Hall if it weren’t for the PED cloud hanging over their heads (including Bonds, Clemons and McGwire). Put them in the Hall’s PED wing.

And then let’s finally move on …

Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans