By, Joseph Vozzelli

Steroids have put baseball under a cloud of suspicion and constant scrutiny. The only thing that has given baseball more of a black eye than steroids was 90 years ago with the 1919 “Black Sox” Scandal, in which members of the Chicago franchise conspired with gamblers to throw games during the World Series so that the Cincinnati Reds would win. The steroid issue seems to rear his ugly head just when MLB executives begin to consider the issue dead. Maybe Bud Selig hoped that the beginning of the decade would allow for MLB to move away from the issue of steroids, however, everything changed for the League though when McGwire finally came clean about his use of PEDs.

In 1998, we watched in awe as McGwire chased down Roger Maris for the single season homerun record. I can still remember that early September night when McGwire hit that towering moonshot that landed just over the left field – followed Busch Stadium exploding into pandemonium! The indelible image in my mind is that of McGwire being personally congratulated by members of the Maris family. It was truly a moment for the ages!

Now, this great baseball moment has been tainted forever after McGwire’s admitted use of PEDs. The McGwire connection with PEDs has been suspected ever since the late 1990s. Jose Conseco, a clubhouse teammate of McGwire in Oakland, alleged in his book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big that he personally injected McGwire with steroids. Many of you can probably still vividly remember McGwire delivering a tearful opening statement, however, to the House Government Reform Committee in which McGwire basically pled the fifth. McGwire repeated: “I am not going to talk about my past.”

In a “tell-all” interview with MLB Network’s Bob Costas, McGwire revealed little to no information about his past use of PEDs, although he did admit to using them. McGwire told Costas: “I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.”  McGwire did, however, provide a timeline for his steroid use. According to McGwire, he began using PEDs during the 1989/1990 offseason as well as off and on throughout the 1990s, including during the 1998 season.

McGwire repeatedly denied being injected by Jose Conseco and also asserted that the only reason why he used steroids was to recover from injuries. McGwire even went so far as to say that drugs never gave him the power to hit home runs and told Bob Costas “I was given the gift to hit homeruns. The only reason why I took steroids was for health purposes.”

McGwire assertion that his hand-eye coordination was never improved through the use of steroids is completely erroneous. Scientists at the World Doping Agency have proven the fact that human growth hormone, a type of steroid that McGwire took during the 1998 season, helps with focus and hand-eye coordination. However, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that steroids such as HGH did not improve McGwire’s on-field performance. McGwire still put major bullet holes in his argument because he asserted that he used HGH to recover from injuries. It is true that McGwire’s days in Oakland were marred by injury, but without steroids McGwire may have never been able to hit as many home runs as he did during his career. This, of course, neglects the fact that steroids have been linked with the destruction of the body in the first place.

It would appear that McGwire’s admission of PED use was prompted by his decision to become the new St. Louis Cardinals’ hitting coach. As far as the Hall of Fame goes, most analysts believe that McGwire will never be inducted into Cooperstown. In order to be a Hall of Famer, one needs 75% of the vote; the most McGwire has tallied so far is 23.7% in 2010. It is widely believed that McGwire will receive a boost in voting in 2011, but  not nearly enough to garner the necessary 75%.

Thus, the Hall of Fame question seems to be at least irrelevant at this point. That is, unless McGwire pulls off the greatest comeback in the history of baseball. Tony LaRussa, the Cardinals’ skipper, toyed with the idea of allowing the 46-year old to be a playoff pinch hitter if the Cardinals make the playoffs in 2010. However, a man who has been out for the sport for almost ten years probably will not be able to do much of anything in the playoffs.

Instead of the Hall of Fame question, I think it is time to consider what to do about the issue of records and statistics. Baseball has and will always be a sport defined by its records. Utter the numbers 755 and 61 and the baseball fan will return the career and single season home run records held by Hank Aaron and Roger Maris, respectively. Of course, as most baseball fans know, Barry Bonds now holds both records. However, only the diehard fan would be able to tell you the exact number of HRs Bonds has hit during his career (762). Regardless, held in the statistics of baseball are moments, memories, and, fans would like to think, examples of extraordinary accomplishment.

Should individual records during the steroid era (1990-present) such as HRs and RBIs for hitters, and Wins/ Loss and ERA for pitchers be marked with asterisks?

Before you make your decision, consider a major point of contention: the argument that steroids need to be combined with natural talent in order to be effective. A career .171 hitter in the minor leagues with a grand total of 1 career home run is never going to become the next great slugger, even if he chooses to use PEDs.

Personally, I believe that the individual records of admitted PED users need to have asterisks next to them in the Hall of Fame. I believe that steroids are what turn home run hitters from great to legendary. What I mean by that is McGwire had the natural talent to hit home runs and would have put up respectable homerun numbers. But, without HGH and steroids, he may have never broken Roger Maris’s record.

But, that’s enough of my opinion. I am looking for your opinions on the issue of whether steroids allow home run hitters to see the ball better and whether admitted or suspected PED users deserve to go to the Hall of Fame or not. What do you think, Drexel?

All facts and statistics acquired from www.espn.com, www.baseball-reference.com, and the general knowledge of Joseph Vozzelli. All quotes are paraphrased to the sincerest ability of the author.