There appear to be some obvious examples of players that used performance enhancing drugs...but what about those that used but didn't hit a gazillion dingers? What about the pitchers that used to recover faster from workouts and maintain a high level of performance past their prime? What about the light hitting shortstop who used to stay in shape and continue his career? What about the marginal prospect who used to increase his chanes of making it to the league? What abbout the outfielder who used to gain a step on balls hit his way?
Is it cheating in a large percentage of players were doing it...? Or is it evening the playing field? What about the use of amphetamines...which goes back forever...? It was always an acceptable practice to help players get thru the grind of the season. Ruth was a notorious carouser in his day. Who's to say he didn't come to the clubhouse with a killer hangover on many occasions and popped uppers to help him get on the field? I'd say those enhanced his performance as he might not have been able to perform without them. Would you consider him to be a cheat? What about Mantle? The same theory applies.
You wanna put an asterick next to any records in that came in or were a part of the so-called steroid era? Fine. But the guys still had to hit the ball, throw the ball and catch it. The accomplishment should still be recognized and the hall of fame still awarded to those that deserve it by numbers. The hall is filled with guys that threw spitters or scuffed balls, corked their bats, stole signs...isn't that cheating as well? And many of those players were KNOWN for cheating. Do you revoke their inclusion in the hall because if the current crackdown on cheating?
