What Major League Baseball Should Do With Admitted Steroid Users

Should we erase all of their achievements or should we keep them? Should we ban them from the Hall of Fame or should we let them in? Should they be suspended or let them play?

These questions plague those who are so very disappointed in our "heroes" who have "cheated" to play the sport of baseball.

Here is my solution! First of all stick to the agreements that have already been established by the Baseball Players Union and Major League Baseball. The only exception I would make is for those who have just recently admitted to or been proven (in court) to have used illegal performance enhancing substances. If a player has recently admitted or been proven to have used illegal drugs or substances (such as Alex Rodriguez and ? Miguel Tejada), they should skip the first step/phase of punishment and move straight to the second phase. They should skip the first phase because they lied and got caught. They should at least move to the second phase, which I think involves some kind of suspension from playing the game. That way the players who were punished already don't feel like these players get to skip the punishment phase just because they came clean on their own.

As far as their records or accomplishments are concerned; It's hard to decide what to do here. They were competing against other players who were also cheating, but they still cheated themselves. You can't go back and alter the final results of the games they played in...so I think we should leave the records as they stand. You can put an * or two by their names if it makes you feel better, but what else can you do? Mickey Mantle played drunk, Doc Ellis pitched a No-Hitter while using cocaine, and Gaylord Perry cheated big time with his spitballs and no one is taking their performance numbers away from them. Mantle and Perry are in the Hall of Fame for crying out loud.

Should they be banned from the Hall of Fame? I think they should! Baseball banned "Shoeless" Joe Jackson from the Hall of Fame after he took a bribe to loose the World Series. Baseball banned Pete Rose and he didn't cheat by betting on baseball until after he was a player. These players knowingly broke the rules of the game and tainted the sport. I don't' care how good they are, they should be banned for life. Go back and take Gaylord Perry out if you wish to take out all cheaters. Just think though, the all-time hits leader (Rose), one of the all time strikeout leaders (Roger Clemens) and the Home Run leader (Barry Bonds) and possible future Home Run Leader (Alex Rodriguez) all banned for cheating the game. Wow!

At least the sports writers are punishing the steroid users with their votes on admission to the Hall of Fame. It looks like Mark McGuire will never make it. (Although I think you could make an argument that his playing career does not compare to the best.) It's a sad day in sports when one of the top 10 all-time strike out leaders, who didn't cheat, (Bert Blyleven) hasn't been elected to the Hall of Fame, but Roger Clemens, who did, probably will.

I am just sad that players have to feel they must cheat to win. I just hope they are happy knowing their names will go down forever as shamed players; at least in my book.