My 2014 Hall of Fame ballot submitted to Deadspin

For those unaware, Deadspin claims to have bought a Hall of Fame vote from an unnamed BBWAA voter to “make a mockery and farce of the increasingly solemn and absurd election process, and to take some power from the duly appointed custodians of the game's history and turn it over to the public.

“The voter will announce his/her name and motivations once his/her vote has been officially cast.”

Of course, there’s no proof that a voter actually sold his or her vote to Deadspin. And, if it is true, why would this voter reveal himself and open himself up to discipline from the BBWAA?

Regardless, Deadspin’s ballot is now open and I’ve already submitted my picks. Unlike the current voting process, fans are allowed to vote for as many players as they’d like. So, here’s my ballot.

McGwire finally admits to using steroids

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. But at least now Mark McGwire has finally admitted to using steroids. Oh, and I'm sure it's no coincidence he's admitting this a few days after he earned just 23.7 percent of votes to be elected into the Hall of Fame.

In his statement to the Associated Press, he admitted he used steroids on and off throughout his entire career, dating back to the 1989/1990 offseason and including his record-breaking 1998 season. A source close to him said he used HGH as well. After telling congress in 2005, "I'm not here to talk about the past," he's finally here to talk about the past.

"I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come," McGwire said. "It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected."

So now that he's come out, do we forgive him? Does he eventually make the Hall now? First, some have said his numbers alone don't merit an induction. Sorry folks, but if you have 583 career home runs and shattered Roger Maris' single-season home run record you have reason to be in the Hall of Fame.

Second, I'm having some trouble forgiving him. Unlike Alex Rodriguez, McGwire is admitting to using steroids throughout his entire career. If you want to subtract the few years A-Rod and Barry Bonds supposedly used steroids, they may still have the credentials to be Hall of Famers. But when you admit to an entire career tainted with steroids, it's tough to forgive. Sorry, he did win a Rookie of the Year Award without steroids, supposedly.

The only thing going for him was his final statement about the current state of baseball.

"Baseball is really different now -- it's been cleaned up," McGwire said. "The commissioner and the players' association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I'm glad they did."

I'd hope he has this attitude toward Major League Baseball. Why? Because he's still in the game! He accepted a position as the hitting coach for the Cardinals in 2010. I'm not sure if it's in the best interest of the club to keep him in that role, because now fans may put into question any feats Albert Pujols or Matt Holliday might accomplish. I've always believed Pujols is clean, but having an ex-juicer like McGwire as his hitting coach may put his future records into question.

I wonder if anyone else from the Steroid Era will come out now (I'm talking to you Bonds and Sammy Sosa). Now is the best time to do it! I'm sure more on McGwire's case will come out in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Sosa’s positive drug test leaked: No more leaks, please!

Yesterday, Michael Schmidt of the New York Times reported that Sammy Sosa tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in 2003.  Sosa and Alex Rodriguez are now the only two names that have been leaked of the 104 players who agreed to take part in an “anonymous” drug test.

The fact is, these players are being cheated by the law firms that have leaked these two names.  Many firms have access to these names, but I think the documents should be destroyed.  It’s unfair to to the players for these names to be revealed.  There’s a reason why baseball does not use blood tests.

Bud Selig said that baseball has the strongest drug abuse policies of any American sport.  He’s right, but the Olympics still use the most effective tests because of the blood tests.  The blood tests reveal everything about a person’s medical history, and no major leaguer wants to share that personal information with the rest of the world.

I always liked Slammin’ Sammy, even after the corked bat incident, but lying removes him from the guys I like.

Like A-Rod, Sosa is a liar!  Here is what Sosa said in front of a House committee in 2003, via the NY Times:

“I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything,”  Sosa said in a sworn statement.

Sosa’s PED use was even more obvious than A-Rod’s, but now it’s official.  I’m mad that he lied about it, but I’m even more mad that another name was leaked.  Two names is bad enough.

Like Peter Gammons said on Baseball Tonight, if over a dozen future Hall of Famers are leaked from that list, Sosa’s chances at the Hall become even slimmer.  I’m not worried as much about the Hall as I am with the integrity of the game.

Steroid era crisis?

I just got word that commissioner Bud Selig is contemplating a suspension for A-Rod, due to his admission of PED use when they were illegal in baseball.

One thing holding back Selig from suspending him right now is that the test he tested positive in was an anonymous survey. Also, A-Rod never admitted to the specific PED he used, which makes it harder to suspend him.

This is a huge deal folks. I've been thinking a lot about what the aftermath of the steroid era should be.  I am focusing on hall of fame eligibility as well as any sort of records.

As a baseball purist, I want to make every player that has either admitted or tested positive in any PED test ineligible for the Hall of Fame. I'm sorry A-Rod, but the hall's voting guidelines are very clear:

Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

The use of PEDs defies integrity, sportsmanship, as well as character. That is enough for me to deem any one of these players ineligible for the Hall of Fame.

Now as far as dealing with the records, I want to make any one of these players ineligible for the record books. Yes, this means Roger Maris' 61 homers are still in the lead, as well as Hank Aaron's 755 dingers.

I'm sorry, but you have to come down hard on these players. I'm sure in most cases, these players are thinking, "If I use these PEDs, I can get good enough to earn myself a hefty contract." I'm sorry for the Andy Pettitte's of the world, but you still were dumb enough to use them.  Illegal or not, it is still immoral to use them and goes against everything the Hall of Fame stands for. And I certainly don't want inflated statistics reinventing the record books.

Big name players such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and now Miguel Tejada can kiss their careers good bye.

Photo from SI.com