"But as we drift further away from the steroid era, a new, quieter reality has settled in. One that the gatekeepers of Cooperstown might not want to admit, but one that is painfully obvious to anyone paying attention: It simply doesn't matter anymore. If Bonds never gets into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the sun will still rise, the fog will still roll into the Bay, and the Hall itself will continue to slide into irrelevance."
"The angst over his exclusion is based on the false premise that the Hall of Fame still possesses the moral authority to judge him. But that ship sailed a long time ago. The Hall and baseball's faux hierocracy that protects it want us peons to believe Cooperstown is a cathedral of integrity, protected by the infamous "character clause." But integrity requires consistency, and that's nowhere to be found."
"We have players enshrined who were widely suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, but were admitted to the hall because they were charming to the media or smiled during interviews. We have the man who oversaw the entire era, turning a blind eye and enriching everyone, including himself, and who didn't act until Congress got involved, Bud Selig, enshrined."
Barry Bonds was denied admittance to the Baseball Hall of Fame by writers for a decade and now faces exclusion by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The debate over his achievements and alleged steroid use persists as the era recedes. The Hall's moral authority has eroded due to inconsistent enforcement of the "character clause" and selective enshrinement. Players suspected of performance-enhancing drug use were admitted based on media charm, and executives who oversaw the era were enshrined despite failures. As a result, the Hall's influence is declining and exclusion decisions carry diminished weight.
Read at The Mercury News
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