When Can the Baseball Writers for the Hall of Fame Consider Cheating Through PED Use, or Not?

Abstract

When the 2013 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot was released this past November, the heated discussion began about which controversial candidates, if any at all, would be inducted into Cooperstown (HOF). while isolated athletes have come up in previous years, this year represents a first real tension between the modern ear of baseball - the "steroid era" - and traditional standards for admission into the Hall. The 537 baseball writers are, and should be, entrusted to weigh cheating and use of PEDs against the HOF's criteria of "character," "sportsmanship" and "upholding the integrity of the game." These writers each will struggle, however, with a preliminary question that falls outside of their expertise: under which circumstances may a HOF voter consider, at all, a candidate's connection to cheating and performance-enhancing drugs.