Cover of the book Juice: Wild Times, Raging Hormones, and the Untold Story of Steroids in Baseball. In 2004 by author Jose Canseco

MLB Steroids Era Committee?

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

The original committee that began voting for the Hall of Fame alongside the Baseball Writers Association of America was the Veterans Committee, established in the late 1930s and later evolving into the current system of Era Committees.

Over the years, various committees have formed. Writers don’t vote across these committees; they vote for the standard ballot, while the designated Era Committees handle the older or post-BBWAA-eligibility players, with the Contemporary Player ballot (voted by a special committee, not all writers) being the primary path for recently retired stars.

The Steroids era in baseball spans from the late 1980s to the early 1990s and through the late 2000s. We all (covering baseball at the time) witnessed a surge in home runs and offensive stats. Steroids were banned in 1991.

The US Federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, and then later, when Commissioner Fay Vincent’s 1991 memo to teams added steroids to the banned list. However, enforcement and testing in MLB came in the late 2000s. Not only the 2004 Senate hearings but José Canseco’s book in 2005 brought widespread awareness, as it was well publicized and many bought it, titled Juice: Wild Times, Raging Hormones, and the Untold Story of Steroids in Baseball. In 2004,

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, and Rafael Palmeiro faced questions and testified before the Senate Commerce Committee regarding the use of steroids, with emphasis on the BALCO scandal. Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) had its headquarters and operations primarily in Burlingame, California.

During the hearings, among players who testified before the Senate Commerce Committee regarding steroid use, Rafael Palmeiro tested positive shortly after his denial, and Bobby Bonds later faced perjury charges. This was the “highlight” of the Steroids Era.

Many people in the business of Major League Baseball have suggested including an “asterisk” when somebody from this steroids era is officially inducted into the Hall of Fame of Baseball, and there is doubt about whether they used steroids or not.

To make it easier, I suggest they create another committee that can include a new slate of players who are not currently in the Hall of Fame but are suspected; they would not need an asterisk, because being on that list would be self-explanatory.

That new committee will be named: “Steroids Era Committee.”

Quote: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives” -Jackie Robinson, MLB Hall of Fame (1962)