I have my own personal way of figuring out what steroid players deserve a spot, and I know there will be plenty of people who will disagree with me. I believe that players can be looked at by their individual cases. There are no doubt more players from the 90's steroid area who took PED's than we will ever know. However, I cannot not vote for a player who has HOF-caliber numbers who was not convicted. For those who did get caught and used the excuse "Everyone else is doing it," well sorry, you got caught! So, here's my ballot:
1. Barry Bonds
I know there are going to be many people who will disagree with me, but there is an argument for this one. Other than being the all-time HR leader, there are some other reasons. At the beginning of his career, mostly with Pittsburgh, Bonds was not only one of the league's best hitters but was also a great base-runner and fielder. He was a 30-30 threat every year. Anyone who digs deeper into the numbers would see that Barry Bonds would be a Hall-of-Famer without ever touching any steroids. However, the PED's turned this man from an All-Star to a superhuman!
2. Roger Clemens
To me, there is no way I could leave out a guy with such great numbers. He stayed so consistent throughout his career and has achieved multiple pitching accolades. He's one of the great pitchers of his era and should not be left off this list.
3. Curt Schilling
This guy is a no-doubter for me. He was a big-game pitcher and came up in the clutch when his team needed him most. He was as well a huge part of two World Series teams and was even a co-MVP of the '01 Classic
4. Craig Biggio
In my mind, 3,000 hits gets you into the Hall of Fame, no matter what. He was maybe the biggest part of the Astros "Killer B's" of the 80's and 90's, and was a Major League force until his retirement in 2007.
5. Mike Piazza
Since I cover and closely follow the New York Mets, I might feel a little biased, but I think this guy really deserves a spot in Cooperstown. You can't overlook some of his career statistics. He may not have been the best defensive backstop this game has ever seen, but with 420+ career big flies, he is no doubt the best hitting catcher of all time.
6. Jack Morris
I know there are many people who think that Morris is not a HOF pitcher with his ERA over 3 and other stats like that, but this guy was one of the greatest big game pitchers of his time. This is something he proved when he pitched 10 innings in a winning effort in the 1991 World Series for the Twins.
7. Tim Raines
This guy should've been in The Hall a long time ago. He has 800+ steals, one of the most exclusive clubs in the game, and throughout his entire career was always a threat to get on base and score 2 or 3 runs within the blink of an eye!
8. Alan Trammel
Trammel was a hitting machine in Detroit consistently for 20 seasons and a 5-time All Star.
9. Lee Smith
Only one statistic is needed to put this guy in the Hall of Fame: Before Hoffman and Mariano, Smith was the all-time saves leader at 479. Case closed!
10. Edgar Martinez
2200+ hits and over 300 career home runs as a designated hitter! This guy is the best DH in baseball history.
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