Steroid Era

Barry Bonds owns the most cherished record in baseball, and more than twice as many most-valuable-player awards as anyone else. No pitcher has as many Cy Young awards as Roger Clemens. Under ordinary circumstances, the Hall of Fame debate would involve whether Bonds or Clemens might become the first player to get 99% of the votes in his election. However, with the residue of the steroid era sprinkled over ballots on their way this week to about 650 voting members of the Baseball Writers' Assn.

The Hall of Fame remains standing. There is no storming of the gates, no frenzied pitch-forked mob, no cries for a John McClane rescue. Checked with representatives of the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America, who confirmed that they actually will come back and do this little Hall of Fame voting thing again next year. Must be tough news for the indignant. For the morally outraged. For all those who cannot conceive that the baseball writers would fail to vote in Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens, or anyone else.

You could walk right past the sign without noticing it. It is a small rectangle, black letters on a yellow background, not at eye level but at waist level. It sits at the entrance to, but not within, one of the display areas at the Hall of Fame. It is 101 words, a tentative and uneasy first draft of a sad chapter in baseball history. Its title: "Performance-Enhancing Drugs." This is not the preferred subject of conversation for Jeff Idelson, president of the Hall of Fame.

Rich “Goose” Gossage cut an intimidating figure on the mound with his sinister-looking Fu Manchu mustache and blazing fastball, and at 61, he can still fire a few high, hard ones, as he showed after Wednesday's Hall of Fame vote, in which players from the steroid era were shut out of Cooperstown. “I'm glad nobody who is tied to performance-enhancing drugs got elected,” said Gossage, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008 after going 124-107 with a 3.01 earned-run average and 310 saves from 1972 to 1994.

MESA, Ariz. -- The most reliable fans in America migrate here every spring, supporters of a team celebrating a complete century of failure. They bask in the informality of training camp, savoring a conversation or two with the men wearing the uniform of the Chicago Cubs. Derrek Lee, the Cubs' All-Star first baseman, hears from the fans about last year's playoff flop, this year's chances, how to pronounce the last name of Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. And steroids?

It's the allegory, stupid. It's a brand-new ballgame, sports fans, and I'm not sure how to watch it. In this opening season of the post-steroid era, I feel like a betrayed spouse determined to make the relationship work, struggling to balance experience against hope. Are my guys really clean now? If not, can I live with it? And I can't shake the feeling that baseball isn't baseball anymore; it's just another fading allegory for everything else. In 1954, deep into the Cold War, a leading historian of our national character, the French-born Jacques Barzun, famously declared, "Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball."

In a few days, or a few weeks, a home run record will fall. "I don't want you to jinx me," Alex Rodriguez said. Not that home run record, the all-time one, the one Barry Bonds will claim with five more homers. With six more home runs, Rodriguez will become the youngest player in major league history to hit 500. So, just as Bonds is a few days or weeks from breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755, Rodriguez could be a few years from breaking the record Bonds is about to set. "Now you're going to double-jinx me," Rodriguez said.

From the year with no World Series to his stoppage of the All-Star game to the steroid era, Bud Selig has never had an answer for any of baseball's problems. By making Selig commissioner for life, baseball has let all its fans know that it has no intention of changing anything. D.S. Adam Newhall

Instead of calling it the Steroid Era, it should be called the Selig Era. Mark Cortes Northridge :: I'm glad the Dodgers signed Orlando Hudson. I'm not sure it makes the team any better, unless he can pitch every fifth day, but I love hearing Vinny refer to him as "O Dog." Rich Minahan Huntington Beach

Roger Clemens wasn't surprised that he wasn't voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and used Twitter to share his thoughts on the results, which were released Wednesday morning. "After what has been written and said over the last few years, I'm not overly surprised. Thanks to all the teams I've worked with and to fans and friends for all the fantastic letters, voice mails and texts of support over the last few years. To those who did take the time to look at the facts … we very much appreciate it. " No players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year in a vote that seemed to be a response to the steroid era. Home run king Barry Bonds was named on only 36.2% of the ballots, Clemens on 37.6%.

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. - - Barry Bonds was baseball's home run king, winning a record seven most-valuable-player awards. Roger Clemens' blazing fastball earned him a nickname, "The Rocket," and a record seven Cy Young Awards as the top pitcher in his league. None of that mattered Wednesday. Two of the most decorated players in the sport's history, perhaps the best in a generation, were roundly rejected from their sport's Hall of Fame. In their first year on the ballot, the celebrated - and vilified - stars were turned away in an election that was a referendum on the game's steroid era. For only the second time in 43 years, the Baseball Writers' Assn.

Roger Clemens wasn't surprised that he wasn't voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and used Twitter to share his thoughts on the results, which were released Wednesday morning. "After what has been written and said over the last few years, I'm not overly surprised. Thanks to all the teams I've worked with and to fans and friends for all the fantastic letters, voice mails and texts of support over the last few years. To those who did take the time to look at the facts … we very much appreciate it. " No players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year in a vote that seemed to be a response to the steroid era. Home run king Barry Bonds was named on only 36.2% of the ballots, Clemens on 37.6%.

Hall of Famer Barry Larkin knows some people he doesn't want joining him in Cooperstown. Drug cheats. “I think if you cheated, no, you don't deserve it because I know how difficult it was for me to get there and how difficult it was for me just to compete on an everyday basis,” Larkin told the Associated Press. “I think if you cheated I think you made a decision and I don't think you belong.” This year's Hall of Fame ballot, results of which will be announced next month, feature three symbols of the steroid era: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa.

Barry Bonds owns the most cherished record in baseball, and more than twice as many most-valuable-player awards as anyone else. No pitcher has as many Cy Young awards as Roger Clemens. Under ordinary circumstances, the Hall of Fame debate would involve whether Bonds or Clemens might become the first player to get 99% of the votes in his election. However, with the residue of the steroid era sprinkled over ballots on their way this week to about 650 voting members of the Baseball Writers' Assn.

When you think of Mark McGwire, you think of numbers, but not those numbers. You don't think of 583 career homers, or 70 homers in 1998, or one homer in every 10.61 at-bats. You think, instead, of 19.5. That is the percentage of baseball Hall of Fame votes he received last winter. He received 19.5% when 75% is required for entry. His name will appear for nine more years on the regular ballot, but it could be there 90 years, he still has zero chance of ever entering Cooperstown, a notion that is important now that he's entering Chavez Ravine.

Mark McGwire is expected to become the Dodgers' next hitting coach, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because his hiring hasn't been finalized. An iconic home run champion whose legacy was tainted by steroid use, McGwire was the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals the last three seasons. The Dodgers' previous hitting coach, Dave Hansen, was fired last month. A move to the Dodgers would mark a homecoming for the 49-year-old McGwire, who graduated from La Verne Damien High and played at USC. He has an off-season home in Orange County.

Jeff Kent needs to stop talking about how much better it was when he was young. Between a canceled World Series and the steroid era, his generation of ballplayers has done more to destroy baseball than any other since the 1919 World Series. David Bedell Torrance Joe Torre is Grady Little without the great personality. At least with Grady, we got a great one-liner every so often. Ruben Longoria Grand Terrace It just may be a coincidence, but doesn't it seem that the Dodgers and Lakers' seasons end in the same month every year?

What with all the controversy over the brown smudge on Kenny Rogers' pitching hand, may I make the following suggestion to prevent this from happening in the future? MLB only has to place a sign in the dugouts at all stadiums that reads: "Pitchers must wash hands before entering the field." STEVE MIRKIN North Hollywood I agree with Bill Plaschke that playing the World Series in wintry weather degrades the game of baseball. But why not return to a 154-game season?

Writers from around Tribune Co. are discussing whether Roger Clemens will make baseball's Hall of Fame in light of the recent not guilty verdict against him. Check back throughout the day to see their responses, and leave a comment with your thoughts on the subject. Juan C. Rodriguez, South Florida Sun Sentinel If Roger Clemens does make the Hall of Fame, it won't be any time soon. Clemens' acquittal probably sways some voters on the fence about his candidacy. It won't put a big enough dent into the broader cross section of writers that aren't prepared to induct anyone with strong links, circumstantial or otherwise, to the steroid era. The government did not fail to prove Clemens took steroids or human growth hormone.