The fact that Roger Clemens was accused of cheating by taking steroids (which means that he should go in) only strengthens the argument he should not go in as a Yankee, Blue Jay or Astro - but as a Bostonian. Yes that's right. With a big "B" on his hat. He has yet to be accused of taking steroids when he was with the Red Sox and everybody knows it. During the time he was in Beantown none of the signs of steroids showed. He never was moody. He never got that much bigger. And the speed of his fastball if anything tailed off as his skills and health started to decline before going to the Blue Jays. The year he was most productive was with the Red Sox when he was 24-4, had a 2.48 era and struck out 238 batters in 254 innings. Clemens was also with the Red Sox the longest, starting in 1984 and was with them until 1996. He was with the Blue Jays from 1997-1998, the Yankees from 99-2001 and then this year. Plus he was with the Astros a couple years in between.

He did not even come close to going that year with the Yankees or the Astros. In order to match the number of years he pitched with the Red Sox he would have to pitch until he was 56 years old. Not even Nolan Ryan could do that and it doesn't appear that he will. When pitching with the Astros Clemens didn't even go to road games and last year he was 6-6 and only started 18 games. If a pitcher pitches every time he is up on the rotation he would pitch 30-35 times a year. Considering he seems to have left the game of baseball it is highly unlikely he will be coming back for the same reason Barry Bonds wouldn't: He would be constantly hounded by reporters about the steroid investigation and it would be the circus that never ends. I was a longtime Roger Clemens fan until he became a Yankee and I hated to see him end his career the way he did: But by the time he was accused of cheating he still accomplished a ton before he was cheating at all. That should be enough to put him in Cooperstown.

The next reason Clemens belongs in the hall is even with the steroid allegations there is one fact everybody is forgetting: There was a time where some forms of steroids were actually legal. What seems to have happened and what has caused the vehement player denials is there was probably a crossover or mixup as to exactly what was legal and what was not during a period of time when steroids were legal. Just like any other rule change it takes adjustments. And some players apparently did not adjust well enough and those are the accused party. When Raphael Palmeiro did his finger pointing steroid thing when saying he did not use steroids does not flatly mean he didn't use steroids. It meant he did not use any illegal drugs during his time as a player.

If Clemens, Bonds and the others who have been named in the ongoing steroids investigation had played in any other era there wouldn't even be a debate as to whether or not they would make Cooperstown. Players in the past have been alcoholics, smokers, I'm sure some who took weed and other forms of drugs and even got away with it. But that does not make them lesser baseball players and it does not give them an advantage. If anything it gives them a disadvantage. And that my friends as why the Rocket belongs in the Hall of Fame with a big fat "B" on his head.

Learn more about this author, Erich Heinlein.
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