One of the hottest topics of every baseball offseason always surrounds which players are worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame.
On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced that they have not elected any new members into the Hall of Fame for the Class of 2013.
There were 37 eligible players on the 2013 ballot, including 13 former Major Leaguers who received enough votes last year to remain in the running for the Hall but did not get the 75 per cent required for induction.
Many of the names on this year's ballot immediately jumped off the page, but none moreso than those of outfielder Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens.
From a purely statistical standpoint, it is impossible to not see either player as a slam dunk first-ballot selection.
In the case of Bonds, he is Major League Baseball's all-time and single season home run leader with 762 and 73 respectively. In addition to those accolades, he's also won a league record seven Most Valuable Player awards.
For Clemens, his 354 career wins, seven Cy Young awards and one MVP selection have him in very rare company as one of the most decorated pitchers in the history of baseball.
Unfortunately the possibility that either player may have enhanced their performance for some or all of their careers with the use of steroids or other drugs proved enough to cause writers to refuse to cast a vote in their favour.
There are other players on the ballot who also had the steroid suspicion hanging over their heads including Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, all players with worthy numbers who remain on the outside looking in at the Hall.
Outfielder Dale Murphy was the only player in his 15th and final year on the ballot. This year he received 18.6 per cent of the vote and will be removed from contention on the media ballot.
At the end of the day, steroids kept the likes of Clemens and Bonds out on the first ballot, while the likes of Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza, Jack Morris and Tim Raines were unable to garner enough support to get the call.
With all statistics, off-field issues and history to consider, do you think the right call was made?
As always, it's Your! Call.
