This is what we get from the "Steroid era" a group or players who normally would have been sure fire Hall of Famers now on the fringe of getting in now, or even ever.  Let's consider the cases of some of these players.

Barry Bonds - this really is a no brainer.  steriods, HGH, cream or clear, Barry Bonds would have been a Hall of Famer even if we take his home run total out of the mix.  Before Bonds bulked up in size he was already one of the top players in the game with at least 2 MVP awards to his credit before he even got to San Fransico.  Having seen Barry turn into the abominable homerman he was one of the most electrifying players in the game.  Can we view his 73 home run season as tainted? Sure.  Can we also balk at the all-time home run mark he will surely set?  Yes we can.  But  what we cannot take away is that Barry Bonds even minus the long ball has been a great player throughout his career.

     Do we penalize him for suspicion of steriod use?  Do we penalize him for being a jerk to the media for the majority of his career?  Let me answer the latter first.  No, and i only need to bring up one name to prove my point, Ty Cobb.  Cobb was notably was of the biggest jerks (and that's putting it nicely) to ever to play the game.  But he was also one of the greatest players in history.  In fact he would probably unquestionably be named the greatest player ever if it wasn't for his personality.  But this isn't about Cobb.  So now the steroid question and it's affect on Bonds status as a Hall of Famer.

Impact - little to none.  Make any case you want about intergrity (which there has always been a large lack of in the history of baseball) he is a sure fire Hall of Famer and first ballot to boot. barring any convictions or new revalations in the 5 years after he retires.

Mark McGuire - To me this has already become one of the greatest travesties / causalties of the steriods era.  Long before he even got to St. Louis  McGuire was one of the top power hitters in the game and hit 48 home runs in his second season (my facts my be a bit off on that, but i know it was @ 50 homers extremely early on in his career).  

     To me it is a disgrace and total hypocricy for him to be excluded from the Hall on the first ballot.  One of two men who is credited with "saving" baseball pushed aside for what?  For being vague and not answering questions at a congressional hearing?  The real problem I have with his exclusion so far is this, He took andro.  Reporters knew about this during the summer of 98. Andro was not a banned substance at the time.  It wasn't even illegal.  Anyone who worked at any kind of suppliment store at the time could tell you it was availble there, including large chains such as GNC.  If Creatine is banned can we somehow negate the achievements of those who weight trained with that supplement?

     One of only 2 moments in my 28 years of life where I could tell you exactly what i was doing and remember vividly the details is McGuire's 62nd home run.  McGuire said what he had to at that hearing.  Sure he could have talked about using andro, but even though ok when he took it and availble over the counter, it was a substance on the now banned list and would have made him look like a wrong doer even though even though he took a legal supliment. 

Verdict - It's really up in the air, McGuire has been the first victim of this era however, as time passes I do believe he will make it into the hall where he belongs.

Sammy Sosa - I'll try and keep this one as short as possible.  The only player to have 3 60 home run seasons.  Pretended he didn't know english at the hearings. Probablity of steriod use, high.  Use of a corked bat, yup. 

His numbers - Juiced or not 600 home runs is an impressive number.  Take away those three 60 home run seasons and he still has over 400 home runs. 

Corked bat? - Am I the only one who knows about experiments conducted to see if a corked bat really makes a difference in hitting home runs?  Simple answer, no it doesn't make any sizable difference.  However if they used a dimpled ball.... anyway.  600 home runs is too many to ignore, not to mention those 3 60 homer seasons.  500 may be no longer automatic induction into the hall, but i believe 600 sure is.

Verdict - In.  Sosa continuing to play will help him cause it will be many years to he even comes to vote for the Hall and by they a lot of the burning issues and sentiments over this should have cooled down enough for a possible first ballot guy.

Rafael Palmerio - 500 home runs, told congress he didn't use steriods, then gets caught the very next season. Let's be honest, even before steriod talk came up, there was a lot of discussion about him being the first player with 500 home runs not to be inducted into the hall of fame anyway.

Verdict - On the bubble to begin with and steriods sealed his fate, no Hall of Fame for Raffie