Character & the Hall of Fame

The government has spent millions of dollars trying to connect pro athletes & drugs.  The recently concluded Roger Clemen's Purgery trial was yet another failed attempt by the government, following in the footsteps of the Bobby Bonds & Lance Armstrong cases.  We can argue the merits of these trials & the money spent but I would like to discuss just baseball & it's Hall of Fame entrance guidelines as they pertain here, especially the "Character" piece.

The "Character" piece has been used to keep Raphial Palmiero and Mark McQuire out of the Hall of Fame thus far and I'm sure will be the topic of discussion this December when Bobby Bonds, Sammy Sosa, & Roger Clemens are eligible for entry.   

Roger Clemen's "Not Guilty" verdict may help him a bit but many feel he's guilty of something & his lawyers just did a great job of creating reasonable doubt.    The question for the voters just seems to be....Do these men belong in the Hall?  Do their accomplishments on the field warrant their entry? 

Will the voters use the "Character" piece to keep these men out?  Many might argue that there are those in the Hall with questionable character so why keep these men out? Ty Cobb supposedly is guilty of man slaughter & Babe Ruth of excessive drinking. Are all of the Hall of Famers Perfect people?  Cheating has been going on ever since sports began.  Athletes looking for ways to improve their performance.   Are steroids just another way to do this?  Should we put astericks or have a separate category for the "Steroid Era"?

I don't know?  And I don't have any answers for the voters come December.  All I know is that a Hall of Fame without the leading home run hitter & one of the games best pitchers doesn't seem right.  Maybe they need to take out the "Character" Piece.  I do believe that Character matters but maybe sometimes it's just All about the Numbers!!!!!!