As the baseball writers of America gather each year to submit their hall of fame ballots, fans eagerly anticipate the results. Who will get in? Who will be kicked off the ballot? This excitement fuels the game’s most ravenous fans, but a contentious cloud has muddied the entire process: steroids.

The baseball hall of fame represents more than just an endless collection of plaques. The museum, located in Cooperstown, New York, is a dedication to upholding the history of America’s pastime by storing historic moments, memorabilia, stories and statues that honor the legacies of the game’s greats. The baseball hall of fame is supposed to be the epitome of what makes baseball great, a final destination for the best to ever do it, but that has never truly been the case.

The baseball hall of fame has never been free of controversy and critique. From its origins to a time before integration, the baseball hall of fame represents a unique cultural artifact, as its rules have seemingly changed over time. While a player nowadays may be kept out of the hall of fame for the character clause, indicating serious off the field issues, there are certainly unsavory characters from the past resting in its walls. So, should those players be removed? Or should current players who have harsh streaks be inducted as well? Similarly, should steroid users from the early 2000’s be let into the hall of fame? There is no doubt that many current hall of famers cheated in the past, so should they be removed as well? Difficult questions like this make the baseball hall of fame an eternal mystery box waiting to be solved.

Amongst the debate, opinionated fans have made their voices heard on both sides of the issue.

“I think that steroids users should be in the hall of fame – baseball is not a game based solely on strength,” senior Nico La Cola said.

However, others believe that using steroids is an automatic disqualifier.

“They cheated: plain and simple.If the hall of fame is supposed to honor the game, it shouldn’t allow cheaters,” senior Connor Muchetti said.

It’s easy to understand arguments on both sides of the fence. Sports shouldn’t glorify cheating, and by putting known steroid users into the hall of fame, it’s admitting that what they did is ok. However, the lines of what is allowed and what isn’t, especially when the league benefited immensely from the steroid-laced era of baseball in the early 2000’s, has become increasingly blurred.

As senior Sam Grande put it: “A line needs to be drawn; keeping the discussion in a gray zone about suspected steroid users will only lead to more confusion and anger from fans, and no one wants that.”