Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Hank Aaron says that if a "confirmed steroid user" is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, many of its current members will walk off the stage at the ceremony. I understand the sentiment, but the standard is too nebulous. What does it mean to be "linked either directly or indirectly to performance-enhancing drugs"? Being linked is bad enough, but being linked indirectly? What the hell does that mean? That someone, somewhere, thinks you may have used performance-enhancing substances? Weren't amphetamines in wide use in the 1960s and 1970s? Did Aaron ever use an amphetamine? If so, what's the difference? I should say, for the record, that without Pete Rose in it, the Hall of Fame is a joke. He is the best player in the history of the game.