There is that great scene in Field of Dreams when Terrence Mann tells Ray why baseball matters:

The one constant through all the years, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, it’s a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again.

Well there are two glaring exceptions to this–two times in baseball’s history when the game was not constant, when it wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, when it reminded us of all that was bad, rather than all that was good.  The first time was the Black Sox scandal, and the second time was the Steroid Era.

One of the tired, hackneyed old saws about putting guys like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame is that we lack perspective, and we wont be able to put their achievements in context until several years have gone by and we know more about the true impact of steroids on the game.

Well, some years have gone by already, and we are getting more and more context, and it’s all pointing toward the same conclusion–namely, that steroids had a huge and ridiculous impact on the game for a few years, so much so that if you run statistical models on baseball performance over time, people like the good folks at Baseball Prospectus and elsewhere keep finding that performances in the years 1995-2002 were so far outside what is statistically possible under normal random chance that they can only conclude that a fundamentally different game was being played in those years.  Different because of rampant use of steroids.

My opinion on putting these guys in the hall of fame used to be that we should punish them by not putting them in on the first ballot to show our displeasure, and then let them in a few years later to reflect their numbers.

But I’ve changed my mind.  Let’s keep these guys out forever.

The defenders of the steroid users have come up with all sorts of ridiculous defenses. “The pitchers used steroids too.” So what? They’re cheaters too - keep them all out. “You still have to hit the ball.” Um, yeah, thanks a lot Captain Obvious. If Barry Bonds had used a metal bat whent the rest of the league was still using a wooden bats, he would “still have to hit the ball,” but would that mean he had earned all of the 2,567 home runs he would have hit? “It wasn’t illegal at the time.” Well, first of all, it was illegal in that it was against actual laws to possess and use steroids without prescriptions, just not against basball rules. But seriously, can we really make an argument that using steroids was not cheating at the time? Everyone knew it was cheating, which was why there were all the denials and secrecy.

But the main argument of the steroid defenders is that there is no incontrovertable evidence that any of these guys used steroids.  Of course, these people consistently overlook the testimony under sworn oath of guys like Bonds and Giambi in front of a Grand freakin’ Jury, and the drug test actually failed by Rafael Palmeiro, but even when it comes to guys like Sammy Sosa, the circumstantial evidence is so overwhelming that we really have to keep them out of the Hall.

Look, this isn’t a trial. We are not debating whether we are going to put these guys away for life or send them to the electric chair. There is no “standard of proof” in Hall-of-Fame voting wherein we have to hold these guys innocent until proven guilty “beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

Getting into the Hall of Fame is not a right or an obigation that automatically accrues to any player who reaches a certain benchmark set of numbers.  If that were the case, we wouldn’t need to vote at all. Rather, the Hall of Fame is an honor–the highest honor it is possible to bestow in this game–and it should not be bestowed on anyone unless we are absolutely, 100 percent positive that they deserve it.

I would say, if these guys are willing to swear under oath in court that they didn’t do steroids, then maybe we could let them in, but these guys couldn’t even deny it before the Congressional hearing.  The standard of proof needs to be reversed. Rather than needing to prove beyond all shadow of a doubt that these guys did do steroids before we can keep them out of the Hall, we need to prove beyond all doubt that these guys didn’t do steroids before we let them in.  But if there is any doubt, keep them out, especially since there is no way to get a guy out of the Hall once he is in, but there are many ways to put guys in later if we find out they deserve it.

Because I don’t want to be taking my grandchildren to Cooperstown 50 years from now and telling them that yeah, these 400 guys earned their way in, but don’t pay attention to those 15 guys because we found out later that they used steroids.

Because I want the Hall of Fame, at least, to be a place that reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again.

Tonight, Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run, joining a very select club. Sosa became only the fifth player to hit 600, along with Aaron, Bonds, Ruth and Mays.

In honor of Sammy’s milestone, ESPN.com asked their baseball “experts” to weigh in on whether or not Sosa should be in the Hall of Fame. Let’s take a look at some of their responses, and make snarky comments about each.

Enrique Rojas says YES.

So as long as Sosa isn’t found guilty of charge for violating any established rules, then his numbers should be the sole argument to consider in order to open wide for him the doors of Cooperstown.

Actually, Enrique, Sosa was found guilty of violating an established rule. Remember that whole corked bat thing? Yeah, there was a rule against that.

Steve Philips says YES.

“He has never failed a drug test. In fact, consider that Sosa did get busted for corking a bat during his playing days. Why would a player on steroids cork his bat? He wouldn’t.”

That’s interesting logic, Steve. Sosa corked his bat, so he must not have been on steroids. Honestly, where’s Harold Reynolds when we need him?

Jim Caple says YES.

At this point, it’s hard to see me not voting for him, though I can’t say I’m as enthusiastic about him as I have been about others. Not because of any steroid allegations but because his numbers were inflated by the era in which he played (unlike McGwire, who had his first monster year before the explosion in offense, when 49 home runs was still a lot).

Jim, McGwire was ahead of the curve. He started putting up monster numbers before everybody else because he started using steroids before everybody else. If you’re going to penalize Sosa for being a steroids follower instead of a steroids pioneer, that’s your business. But there are better reasons to penalize him. Like that time he went before the US Congress…

Tim Kurkjian says YES.

Sammy Sosa is a Hall of Famer. There is no definitive proof about his alleged steroid involvement, so, in the absence of hard evidence, his numbers are what we go by, and they are of Cooperstown quality.

There’s little doubt that Sosa’s numbers are Hall worthy. But when Congress asked Sosa about his drug use, he claimed he couldn’t speak English. And while that was ballsy and brilliant, if it didn’t convince you of Sosa’s guilt, then nothing short of a confession will.

Jerry Crasnick says NO.

I want the Mitchell investigation and the surrounding uncertainty to play out before I commit to players with red flags.

That’s a little wishy washy for my tastes, but since Crasnick’s the only ESPN talking head who says he wouldn’t vote for Sosa, I’ll cut him some slack. Congrats, Jerry, on being the only ESPN baseball guy with principles.

Last winter ESPN surveyed Hall of Fame voters and found that only 20.4 percent would have voted for Sammy Sosa if he’d been eligible. Since then, Sosa has hit 12 home runs. Apparently, that was enough to change some peoples’ minds. Did it change yours?

Last season, after a year spent on the DL, White Sox DH Jim Thome hit 42 HRs, 109 RBIs and a .288 AVG on his way to the comeback player of the year award.

This season, Thome won’t take anybody by surprise. But here’s a list of players who are top candidates for 2007 Comeback Player of the Year:

1. Sammy Sosa Slammin’ Sammy is back from baseball purgatory. He spent a year sitting on his duff in his native Dominican, after a couple of seasons with the Orioles that saw him completely implode as a hitter and a Congressional hearing that took a lot of the shine off his formerly glowing image. Now he’s on the Rangers and spent most of spring training absolutely tearing the cover off the ball. If Sosa can keep it up, he’s the logical choice for the CPOYA, but then again voters might find it hard to vote for a guy who forgot how to speak English when asked about steroid use and who, not so long ago, got caught with a corked bat.

2. Garrett Anderson One of the most liked players in the game, Anderson didn’t live up to expectations the last few seasons due to injury. This is a guy who hit 235, 28, 29, and 29 homers between 2000-2003. The last three years he’s hit 14, 17 and 17. That’s not awful, but it’s not what we cam to expect from Anderson. This year, Anderson says he is finally healthy. He’s only 34, so he should still have gas left in the tank. If his injuries really are a thing of the past, he could be primed for a big year.

3. Dmitri Young This guy has nowhere to go but up, after getting cut by the Tigers last season, then entering rehab following a domestic violence incident. Now he’s playing first base for the Nationals, which might be an even bigger challenge than quitting drinking. But don’t underestimate him. He can hit. In 2003, he hit 29 HR, 85 RBI and .297 AVG with the Tigers. You don’t luck your way into those numbers. And he was probably drunk. Imagine what he will do sober.

4. Wade Miller It seems like forever ago that the Astros were planning their future around Miller and Roy Oswalt. Miller won 16, 15 and 14 games from 2001-2003. But the last few seasons, he just couldn’t stay healthy. Now he’s earned a spot as the Cubs fifth starter. A return to form could be the difference between the Cubs finishing in first or last.

5. Mark Prior and Kerry Wood Stranger things have happened, but one is scheduled to open the season in the minors and one will start on the DL, so don’t hold your breath.