Opinion Source Information:
ESPN.com
There are those who won't vote for anyone whose name was ever attached to any performance-enhancing drug, so it may be good we never had the world of greenies, diet pills and red juice from the '50s, '60s and '70s revealed to us. But by the time A-Rod approaches Barry Bonds' home run record, he will have had time to build his case.
He can produce his drug test records from 2004 through 2008. He can continue his argument that his best season was 2007 and, therefore, that he played his best when he was clean. Starting this season, he can try to persuade the union -- if there is one come July -- to reveal all his drug tests. Come to think of it, every player who wants a level playing field and is angered by his association with the era should try to make his results public record if he so chooses, because players have parted with the union and now know that nobody's right if everybody's wrong. A-Rod can work with the commissioner's office as an anti-drug evangelist.
And six, seven or eight years from now when A-Rod passes Bonds' home run record, he will have had adequate time to state his case, and in another eight years he could have his record placed in front of the Hall of Fame voters.
I maintain this about Rodriguez: I've never seen him fail to play hard. He has never come across as if he didn't care. Would he have fessed up had he not known he was caught? Of course not, but don't hold your breath waiting for the other 103 to raise their hands.
A-Rod's bucks may be larger, but this rodeo won't stop with him. This week rumors surfaced about a raid on an Atlanta house that some felt contained a mail-order PED business. Other rumors surfaced about crackdowns on doctors' illegally supplying painkillers, and some of their lists may contain the names of present or former athletes.
So by the time Rodriguez's name appears on the HOF ballot, the sports world may be a far, far different place.