To the editor:

As much as I respect Bill James, I must really disagree on his analysis of steroids and baseball. How can a quality-of-life-preserving medicine of the future possibly be compared to a very dangerous life-threatening performance-enhancing steroid? I can’t even envision Barry Bonds being accepted as a pioneer!

What kind of message are we sending to young athletes if we condone putting poisons into bodies just to cut corners, not build an athlete’s body the old-fashioned way with hard work, and give an unfair advantage over competitors? It’s true there has always been some cheating in baseball such as spitballs and corked bats, but these are minor offenses compared to the drug scandal. This has scarred baseball’s reputation as much as the Black Sox Scandal.

I think you may be very surprised when Bonds, A-Rod, Sosa and Clemens become eligible, that they may have to wait a long time before being voted in. My idea of Hall of Famers are such players as Aaron, Mays, Mantle, Musial, Satchel Paige and George Brett, players who did not cut corners and did not embarrass and humiliate our national pastime.

If Barry Bonds and the other band of cheaters enter the Hall, I hope I’m dead and gone and not around to see it. Perhaps, as one sportswriter suggested, if they do get elected there should be an asterisk in the shape of a hypodermic needle following their career statistics!