Research Paper on:
Major League Baseball, Performance Enhancing Drugs, and the Hall of Fame

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
of sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Each week, it seemed, these two amazing hitters were toppling records. Then, Barry Bonds bat seemed to catch fire as well,  and soon he was shattering McGwires season home run record and soon claimed baseballs greatest title - "Home Run King." But then, baseballs dirty little secret was exposed in  the 409-page Mitchell Report released in December 2007, which listed the names of 83 players who used performance enhancing drugs (Vass 24). Performance enhancing drugs are, as the name  implies, medications that athletes use to improve their playing prowess. Anabolic steroids, or human growth hormones that encourage muscle growth and increased body mass, have become synonymous with performance  enhancing drugs. These accusations have seriously tainted the tradition-rooted and records-revering sport of professional baseball, and have had a significant impact upon the hall of fame. Should players  who have admitted to or are believed to have used performance-enhancing drugs enter baseballs most hallowed shrine? The Baseball Writers of America Association selects candidates for the hall of fame  (players must be retired for at least five years to be deemed as eligible) and ultimately casts the votes for the winners. The stringent voting criteria are based on  "a players record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played" (Vass 24). Historically, great baseball players have been refused hall of  fame admission because of questionable conduct. For example, first baseman Hal Chase (1905-1919) is not in the hall of fame for his participation in illegal activities, which include gambling  and fixing games (Vass 24). The infamous Shoeless Joe Jackson is not a hall of famer because of his participation in the 1919 World Series game-fixing scandal, in which