Hall of Shame? Palmeiro and Gonzalez highlight tainted group of Hall of Fame hopefulls

The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has come a long way since 2007 when superstars and all around good guys Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were elected. As steroid allegations and confirmations have soiled this years list, voters will have till Dec. 31st to choose who they want to represent Major League Baseball in next year's induction ceremony into the Hall of Fame.
This year's ballot is talent deprived and filled with scandal. Once great players Rafael Palmeiro and Jaun Gonzalez are two of the more decorated players on the list, but both are surrounded by steroid use. Pamleiro testified in 2005 that he never used steroids, but was caught a few months later and was suspended 10 days. He is 12th on the career home run list and is one of four players to accumulate 500 home runs and 3,000 hits.
It has never been confirmed that Gonzalez used steroids, but in the 2005 book, Juiced, Jose Canseco claims that he used steroids alongside Gonzalez who has 434 career home runs and owns two MVP awards from his time with the Texas Rangers. His career was cut short due to injuries that lead many to believe that he used performance enhancing drugs.
Other names on the list surrounded by drug allegations are first timer Brett Boone and returner Mark McGwire who admitted to steroid use this summer.
Much of the ballot is filled by players who merely meet the requirements, but don't garner the attention that a Hall of Famer usually does. There is no automatic entry into the Hall of Fame no matter what statistics a player might carry with them, nor is there any official statistical criteria, but typical things voters look for when choosing are 500 home runs, 3,000 hits for hitters and 300 wins for pitchers. Taht mean that players on the list don’t deserve to be, but are by meeting the time requirement. However, a few names who remain untarnished by all this actually have a fairly good chance of beating out their rule-breaking peers based on merit.
Roberto Alomar and Edgar Martinez, and Jeff Bagwell were all outstanding players during their careers than spanned two decades and were able to avoid the drug scandal that wiped away baseball's credibility. Now, whether or not that will help their chances of induction, we won't see till the results are announced on January 5th.
Other notable names on the ballot are Kevin Brown, Tino Martinez, lee Smith, and Larry Walker.