Roger Clemens' perjury hearing was declared a mistrial, giving him and Barry Bonds one last chance to save themselves from baseball purgatory.
We all can agree that Clemens and Bonds are guilty, in the court of public opinion, of using performance enhancing drugs. They did so better than any of the hundreds and hundreds of baseball players who turned a 10-year period into the Steroids Era. Bonds set the all-time home run record in his 40s. Clemens bounced back from his career stalling in his early 30s to a dominant run with the New York Yankees and Houston Astros at ages well beyond those when fastball pitchers typically dominate.
Virtually every other baseball player who was found to have used PEDs has found some level of acceptance in the baseball community. Once found out, the players offered non-specific apologies for vaguely acknowledging they did the wrong things. Fans forgive and, sometime, forget. The media bashes even those who apologize, then moves back to vilifying Bonds, Clemens and a few others who were never actually fingered despite clearly having shown the same level of performance as those who used. (Sammy Sosa, for instance, survived the Steroids Era unscathed, but ... hey, he was right there buffed up and bombing home runs out of the blue with Mark McGwire.)
Bonds and Clemens remain poster boys for all the evil associated with the Steroids Era. Bonds acknowledged he used PEDs, but insisted all the way through even his perjury trial that he had no idea he was using them. Clemens had his DNA and steroids residue on a syringe introduced as evidence in his perjury trial, yet he maintains he was framed and that he never used PEDs.
They were both among the greatest players of their generation before the Steroids Era even started. If Bonds had finished his career as something far less than the Ruthian home run hitter, he would still been ushered into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Clemens was as dominant as a starting pitcher can be for over a decade. He just stayed bigger and stronger, and threw harder, into his mid-40s because he used PEDs. (I know. I know. Nolan Ryan pitched and threw hard well into his mid-40s, too. You be the judge.)
Bonds and Clemens could be denied entrance to the Hall of Fame if they don't make amends with the media and the fans who insist they acknowledge their use of PEDs.
Here's an idea that should appeal to them both.
The two baseball legends should offer themselves, together, for a "60 Minutes" style interview with a respected member of the sports media. Bob Costas would be the best choice because he's most offended, still, by those players who used PEDs and broke baseball's storied records.
When Costas asks if they used PEDs, the two should admit that they did. If one starts to waver or stray from a short response, the other can step in and explain how hard it is to admit that they did the wrong thing. (And, no, they don't need to actually believe they did the wrong thing.)
When Costas asks why Clemens lied to Congress and Bonds lied to a grand jury, they can explain that they knew they'd let their fans down and that their teams had really come to rely on them. It's always effective to explain away questionable acts by blaming them on the pressure one felt. So, Bonds could say something like, "The Giants' organization had built a brand new ball park. The organization needed me to perform at the highest level to fill that stadium in every night. The pressure to do more and more overwhelmed my sense of right and wrong."
See how easy it is?
This is the last chance Bonds and Clemens have to ease back into baseball and, eventually, the Hall of Fame. Sadly, their egos are so large that they'll likely go to their graves claiming they didn't use performance enhancing drugs.
(Ted Sillanpaa can be reached at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com.)
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