According to Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson, the reaction among Hall of Fame legends to the recent steroid scandals tainting the names of recent baseball stars and possible Hall of Fame awardees range from disappointment to confusion and to anger. Idelson said that by and large, the Hall of Famers were struggling with the idea of performance enhancing drugs because it is so foreign. Performance enhancing drugs, or at least the substances available today, were not available during their time when they played. More than that, they could also get very protective of the sport’s integrity.

During a speech at the National Press Club, Idelson said that when you are the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum, you have to take into consideration the dual nature of “Fame” and “Legacy” and allow history to do the job that it does well, which is to sort the true greats from the fleeting talents. This dual nature allows the hall of fame and museum to deal with the steroid era in an objective and academic manner, as well as the larger questions of the context and impact that this brings into the sport as a whole. As the old adage goes, time will tell.

Idelson noted that one can’t go through history without explaining the steroid era but it takes the perspective of time to be able to understand the whole context. When baseball integrated, he noted, the Hall did not instantly have an exhibit on baseball integration; it took some time for this to be developed. When you walk through Cooperstown today, you will see how baseball is in many ways, clearly and poignantly, ahead of the curve. It takes the perspective of time, he said, to have all the facts and tell the story that everyone can understand and relate to.

A portion of the 50,000 square-foot museum in Cooperstown, New York, currently features a sign that acknowledges the role of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs had on the notorious era, saying that “As there is a better understanding of performance-enhancing drugs and their impact on history, the museum will be telling that story honestly and impartially.” The Hall of Fame reserves judgment until the voters have come to grips with the impact of drugs on the legacies of certain players tainted by the era.

Every year, the voters, which are 10-year members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, are given guidelines including criteria on sportsmanship and character when evaluating prospective Hall of Famers. So far, there is only one test case from the steroids era who has appeared on the ballot—Mark McGwire. However, he did poorly as his name was checked by less than 25% of the voters (to get inducted, one must get at least 75% of votes). This shows how stringent the process is, especially for players who have been implicated in the steroids scandal.

Idelson says that by and large, those players’ still have their careers going and they are still being defined.

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