Braun:

I wrote earlier this week about how Alex Rodriguez betrayed the baseball world. I stand by that, especially with his recent admission about his dishonest career.

But I still think he should be in the Hall of Fame.

A-Rod claims he used steroids from 2001 to 2003. That’s three seasons in Texas, including the year he won an MVP award.

I say, take all of that away. What are you left with? One of the best right-handed hitters of our generation.

If Rodriguez is truthful about his steroid use, and did not test positive for banned substances after 2003, then he should still be Cooperstown-bound.

The 2007 season was among A-Rod’s best in his entire career. He hit .314 with 54 home runs and a career-high 156 RBIs.

Production after three years of steroid use? Maybe. But remember when he came up to the big leagues in 1996? That year he hit .358 as a rookie — pretty impressive.

Still don’t think he deserves to be in? Well, how about this nice little statistic. In his third full season in the bigs, he became the third player in MLB history to join the 40 steals and 40 home runs club.

Face it — without steroids, A-Rod was the best. With steroids, he was by far the best. Either way you look at it, he deserves a shot to prove he belongs in Cooperstown.

Rodriguez said in his interview with Peter Gammons he has nine more years in his career. If he continues to produce the way he has, hits over 800 home runs and does it all without any extra help, there is no question he should be in the Hall of Fame.

Solochek:

The Hall of Fame? How about the *Hall of Fame?

Since Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids, it has not only tarnished his image but continued to destroy the public image of baseball among fans and the world. Before it was known A-Rod used performance-enhancing drugs, everyone thought he was the one pure player in baseball. All of the recent sluggers who have come before him — Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds — have had their names tarnished because their stats were padded by the use of steroids.

But Rodriguez?

He was supposed to be the one untainted player. The one guy who would break all of the records without using drugs and rely on pure skill to bring him to the top of the record books. Now he is just another name to add to the list. Another steroid user. Another name to which we will have to add an asterisk.

But it is not only his personal image this hurts. After Barry Bonds and the congressional trails, we thought we were done with the steroid era. Numbers were coming down, and players were looking less and less like inflatable balloons. Now, with A-Rod’s admission, we have to question baseball once again. Can we ever trust the league that claims to be our national pastime? Whenever a record is broken, will we always have be skeptical of whoever broke it and question whether they used performance-enhancing drugs?

So, there will be no Hall of Fame for Alex Rodriguez. There will only be scrutiny and questions revolving around his career and the records he will surely need to add an asterisk to.