In the shadow of Mariano Rivera Day at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, Andy Pettitte made his last start in the Bronx after announcing on Friday that this season will be the last for the 41-year-old left-hander.

As his career nears its end, fans, media and the Yankee organization get lost in nostalgia and another piece of the once great Yankee dynasty retires, the murmurs of whether Pettitte is a Hall of Famer begin.

By all accounts, Pettitte should be a shoo-in. Pettitte has a career 255-152 record with a 3.86 ERA. His 208 wins as a Yankee are third on the team’s all-time list, behind Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231). Earlier this season, Pettitte became the Yankees’ all-time strikeout leader, eclipsing Ford’s total of 1,957.

Yet it was his play in October for which Pettitte shone the brightest, with 19 postseason victories, the most in baseball history. In 2009, the last time the Yankees won the World Series, Pettitte was the winning pitcher in the deciding game of all three playoff series.

But one aspect of his resume makes the whole conversation much more complicated. In 2007, The Mitchell Report named Pettitte, who later admitted to using performance enhancing drugs, and 89 other big-league players who used PEDs. Thus the argument of whether PED users should be allowed in the Hall of Fame commences once more.

Despite recent voting history, Pettitte and other worthy members should be allowed in.

Following a strict interpretation of the Hall of Fame rules for election it reads, “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”

The argument is that PED users violate the “integrity and character” portion of the clause. The thing is many people who currently reside in the Hall of Fame have already violated the integrity and character clause much worse than a PED user could ever do.

Ty Cobb, who is considered one of the greatest players of all time, and was part of baseball’s first Hall of Fame class, is a perfect example of someone who, if the Hall of Fame truly voted with the man’s integrity and character in mind, would be on the outside looking in.

Cobb is famous for sharpening his cleats and trying to inflict as much pain on his opponents when sliding into a base. But it is his undeniable racism while playing baseball that violates the Hall of Fame’s integrity and character clause.

According to Ken Burns’ “Baseball”, Cobb slapped a black groundskeeper, chased him into the dugout, then tried to strangle the man’s wife when she came to his aid and when his teammates tried to restrain him while he swung at them as well, all because the man wanted to shake Cobb’s hand.

“Baseball has always had some form of hypocrisy when it comes to its exalted heroes,” Robert W. Cohen, writer of the book “Baseball Hall of Fame — or Hall of Shame?” said in a recent New York Times article. “In theory, when it comes to these kinds of votes, it’s true that character should matter, but once you’ve already let in Ty Cobb how can you exclude anyone else?”

The hypocrisy by which the Hall of Fame seems to subscribe to is laughable. The Hall of Fame comprised of people who are intensely racist, drunks, cheats and drug users; all while denouncing and rejecting PED users.

Gaylord Perry, class of 1991, was well known for doctoring baseballs with spit and Vaseline. Paul Molitor, class of 2004, confessed to serious use of illicit recreational drugs when he played. Rogers Hornsby, class of 1942, considered one of the finest players in history had racetrack gambling issues. Juan Marichal, class of 1983, famously hit John Roseboro head with a bat during a heated game against the Dodgers.
Hall of Fame voters can attempt to sort through incoming eligible players based on character and integrity but history has shown that they are wildly unsuccessful at judging character. Where Hall of Fame voters seem to do a good job is judging play on the field. For while the men listed above, and many more not listed, had their flaws, they had an undeniable impact on the game and played it at a Hall of Fame level.

When it comes to the Hall of Fame candidacy of players like Pettitte and other PED users who are otherwise worthy, baseball needs to recognize these players’ positive impact on the game and honor them in Cooperstown.