The congressional hearing that changed baseball

Winston-Salem Dash President and GM Brian DeAngelis discusses the MLB lockout and what it means for Minor League Baseball on 'Fox News Live.'

There’s a reason Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens aren’t in the Hall of Fame: Congress. 

The same goes for Mark McGwire. Sammy Sosa. Rafael Palmeiro. And perhaps, in the long-run, Alex Rodriguez. Maybe even Jose Canseco.

The path of these players to Cooperstown was once as direct as a stroll to first base after an intentional walk. Then lawmakers crashed through their careers with the abandon of a base runner busting up a double way.

Diehard fans, sabermetricians and devotees of Bill James will tell you the careers of these players mirrored or even topped the achievements of Babe Ruth, Stan Musial and Tom Seaver. Bonds could jack a three-run shot into McCovey Cove in San Francisco. Batters shuddered when facing Clemens’ 98-mph fastball. But all it took was one day in Congress to divert those players from baseball immortality.

New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens reacts after giving up a home run to the Cleveland Indians' Trot Nixon in the second inning during Game 3 of an American League baseball division playoff series Oct. 7, 2007, at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

Major League Baseball had a problem in the 1990s: Doping. 

Still, baseball fans marveled at the home run race between McGwire and Sosa in 1998. Sosa and McGwire battled each other to break the single-season home run record of 61 set by Roger Maris in 1961. Sosa finished the season with 66 home runs. But McGwire surpassed Maris, cracking 70. Imagine hitting 66 home runs and not leading the league.

Bonds then shattered the all-time home run record of 755 set by the late Hank Aaron. Bonds ended