It wasn’t a surprise, but …

Still, a staggering disgrace.

As anyone who follows the sport guessed well ahead of time, voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America embarrassed themselves one final time Tuesday, formally announcing that some giants of the game — like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens — did not have the votes for induction into the Hall of Fame.

This was the 10th and final year on the writers’ ballot for Bonds, Clemens, and Curt Schilling, meaning that some foggy committees now might consider their candidacy — but likely will take the same position, namely …

That these guys used PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs) for parts of their careers, and therefore their entire bodies of work should be discarded.

Thus, baseball and its sacred Hall now have officially scorned Pete Rose, the sport’s all-time leader in hits, and Bonds, the home run king and one of the best all-around players ever to grace the game.

Listen, I was one of those BBWAA members for several years, and I know how sanctimonious and arrogant some of them can be — not to mention forgetful, since many of us witnessed widespread amphetamine use even before steroids found their way into dugouts and clubhouses.

BY THE way, it’s wrong to call Bonds or Clemens cheaters — since there was no formal rule against PEDs when they were playing.

For these writers to call themselves guardians of the game by keeping Bonds out of their precious Hall (while inducting David Ortiz, who failed a PED test in 2003) is beyond absurd.

Personally, I wonder how much Bonds’ and Clemens’ adversarial attitudes toward the media affected this vote.

Certainly, a vicious letter circulated to all voters by the late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan — a mean-spirited, small-minded man — ranting against inclusion of any PED users, clearly took its toll.

ESPN’s baseball guru, the fair-minded Jeff Passan, pointed out Tuesday night that the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is meant to be a museum — and as such, should cover each of baseball’s eras as they happened.

“It's difficult to pinpoint what's most frustrating,” Passan wrote.

“Perhaps it's that there already are players in the Hall accused of using PEDs. Or that the commissioner whose tenure encompassed the entirety of the steroid era, Bud Selig, is himself enshrined.


“Or that others honored with bronze renderings include multiple racists, domestic abusers and even a player who last year resigned from the Hall's board of directors after a woman levied credible sexual misconduct allegations.”

PASSAN and many others have suggested that players like Rose, Bonds and Clemens should be enshrined in the Hall — but with wording on their plaques that briefly explain the controversy that surrounded their era or their actions.

Why would that be so difficult?

The structure in Cooperstown is meant to be a museum.

It says so right at the entrance.

The idea always has been — or least the people in charge have CLAIMED — that the Hall exists to preserve the game’s history.

Well, history is not always black and white, nor easily recorded without a single stain, discussion or argument.

Baseball’s story mirrors those who played or worked in the game — it’s the tale of human beings.

For instance, Selig benefitted immensely from the PED-aided slugging of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in the late 1990s, as they helped rescue baseball after its near-fatal strike of 1994-95.

But that didn’t stop the commissioner from turning around, once the game was back to health, and scapegoating McGwire, Sosa — and particularly Bonds, who had the gall to break records set by Selig’s beloved Hank Aaron.

Talk about hypocrisy.

Of course, this has ALL been about hypocrisy.

Only a fool or a liar can say, with a straight face, that Barry Bonds does not belong in the Hall of Fame.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published weekly during the season.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”