(images by Keith Allison and shgmom56 via flickr)

Baseball was counting on Alex Rodriguez to clean up its image. Then he made it worse.

After record-setting performers like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens were tied to steroids, the Dominican-American Rodriguez was singled out as baseball's last "clean" hope. The youngest player to reach 500 home runs, the 33-year-old A-Rod was considered a lock to break Bonds' tainted home run record, a feat many believed would restore the game's rep. On such expectations, the New York Yankees re-signed Rodriguez to a record 10-year, $275 million contract, including a seven-figure bonus for snatching the home run title.

But earlier this month, Sports Illustrated broke the story that Rodriguez was one of 104 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. A few days later, the shortstop-turned-third baseman admitted to taking banned substances between 2001 and 2003. "I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve," explained Rodriguez, claiming he felt pressure to perform at a high level after signing a then-record 10-year, $252 million deal with his former team, the Texas Rangers: "I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."

Rodriguez won't be formally suspended or punished since he tested positive in 2003, a year before Major League Baseball implemented its anti-drug program. The test results were also supposed to remain confidential, a fact that has left MLB commissioner Bud Selig with few options beyond criticizing Rodriguez: "[T]here is no valid excuse for using such substances, and those who use them have shamed the game." This past Tuesday, A-Rod held a press conference to apologize for his actions. But his fans may be the most skeptical, particularly New Yorkers who have long blamed Rodriguez for destroying team chemistry.

Barring a major injury, Rodriguez is expected to break the home run record in the next few years. But the highest honor Rodriguez can receive – induction into the National Baseball all of Fame – will remain out of his hands. It's in control of the same sportswriters who have already made it clear that names like Bonds, McGwire and Clemens have no place in Cooperstown.