March isn’t just a month for madness in the college basketball world anymore.

With the controversy surrounding Barry Bonds and his possible steroid use, the topic of the recently released “Game of Shadows,” professional baseball has garnered its own fair share of publicity this spring. But publicity might be the last thing Major League Baseball wants or needs right now.

Already faced with the suspensions of a handful of major leaguers last year, MLB now has to deal with the image of being a game full of cheaters. Rafael Palmeiro tested positive and was one of those suspended for 10 games last season. Jose Canseco called out Mark McGwire and other alleged steroid users in his own book, “Juiced.” Hell, it seems like I’ve already written about eight columns on the topic.

As a fan of professional baseball, something needs to change. Barry Bonds can’t be just another in a never-ending string of tainted heroes. Palmeiro received attention because he’s one of the game’s best hitters, but Bonds has the chance to break one of the most upstanding records in baseball history.

Everyone knows the rank of all-time home run leaders. Hank Aaron still holds the record with 755 round-trippers, all of which should be assumed to be clean until evidence is brought up to suggest otherwise. Babe Ruth hit 714 in his career, putting him second on the list, and a player assumed to be steroid-free in his time. This brings us to Bonds, with 708 career home runs, a mere seven away from sitting at number two all-time.

So, what happens if Bonds passes Ruth? Better yet, what if Bonds breaks Aaron’s record? What will the record books say? Can MLB really have Barry Bonds as its all-time home run leader? The answer is no.

Baseball has had too many great players to have Bonds on top of the record books. Aaron was one of them. Ruth was another. Most of the players Bonds passed along the way – guys like Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Ted Williams – all did it without cheating. And it’d be a disservice to them to have Bonds or any other player even remotely linked to steroids hold such a prestigious record. Baseball has always been America’s pastime; kids want to grow up and be stars like Bonds and McGwire. Kids can’t have cheaters to look up to.

Once Bonds retires, the talk will shift from the possible record to his inclusion in Hall of Fame discussion. Palmeiro felt the backlash of his suspension for steroids last season. As soon as he tested positive, baseball pundits everywhere began questioning whether or not Palmeiro, who has 3,020 hits in his career, should be allowed in.

After all, he broke the rules, and, more than that, he betrayed the trust of his fans. And trust, along with respect, might soon be held in higher regard than anything else in a Hall of Fame nominee.

The MLB Hall of Fame isn’t just something you accomplish. There isn’t a benchmark that an athlete can reach in his playing career to assure a Hall of Fame seat.

Numbers are just numbers sometimes. Inclusion is subjective, and factors like cheating have kept great players out of the hall in the past.

Pete Rose bet on baseball, and for it he was permanently banned from the sport, including the ability to be voted into the Hall of Fame. “Shoeless Joe” Jackson was banned from baseball for his involvement in the Chicago Black Sox scandal of 1919.

Just as nothing can take away the fact that Rose had 4,256 hits in his career, no amount of investigation or suspension will change Bonds’ numbers. Selig or anyone else can’t draw a line between when a player’s statistics go from legitimate to illegitimate. How much weight each individual fan puts into Bonds’ numbers is his or her own choice.

But this fan doesn’t want to see a record book filled with asterisks.

Nathan Grimm is a sophomore in ALS. He can be reached at [email protected].