Count Tommy Lasorda among those who don't believe Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa should reach baseball's highest honor and be elected to the Hall of Fame.
"To me, they don't belong in there," Lasorda, a Hall of Fame manager, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "They cheated. That's the way it is. If my brother did that, I'd say the same thing about my brother. I mean, I know those guys. They're good friends of mine. But by golly, they didn't do it the right way.
"I tell you, it's a shame," added Lasorda, following up with a question without referring to Bonds by name: "How in the hell could a guy hit 73 home runs? I mean, Babe Ruth couldn't do it."
Lasorda's comments have been backed up by a recent Associated Press survey that showed Bonds, Clemens and Sosa don't have enough votes to gain entry into Cooperstown.
With steroid scandals still very much on the minds of longtime members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America as they cast their ballots, the trio failed to muster even 50 percent support among the 112 voters contacted by the AP -- nearly one-fifth of those eligible to choose.
Candidates need 75 percent for election.
Bonds is the only seven-time MVP, Clemens is the only seven-time Cy Young Award winner, and Sosa finished his career with 609 homers.
MLB.com's Hal Bodley, a former columnist for USA Today, also agrees with Lasorda regarding Bonds, Clemens and Sosa reaching the Hall.
"I'm not going to vote for anybody who has been tainted or associated with steroids," Bodley said. "I'm just not going to do it. I might change down the road, but I just love the game too much. I have too much passion for the game and for what these people did to it."
Bonds, Clemens and Sosa are on the Hall ballot for the first time. Votes will be cast throughout December, and results will be released Jan. 9.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.