They led this era in everything. Between them, they've got 709 victories and 11 Cy Young Awards.

Years from now, the people that faced them, managed them and played alongside them will be telling stories of their brains and raging competitive fires.

And it's sad that Clemens is not going to be in this discussion, that he doesn't even deserve to be in this discussion.

I wonder if he knows all that he has lost in terms of reputation. I wonder if he knows how his accomplishments have been diminished.

People will forever look at his decline in Boston and his rebirth in Toronto and wonder if he did it the right way.

Maybe it didn't have to be this way. If he'd dealt with cheating accusations the way Andy Pettitte did, maybe the issue would be a side note by now.

He's accused of taking fewer than two dozen injections over the course of a three-year period. There's no way he could have gotten a dramatic benefit from so little.

Maybe he'd be viewed differently if he'd simply said, "Yeah, I screwed up. I allowed my ambition to overtake my judgment,''

Certainly, baseball fans -- the ones that want to love Roger Clemens, that want to tell their grandkids they saw him pitch -- would forgive him.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

Maybe he would have helped all of us wrap our minds around the steroid era, to deal with it and move on.

Yet Clemens chose a path of arrogance and denial. He reacted with anger and bluster even when the evidence against him seemed so overwhelming. He protested way too much for the minimal cheating he's accused of in the Mitchell Report.

So a year later, he sits in his home in Houston in disgrace as federal officials gather evidence for a felony perjury case against him.

Unless there's a dramatic development, he's not getting into the Hall of Fame. Ever.

All those accomplishments -- 354 victories, seven Cy Young Awards, 4,672 strikeouts -- will be seen in a different light.

Meanwhile, Greg Maddux stands alone, untarnished by the steroid era, admired by his peers -- a celebrated figure in every way.

Also on NBCSports.com Rosenthal: Steelers’ struggles could sink their playoff hopes Circling the Bases: Halladay to Cubs? That’s unlikely College Football Talk: Weis to resign? That’s ‘not happening’ Opinion: So far, Nowitzki is NBA’s MVP  |  Fan Ranker Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

MORE FROM BASEBALL

Baseball Section Front

Twins’ Mauer wins historic AL MVP award CTB: Mauer had truly historic season CTB: Did A-Rod throw cousin under financial bus? CTB: Red Sox willing to throw money into Lowell deal DeMarco: Red Sox should take measured approach   No horror film: Yankees like this Series movie Blyleven: Pitching to be had beyond Halladay CTB: Dye open to move at first base CTB: Mets may play some games in Puerto Rico CTB: Future Hall of Famer Vizquel joins White Sox Baseball Section Front   Add Baseball headlines to your news reader: