Amnesty for Baseball Cheats?

Gene Wojciechowski floats an interesting idea in his latest column - one-time amnesty for steroids cheats.

Amnesty. That's what I'm proposing. A one-time, get-out-of-MLB-jail card if you use or used steroids, HGH, or assorted other performance-enhancing substances. Turn in your syringes now and we'll try to pretend the last 10-20 years of baseball through better medicine didn't leave permanent needle marks on the game.

I haven't worked out all the specifics yet. But you can come clean now, or eventually the Feds, Congress, the media, a player or former player with a guilt complex, a chatty doctor or pharmacist, or an entourage member will do it for you. It's like the esteemed Jerome Holtzman (Baseball Hall of Fame, Class of 1989, MLB historian) told me the other day: "People are going to find out. There isn't anybody who is taking steroids that won't be discovered."

I don't think it would work because there is no incentive for recently retired players to come clean. Consider that if Rafael Palmeiro retired a year earlier that he'd still be wagging his finger. It is an interesting idea to consider though.