No politics tonight. BASEBALL time!
In additon to John Smoltz, I'd like to wish the best of luck to the rest of my ten picks: Randy Johnson, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Fred McGriff, Jeff Bagwell, Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.
And yes, I'm observing the BWAA's current practice of snubbing those most associated with PED usage, but Roger Clemens, Mark McGawire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds would have my vote otherwise, and will probably have my vote eventually, once we've put that all behind us.
Good luck to everyone, especially Trammell, with only one ballot remaining, and Don Mattingly who will appear on the ballot for the final time.
I'm certainly no Keith Olbermann, but I get by. ;)
BTW, for those who don't know, ERA+ = leagueERA / ERA x 100. (For example an ERA+ of 120 is 20% better than the league average.)
...and to anyone STILL scratching their heads, ERA = Earned Runs / Inning Pitched x 9.
I think that the some who feel PED users are worthy of HOF nomination and we have truly deserving players reaching the end of their eligibility are wrong on their opinion. It is wrong to consider cheaters eligible for such a distinction.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I am a member of the HOF in one of the sports for the blind that I teach. There are rules to get nominated and I think those rules should be followed. I would go further, but there are "no politics" rules on this thread ... and I follow the rules.
Oh go ahead, Will. Politics related to PED usage and the Hall of Fame is legit. Let's just try to keep this fairly narrowly focused, OK?
DeletePersonally, I am very conflicted, both with the PED users and with Pete Rose. In Rose's case, he clearly broke the letter of the law, yet almost as clearly followed the spirit of it, according to everything I've read. Bonds (& Company) cleary violated the SPIRIT of the law (no doubt at all), BUT did NOT violate the LETTER of it. (1) None of the guys mentioned above ever failed a drug test. (2) The substances in question were NOT agains the rules of MLB at the time they were alledged to have been used. (3) The Hall of Fame does not have any offical policy banning them, and they remain on the ballot issued by the Hall of Fame. So there is nothing strictly in "da rules" that says the PED users must be excluded. (Rose, obviously is a different story, but the Hall didn't even have an offical rule for his case until his eligibility actually came up. And HIS name was on the ballot for the first three years of his eligibility as well.)
The one justification that the writers have for leaving them off their ballots are the "Character" and "Sportsmanship" aspects. The thing is? These things have almost NEVER been considered for anytone else, good or bad. (First class HoFer Ty Cobb KILLED A MAN, was a virilent racist, a violent player on the field and a violent person off...) And there are many others. It's not like every HoFer is Roberto Clemente. Very far from it. And while it was the players who broke the rules, clearly MLB management turned a blind eye, going back to 1988 with Jose Canseco (who'd Id' put as the first of the modern PED (Steroid) users) and certainly with the McGwire/Sosa Home Run races of 1998/99. There's no way MLB didn't know (or stronlgly suspect) what was going on, and they did NOTHING for YEARS... at least until it looks like enough fans were pissed off that it might start to affect revenue. THEN? You saw some action.
Two wrongs don't make it right, but it hardly seems fair to me that the players - who broke no actual, written rules - should be punnished, while the League laughs all the way to the bank on the backs of all those home runs that were hit. If you want to keep Bonds and Clemens out, would you also keep Bud Selig (who let it all happen right under his nose) out? Becuase I guarentee you that a few years from now, there will be a push to enshrine him, due to his "innovations" and "leadership through troubled times" etc... And if Selig gets while Clemens and Bonds are left out? IMHO, THAT would be travesty.
" In Rose's case, he clearly broke the letter of the law, yet almost as clearly followed the spirit of it,"
DeleteYes, I agree with that. Pete Rose is a tough balancing act for me. He knowingly entered into many ... many contracts where is actions were specifically prohibited. But, I'm not sure if that should count for his entering the HOF based on his playing ability.
The other players gained an advantage (IMHO) through underhanded methods (to say it politely). I don't think that is right.There are too many players who chose not to do it the underhand way and are being passed up because their "stats" don't match up. I don't think that is right, either. You can choose to do it the honest way or the less than honest way. I think if players, suspected of cheating, are allowed entry then that dilutes the entire meaning of what the HOF stands for.
The actions that MLB took on those transgression doesn't agree with my opinion and I surely don't put them on any higher esteem because of their actions.
Regarding Rose, I don't think anyone at this point really believes he ever tanked a game. He bet on his team, to win, every night. (If he only bet occasionally then the games he DIDN'T bet on would have been tainted.) And personally, I'm of the opinion that if he had admitted it all up front (instead of waiting until he could sell a book about it), admitted he had a serious, personal problem, and showed genuine remorse, I think it's entirely possible that he'd have been officially reinstated by now. But instead of doing anything even remotely similar to that, he acted like, well, PETE ROSE. And at this point he's alienated pretty much everyone, rubbing their nose in his self-perceived greatness. And nobody wants to support an arrogant douchebag. My bet is that he will be put in by the Veterans Committee, the year after he DIES. Everyone knows he belongs but no one wants to give him the satisfaction of seeing his own plaque and giving that speech.
DeleteRegarding PED’s:
1) KNOWN cheaters are in the Hall of Fame already. Gaylord Perry (Vaseline’s best customer), Don Sutton (aka "Black and Decker") and Burleigh Grimes, the last pitcher to throw the Spitball under a clause allowed it by certain players after it was officially banned. So it's not as simple as saying "cheateres don’t get in."
BUT PED use is different because loading up a ball doesn’t do any BODILY HARM. The problem with PED's is that so many marginal players are put in a position where they have to use a dangerous, largely unregulated substance in order to KEEP THEIR JOBS. (And in doing so, take away the job of another marginal player who chooses to stay clean,) From that perspective I think the "they cheated" argument stands, as comparing Bonds to Perry is apples and oranges.
Another thing bugs me though... How do we know REALLY know who did them and who didn't? There is no physical proof, at least as far as the guys we're talking about now. (Rafael Palmeiro DID fail a test, AND admitted using, but he's off the ballot.) Sure, Bonds seems pretty obvious, but what about Piazza or Bagwell? There's suspicion, but not nearly as conclusive. My personal belief is that we (or the BWAA) are/is choosing to punish the players that we(they) don't like on a PERSONAL level. Bonds, Clemens? Complete and utter douchebags. Always have been. Sosa? Total prima dona. (Plus he suddenly couldn't speak English when in front of congress?) McGwire WAS admired, but then there was HIS embarrassing non-testimony as well. But guys like Piazza and Bagwell (and Ivan Rodriguez next year) are more well liked and admired, so we give them the benefit of the doubt. In truth we have nothing but SUSPICION in each case. Yes, some have more evidence than others, but precious few have PROOF. And leaving one guy out because we believe the allegations, while letting another in because we don't? That’s not right either!
DeleteThen you've got a guy like Tim Raines, who snorted a MOUNTAIN of Cocaine in the 80's. I'm not sure if Coke is necessarily a PED, but he sure stole a lot of bases while doing it! And take Pud Galvin, way back in late 1800's, who used "Brown-Sequard elixir" (extract of monkey testicles) as an alleged performance enhancer. It likely WASN'T, but at the time the league extolled his "innovation" and saw this as a pioneering development that would lead to better players.
Ultimately, my prediction is that 20~30 years from now, PED’s will be used regularly in ALL sports, administered by Doctors, in safe doses and in a well regulated manner. And once that happens? The kids (and writers) of that era won't understand why the old-farts like us still call Barry Bonds a "cheater" instead of a "pioneer."
And although I left the guys off of my ballot above, in truth they do get my grudging vote. This was the steroid ERA. Steroids saw widespread use (not JUST these guys) and as many Pitchers are alleged to have juiced as hitters. And as it was NOT against any official league policy, we're left with voting for who we consider to be the best players of THAT ERA. The Hall doesn't have any rules against them, so Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, and (later) A-Rod, I-Rod, Thome, Palmeiro, Manny, Ortiz and Sheffield all probably deserve to be enshrined on that basis: that the were the best of a tainted era. Otherwise we have to throw out EVERYONE, and then Griffey, Jeter, Martinez, Smoltz, Johnson and Biggio would have to be left out as well, since we don't KNOW they're clean any more than we KNOW the others are dirty.
All we know is that we LIKE Jeter and Biggio and DESPISE Bonds and Sheffield.
And we can't make decisions based on THAT.
"Ultimately, my prediction is that 20~30 years from now, PED’s will be used regularly in ALL sports, administered by Doctors, in safe doses and in a well regulated manner."
DeleteI agree with the first part, but don't think safety will be on anyone's mind. Once you start letting professionals use them, then the college and high school kids will demand access to them. And the rich kids will be the only ones able to get the 'safe/regulated' type you're talking about. The poor kids will have to get what they can and do them as they want creating more problems than we already have within poorer neighborhoods. Getting arrested or injured trying to get drugs while the rich kids across town get them delivered to them with no hassles.
Personally, I hope PED's never get allowed. We (as a nation) have enough problems with controlled substances.