This year's ballot featured notably a returning Jack Morris in his second to last trip, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Alan Trammel and stars of the Steroid Era: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Jeff Bagwell, Curt Schilling, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, and Edgar Martinez.
Now, for the purpose of my argument I'm not so much going to focus on Morris, Mattingly, Murphy, or Trammel. They have been on the ballot for several years, and worthy of induction or not, they are not nearly as controversial a conversation as the newer players. Also, if the writers thought they were Hall-worthy, I dare say the writers would have already voted them in.
How can you have a year with such names on the ballot as this year's and elect NO ONE to the Hall of Fame? Obviously the big debate is the issue of steroids. Yes, they're illegal. Yes, it's cheating. But how badly are you cheating? Disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstance, condone substance abuse of any kind. But, how does shoving a needle in your rear end (or anywhere else) help your hand eye coordination to hit a baseball 400+ feet. Sure it may add muscle and make your stronger. But take it from someone who played 18 years of baseball and was a decent hitter who never hit a home run in a game: stronger swings just result in pop ups. Granted, maybe that's why I was never a big leaguer, but that's besides the point.
That summer was magical. While I played the game of baseball from the time i was 3, it was the summer of 1998 that really cemented my undisputed, undying, eternal love for the sport and for Major League Baseball. I was a 10-year-old boy who was enthralled by the long ball, as we all were. Fifteen years later, looking back, yes I'm upset that, to some level, that summer was a sham. I'm equally upset that in 2001, I was actively rooting for Barry Bonds to surpass 70 home runs.
Beginning in about 2003, after the BALCO scandal really took flight, I began to sincerely dislike the player and character that was Barry Bonds. By that time, McGwire had retired, Sosa had left Chicago and wasn't really in the spotlight, and the Mitchell Report had not yet come out (so Clemens wasn't at the forefront of the discussion). So, Bonds WAS the Steroid Era. It stood against every thing I held dear about the game. I had rooted for Bonds to hit 71 (eventually 73) home runs in '01. I wanted to one day tell my kids, I saw the single season home run record fall twice in my lifetime. Then to find out that what I saw was in some way tainted, was upsetting. Fast forward to 2007, Bonds is inching closer and closer to Aaron's 755. I'm at home following the events on ESPN and online and where ever else. Part of me wanted him to break it (again, so I can say I saw it), part of me did not. I did not want Bonds to hold the record. He was connected with steroids, and he at that time, was not a very nice person, or at least portrayed as such.Now, Roger Clemens has never been one of my favorite players (even before he was a Yankee). So, deep down inside I laughed maniacally when his name popped up in the Mitchell Report. But, the continuing legal battles between Congress and Clemens/Bonds, and other federal prosecutors between the two just became comical. If you can't prove that they illegally used steroids, and therefore can't imprison them for that, how can you expect to prove and imprison them for perjury?
Now, 2013, the first real "Steroid Ballot," came and went and NO ONE was voted into the Hall of Fame. Ridiculous.
As I said, a few years ago, there's no way I would advocate for Clemens and Bonds to be in the Hall of Fame. Though, a bit of a double standard, I would probably have still voted for Bic Mac and Slammin' Sammy. Why? Because McGwire and Sosa were "fun characters." Clemens and Bonds... not so much (see image to the right).Obviously, this means I have to reconsider my thought process. Yes there is the "character clause" that everyone is citing with this ballot. But, the character clause only talks about the integrity of the player, not the person. If it meant that you had to be a nice guy there would be several players not worthy of induction (see: Cobb, Ty).
Looking at the ballot, you have the career and single season home run leader (Bonds), a 7-time Cy Young Winner (Clemens), two members of the 3,000 hit club (Biggio, Palmeiro); the latter also a member of the 500 HR club, a 12-time All Star and the greatest hitting catcher of all time (Piazza), a member of the 600 HR club and the player with the most 60 HR seasons (Sosa), and another member of the 500 HR club (McGwire).
Add to that class Jeff Bagwell who was a career .297 hitter with 449 HR and 1,529 RBIs and Edgar Martinez a career .312 hitter, 309 HR, 2,247 hits, 1,261 RBIs, and arguably the greatest DH to date, certainly the first player to define the position (more on that later).
Look at those numbers, and no one gets elected? Steroids or not, these are some of the greatest players of all time, and symbolic of an entire generation of baseball fans. Now, many writers have said they will not vote for anyone from the Steroid Era. That's insane. Mike Piazza (my favorite player of all time, so I'm biased), Craig Biggio, and Jeff Bagwell have never been officially linked to or connected to steroids. Granted, there are whispers about Bagwell and Piazza but there's no proof of anything. They were power hitters in an era where every power hitter needed to be questioned. That's it. Some of the writers that failed to elect any one to the HoF were proclaiming many of these players as "guaranteed first ballot Hall of Famers" during they're playing career. So, what happened?
Biggio and Piazza without a doubt should have received the necessary 75% of the vote (BIggio was just 39 votes shy). You could make an argument for Bagwell as well. Now, with the others, the only thing holding them out is the issue of steroids. But as I've said before, the media (aka the voters), owners, fans, etc. allowed this to happen. So why punish the people that exploited a broken system. At least in the case of McGwire who admitted using steroids in 2010, the occurrence of him using Andro can't be used as a defense. While it is banned for use in baseball now, at the time it was legal. That's not his fault. Again, I am not advocating the use of steroids. I'm just criticizing the league and who ever else who turned a blind eye and now labels them abominations.
Keeping the all time home run king out of the hall along with arguably the greatest right-handed pitcher of all time, is like saying the all-time hits leader doesn't belong in the HoF (wait, what? He's not?). The real issue is not who belongs and who doesn't, but rather, what IS the Hall of Fame?
Is it a museum? Is it a shrine, a holy place, a hallowed ground? This is what we need to decide. Yes there is a museum wing. One could make the argument that all of the accomplishments of these players is in the museum wing. Then there's the Hall itself. A collection of the greatest players to ever play the game. Aren't we talking about some of the greatest players to ever play the game? I think so. So why aren't they allowed in. If we're looking at the character clause of on-field integrity, Gaylord Perry, a noted ball scuffer/loader/doctorer is no longer a Hall of Famer. This means that probably dozens of pitchers are tossed out as well. Also, any player who ever used a corked bat is tossed out. This is obviously harder to prove, but I'm 100% sure that there are Hall of Famers who have corked a bat (Sosa included). I mean, even the first player to ever where metal spike (assuming he's in the HoF) could be tossed out for using an artificial device to help increase performance.
Steroids or not, there was no testing in place to catch any of these players in the act. There is evidence to link Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, and McGwire to steroids but none of them were punished by the league or the law, so how strong is that evidence? I'm not saying they didn't use. I've already said McGwire admitted to using, and I firmly believe that the others did as well. The only one I could see holding out of the Hall is Palmeiro. He had the famous finger wagging episode in front of Congress proclaiming that "I have never used steroids." Then, lo and behold, a season or two later, Rafael Palmeiro suspended 50 games for a failed drug test. I could understand making an rule (written or unwritten) saying that anyone who fails a drug test and is thus suspended, is automatically disqualified for HoF consideration. But then, what if as a minor leaguer they test positive and then never fail another drug test in their career and break every offensive or pitching record, how can you not consider them?In the case of Edgar Martinez, the argument is "he's a DH, he's only played half the game, how is he a Hall of Famer?" I'm a staunch opponent of the DH, but the fact of the matter is, the DH is here to stay and has been an official position for 30+ years, so when you have a hitter that excelled at that position and has numbers worthy of the HoF, you have to allow him in.
I read the statistic that only 21% of players get in on their first ballot, and 79% of those that make it to the next, eventually get in. So, this argument may all be in vein. But consider who get's added to the ballot next year: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Mike Mussina, Luis Gonzalez, and Jeff Kent. Maddux, and Glavine are definitely HoFers with the others making arguments as well. So will anyone on this year's ballot make headway next year? I guess we'll wait and see. For McGwire who is on his 7th try and hasn't inched any closer, it doesn't look good. For Biggio and Piazza who received 68.2% and 57.8% this year, the outlook looks a little more likely. Many steroid users were worthy before they were linked to the juice, and the numbers overall prove they are as well, so add a line on the plaque that says "Connected with PEDs." Steroids or not, to visit Cooperstown and see "Class of 2013" hanging on the wall with no plaques is as sacrilegious as letting steroid users in.
P.S. Those 5 writers that turned in blank ballots should have their voting privileges revoked, or at least suspended.
And that... is what's going on in Bronto's Brain.
