Day 11 -- Opinion about Baseball Hall of Fame and Steroid Users

With the results of the most recent voting on the baseball Hall of Fame, there has been a lot of discussion about what to do with next year's ballot. What do you do with suspected steroid users? Here is a short opinion on what I would do, IF I could vote for the players on the 2013 ballot.

If we voted on Hall of Fame players based on character alone, then Ty Cobb and many others would have never been elected to the Hall of Fame. Cobb, among others, was a racist and a bigot. Other current members of the Hall of Fame also have other "off field issues" that would make conservative Christians blush; yet, they are in the Hall of Fame. So election to the Hall of Fame should not be based on character or integrity alone. Besides, Cobb has already been excluded from playing on the Field of Dreams because, "Ty Cobb wanted to play, but none of us could stand the son-of-a-bitch when we were alive, so we told him to stick it!" At least according to "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.

If allowed to vote for 10 players next year...here is who I would vote for: Jack Morris, Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell, Alan Trammell, Dale Murphy, Lee Smith and Fred McGriff would get my votes for those held over from the 2012 ballot. That leaves 3 votes left for the newcomers on the 2013 ballot. These votes would go to Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza and possibly Curt Shilling. Bagwell, Biggio and Piazza have never tested positive or have admitted to using steroids. They have outstanding credibility from former teammates and other players who will testify that these players never used steroids; at least according to their knowledge of these players.

As for Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro; they have all tested positive for, admitted to, or appeared on either the BALCO list of those who purchased steroids or the Mitchell Report from Congress that, list players who have used steroids. In my opinion, if you used steroids to enhance your performance then you cheated; and if you cheated, then you will fail to get my vote as a Hall of Fame player. Plain and Simple!


 I realize that Bonds and Clemens had Hall of Fame numbers before they started using steroids; however that argument doesn't hold water for me. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson had Hall of Fame numbers, before he and seven other teammates of his accepted money to throw the World Series. It didn't matter that Pete Rose had Hall of Fame numbers before he started betting on baseball. Both Jackson and Rose are banned from election to the Hall of Fame. They broke the rules and they are out.

Do the writers who vote for Hall of Famers have the right to pass judgment on players? Yes they do! It may not always be a fair judgment; however, it is within their rights to do so. In my opinion, if the writers fail to elect steroid users to the Hall of Fame, then, let the Hall of Fame’s, Expansion Era Committee decided their fate. This committee is made up of veteran players who are already members of the Hall of Fame, baseball executives and selected veteran media members. It is there job to decide if players (managers, umpires and executives), who played from 1973 to the present, who are no longer eligible to be on the BBWAA ballot, deserve enshrinement into the Hall. If the writers refuse to elect players who used steroids into the Hall of Fame then, let those who are already in the Hall of Fame decide if they want to share membership in the Hall of Fame with steroid users. It's only fair.