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.

What Major League Baseball Should Do With Admitted Steroid Users

Should we erase all of their achievements or should we keep them? Should we ban them from the Hall of Fame or should we let them in? Should they be suspended or let them play?

These questions plague those who are so very disappointed in our "heroes" who have "cheated" to play the sport of baseball.

Here is my solution! First of all stick to the agreements that have already been established by the Baseball Players Union and Major League Baseball. The only exception I would make is for those who have just recently admitted to or been proven (in court) to have used illegal performance enhancing substances. If a player has recently admitted or been proven to have used illegal drugs or substances (such as Alex Rodriguez and ? Miguel Tejada), they should skip the first step/phase of punishment and move straight to the second phase. They should skip the first phase because they lied and got caught. They should at least move to the second phase, which I think involves some kind of suspension from playing the game. That way the players who were punished already don't feel like these players get to skip the punishment phase just because they came clean on their own.

As far as their records or accomplishments are concerned; It's hard to decide what to do here. They were competing against other players who were also cheating, but they still cheated themselves. You can't go back and alter the final results of the games they played in...so I think we should leave the records as they stand. You can put an * or two by their names if it makes you feel better, but what else can you do? Mickey Mantle played drunk, Doc Ellis pitched a No-Hitter while using cocaine, and Gaylord Perry cheated big time with his spitballs and no one is taking their performance numbers away from them. Mantle and Perry are in the Hall of Fame for crying out loud.

Should they be banned from the Hall of Fame? I think they should! Baseball banned "Shoeless" Joe Jackson from the Hall of Fame after he took a bribe to loose the World Series. Baseball banned Pete Rose and he didn't cheat by betting on baseball until after he was a player. These players knowingly broke the rules of the game and tainted the sport. I don't' care how good they are, they should be banned for life. Go back and take Gaylord Perry out if you wish to take out all cheaters. Just think though, the all-time hits leader (Rose), one of the all time strikeout leaders (Roger Clemens) and the Home Run leader (Barry Bonds) and possible future Home Run Leader (Alex Rodriguez) all banned for cheating the game. Wow!

At least the sports writers are punishing the steroid users with their votes on admission to the Hall of Fame. It looks like Mark McGuire will never make it. (Although I think you could make an argument that his playing career does not compare to the best.) It's a sad day in sports when one of the top 10 all-time strike out leaders, who didn't cheat, (Bert Blyleven) hasn't been elected to the Hall of Fame, but Roger Clemens, who did, probably will.

I am just sad that players have to feel they must cheat to win. I just hope they are happy knowing their names will go down forever as shamed players; at least in my book.

Baseball & Steroids

In my opinion Baseball will always be the greatest game in the United States. It's just a shame that it took the The Mitchell Report to officially prove what the public has known for years. Many players have and currently use performance enhancing substances, ranging from steroids, to human or animal growth hormones, to make themselves "better" players and expand the length of their careers. Players who knowingly took these products against the rules of Major League Baseball, "Cheated", and we all know it.

You can make an argument that if the pitchers were using substances to make themselves better pitchers, then it's only fair that the batters used the substances to make themselves better hitters. Then it would only be fair that the fielders use the substances to be able to better field the ball that the "juiced up" batters were hitting off the "juiced up" pitchers. So what's the problem? Many of the players did not use these substances. What about them? They attempted to rely on their talent alone to try and best those who were cheating.

Records were broken, championships were won, wins and loses and other statistics were unfairly altered due the widespread use of these drugs and the players who cheated" MLB can attempt to punish the players and anyone else involved. They can erase the records of players who broke the rules, but can they go back and change the wins and losses for teams? Can they erase/add individual strikeouts, hits, runs, RBI's, etc... to those players who did not cheat?

We all know the punishment for players who take money to intentionally alter the results of a game, (see: The Black Sox Scandal), and players/managers who actively bet on baseball games, who are currently active in the sport, (see: Pete Rose). The punishment is a permanent restriction from ever playing the game again and from being included on a Hall of Fame ballot, thus banning them from The Baseball Hall of Fame. What should be the punishment for the users of performance enhancing drugs? They too altered the results of the game.

If any of the players named in the Mitchell Report are proven, not just implicated, to have intentionally used steroids, hormones, or anything else to unfairly alter their performance, then they should be punished.

Former Players should be immediately banned from participating in the sport of baseball for life and have their names removed from the Hall of Fame ballot for life, but not permanently. They should no longer be allowed to be involved in the sport, but since the use of these drugs was so wide spread, I think they should only be banned from the Hall of Fame until the day they die. This way the sportswriters of the future, can objectively weigh the player's achievements and possibly elect them to the Hall of Fame. If the player is elected to the Hall of Fame, they will not be alive to enjoy it. It is the only way retired players can be punished.

For those players currently active in the sport, then punish them according to the maximum punishment allowed by the current system that is set in place, Even if their use of the drugs are "after the fact." Then place a lifetime restriction to their inclusion on the Hall of Fame Ballot. Once again not a permanent ban, just until the player dies, so they cannot enjoy any benefits future Hall of Fame voters may choose to give them.

This is how I would handle the punishment for the players who have tarnished the reputation of the game forever!