Hall of Fame/Shame

The Baseball Hall of Fame is an incredible place. If I was to die tomorrow at least part of today would be spend in Cooperstown. It was the destination of the first Hirsch family vacation almost 40 years ago. Its more than just a Hall of Fame for me. So consequentially I think I care I care about the HOF more than most. And what got me thinking about the HOF this week was Mark McGwire's slightly less than stunning confession he used Steroids throughout his career. McGwire finally admitting he juiced is akin the pope to admitting he's catholic. What I found interesting is McGwire came clean days after the voting for this years HOF was announced. McGwire received about 25% for the third straight year. I think its inconceivable that he will ever get up to 75% from the writers. I believe this is critical because it sets a precedent for other players from the Steroids era. Simply put if McGwire doesn't get in how can you put in Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro, Clemens etc can't get in. I think most people would be okay with this. But what I was thinking about is since the HOF is suppose to be a complete history of baseball how do we address the history of the game during the steroids era?

As the steroids era started in the late 80s I think I was like most fans and did think much of the size of the players. But for those of us old enough to remember the 89 As do you remember how huge they were? If you threw out Walt Weiss they were every bit as big as the Raiders. Looking back it was during the 90s when things got out of control. And I'll admit I had no clue. After the strike in 1994 baseball was probably at its second lowest point in the games history after the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Most people had a very negative opinion right up until the magical season of 1998. During that summer people started to care again. Why? Because McGwire and Sosa started hitting homers with more frequency and further than ever before. I can't recall once during that time anyone saying all those homers were a result of better baseball through chemistry. People inside of baseball had to know. And they made a conscious decision to turn their backs on a growing problem because people were returning to the park and TV ratings were soaring. McGwire hitting 70 homers was a shocking number!!! Also think about how far some of the those traveled, it was like a video game. Then just a few years later Bonds hits 73. At this point I think we all knew something was up. Then once of the worst days in baseball history. That dreadful day in front of congress when Sammy Sosa forgot to speak English, Rafael Palmeiro shock his finger and Mark McGwire just did not speak. My how far we fallen. Again which brings me to my original point what should the HOF do about this point in history?

I talked to a few people with varying knowledge and caring about baseball. One opinion everyone shared is anyone who juiced does not belong in Cooperstown. If that ends up being the case the all time hit leader(Pete Rose),the all time home run leader(Barry Bonds) members of the 500 HR club and arguably the best pitcher of the second half of the 20th century will all be left out. Just to play devils advocate the Hall is riddled with players who were slightly less than choir boys. If Ty Cobb played now with all the media scrutiny he would never have gotten to 4000 hits. And how about Babe Ruth legend has it he tried to throw his manager off a train. How about John McGraw who would have done anything to win a game. And lastly how many players of the 50s and 60s used to play everyday only after taking a cocktail of uppers(greenies). In my humble opinion baseball is the greatest game but unfortunately has not been populated by the hightest caliber of person. So should McGwire, Bonds and Clemens be punished while others get a get out of jail free card. I don't think its that simple. Bonds, McGwire and Sosa hit all those HRs with the full knowledge that baseball knew they were juicing. So are they truly to blame??

If I was appointed king of the HOF I'll tell you what I would do. Firstly I would take each players case on a individual basis. Its clear the only reason why Sammy Sosa has 600 Homers is because of PEDs. Mark McGwire probably would never get my vote because if you look at his career arc I don't think all those great seasons in the late 90s would have happened without steroids. But a good argument could be made for Bonds and Clemens because they had HOF numbers before they started juicing. If Bonds never used I think he could make two guesses about his career 1.He would never have broken Ruth or Maris's records 2.He still would have been the second greatest LF ever behind Ted Williams. For arguments sake lets say Clemens career ended in 1996 his last with the Red Sox. He already had 3 Cy Youngs. His career arc suggests something odd happened in 1997 when he went to Toronto and suddenly found the fountain of youth. Pitchers career never go like his did. One last word on Bonds and Clemens you can't keep them out of Cooperstown for being jerks.

So after much thinking and debate with myself I decided what I'd do is have a display in the Hall like all the others that celebrate great teams and players and "honor" the accomplishments of the players during the steroids era. This would serve two purposes 1.History of games and nations has some not so happy parts but it does not mean we should ignore them. It may be a bad memory but it happened. 2.As an educational tool. I could just see myself 25 years from now walking thought the hall with my grandchildren. When we get to the display of the Steroids Era and I explain why even if you hit 70HRs or 600 for a career if you cheat you won't get a plaque in the Hall of Legends.

This debate is far from over. Actually its just starting and will explode again when Bonds becomes eligible. Like last year I really want to know what anyone who reads this thinks. Its alot of fun to read your comments.