The votes are in!
And no one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame from the class of 2013...and I believe that the sports writers got it right. This year had the first list of eligible players to include a number of known, or suspected, steroids/PED users and it really was the first time that the baseball writers - the voters - had to deal with this issue. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa were all eligible to be inducted and none of them came even close to being elected. Rocket Roger received 37.6% of the vote, Barry Bonds received 36.2% and Sammy Sosa received 12.5%. All three fell way short of the 75% needed to be inducted and this baseball fan is VERY glad of that. I have been quite clear in my feelings - if you used, or have been suspected of using, then you do not deserve to be in the HOF. And I know that I am not the only one to feel that way. Listening to some of the HOFers who called into the MLB Network, it seems that many of them would consider boycotting the HOF induction ceremony in Cooperstown if a known steroid user was voted it. If the players are not tolerant of drug users then why should we fans be?
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There were a number of worthy candidates on the ballot this year who will have a chance to be elected next year - Craig Biggio received 68.2%, Mike Piazza received 57.8% and Curt Schilling received 38.8% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. For some players, who received less then 5% of the vote, their journey for election has ended on their first try - Bernie Williams, Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar Jr and David Wells had their one shot. And to me, that seems unfair to them when players like Clemens and Bonds and Sosa and Mark McGwire get another chance.
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Which brings us to a bigger discussion - should players who have been found guilty of violating MLB's drug policy be banned from consideration from the Hall of Fame? If I had a vote, I would vote yes. Pete Ross - Charlie Hustle - one of the BEST to ever play the game, has been banned from baseball for life and will NEVER be elected to the HOF because he violated baseball policy; he gambled on baseball while playing. Yes, he broke the rules but is what he did any worse then what someone like Manny Ramirez or Barry Bonds did? I think not. And yet Manny and Bonds and all the others who actually CHEATED while playing can be voted into the Hall and I do not think that is right. I often do not agree with Bob Costas, but I do agree with what he said today on the MLB Network after the vote was announced. He said that MLB needs to change its rules so that going forward, any player who is found guilty of violating the League's drug policy would not only face much stiffer penalties and suspensions, but they would also become permanently ineligible for election to the HOF. THAT is how you send a strong message that drugs have no place in baseball. That is how you maintain the integrity of that hallowed shrine in Cooperstown.
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I know this is a complicated issue that has no simple answer. But for all those great players who have been inducted in years past - players like Gehring, Yaz, Mantle and Williams - do they deserve to enshrined next to players who cheated? Next to players who purposely flaunted the notion of fair and honest play? Baseball and the greats of the past deserve better. And all the great players to come deserve better. I beg the voters - PLEASE keep the cheaters out. We fans of the game deserve that.
Sorry - I thought I had posted upon first reading this. Great article, but I have mixed emotions on Baseball HOF Results. Fine, as far as the Steroid users are concerned, but NO players being named. What about Jack Morris, or Burt Blyleven (sp)? How about Jim Kaat, or other deserving members who have waited for many years? Just why the heck do we have a Veteran's Committee for, when they usually ignore former players they should be considering?
ReplyDeleteTake Dave Concepcion, Shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1970-1986. Mr. Concepcion’s career numbers are every bit as good in many cases – and better as Ozzie Smith, the Cardinal’s Hall of Famer. That said, he didn’t stand out as much on Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, because of players by the name of Bench, Morgan, Perez, and Rose. Concepcion is every bit as much a HOF ballplayer as the Wizard of Oz, or Phil Rizzuto. Of course, Rizzuto was a Yankee, and that helped get him over the hump. Otherwise, he might have found himself sharing Mr. Concepcion’s fate. Not knocking Yankees, and I love the tradition, and I greatly respect and admire the team, too. That said, it’s an understatement to say that the Yankees are the darlings of MLB and the HOF.
Mr. Biggio might get in next year, and then again, he might end up waiting 1-3 years longer. Look at the big names next year that cannot miss.
The inductions of pioneering umpire Hank O’Day, former Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and 19th Century star Deacon White. WOW – Sounds like an exciting time in Cooperstown for the 2013 Induction Ceremonies. I have to agree with Pete Rose, who feels bad for concessionaires who depend on the annual festivities to supplement their living – business for them won’t be so good this year, because I doubt the flock will be nearly so large to honor those who became dust too many years ago. Not all is lost, however – Jacob Ruppert, former Yankee owner, is being inducted. Go figure… Actually, I believe he deserves it, but 2013 is still a WEAK year for the HOF.
As for Pete Rose, I would like to see him make the HOF one year, even if it's after he's passed away. It's a shame, but of course, Mr. Rose has done all this to himself. That said, I'm not convinced that Bud Selig has been totally honorable in this. Of course, Mr. Rose's last couple of years that resembled a reality show before his...reality show hasn't endeared him to many MLB Fans, either.
Still, the Pete Rose Rule of 1991 that was designed to keep him out of the HOF is a less-than-honorable move by MLB and the HOF to do just that, and both entities denied the rule being designed for that reason. Why, it was merely a "coincidence" that they made this new rule - where former players permanently banned from the game were ineligible to be considered for induction to the Hall of Fame - in January of 1991 -- just months before Rose's name would have been on the ballot for 1992. At least MLB and the HOF could have been honest about the rule back then, so they hardly have the corner market on integrity.
Yes, I've written more on Mr. Rose, because I'm a lifelong Pete Rose fan. Sadly, I'm also a fan who has been embarrassed by Mr. Rose for much off-the-field behavior - since 1979, when he was still capable of .300 BA and 200-hit-seasons. I buried some embarrassment back then because of what Charlie Hustle could do on the field. Now, as a Husband and Father, I long ago decided that I would no longer ignore or sidestep the wrong that supposed "role models" do. Sadly, Mr. Peter Edward Rose has been, and will always be, his own biggest problem, and the #1 reason that he's persona-non-grata in MLB and the HOF.