On January 9, we will find who (if anyone) the Baseball Writers
Association of America (BBWAA) have selected to be inducted into
the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York this
summer.
This year I am taking a greater interest in the vote than usual.
I do so for two reasons.
The first reason is because of my
visit to Cooperstown last September. Although I have been aware
of the Baseball Hall of Fame since childhood, I now have a physical
connection to Cooperstown I did not previously possess. Now that I
have seen the plaques of the 300 men comprising of MLB
and Negro League players, managers, executive and umpires it forces
me to give more thought as to who should and should not join them
in Inductee Row. Naturally, this brings me to my second reason. The
2013 ballot is arguably the most controversial in Cooperstown’s
75-year plus history. The players appearing on the ballot for the
first time include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Craig
Biggio, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Kenny Lofton, David Wells,
Steve Finley and Julio Franco. Despite the credentials of these
players, it could mark the first time since 1996 the BBWAA does not
elect anyone to the Hall of Fame.
Bonds, Clemens and Sosa have long been under the cloud of
suspicion of the so-called Steroids Era. Indeed, Bonds and Clemens
were put on trial concerning their lack of candor for their alleged
use of performance enhancing drugs. While it could be argued that
Bonds and Clemens compiled statistics sufficient to warrant
inclusion in Cooperstown before steroids were believed to become
factors in their career, I suspect Bonds and Clemens will not be
inducted this year or in the next fifteen years. If Mark McGwire is
any indication, Bonds, Clemens and for that matter Sosa, they will
be lucky if they get 25% of the vote. Or they could end up like
Rafael Palmeiro and drop off the ballot altogether. Oh, those
baseball writers.
It’s hard for me to take the BBWAA seriously when they
enthusiastically bestowed Bonds with four consecutive National
League MVP Awards between 2001 and 2004 when his head and shoe size
expanded faster than the federal government. It’s hard for me to
take the BBWAA seriously by punishing players for allegedly doing
things that were not prohibited by Major League Baseball at the
time.
But let’s suppose that Bonds, Clemens and Sosa used performance
enhancing drugs. Longtime Cincinnati Reds beat writer Hal McCoy
argues that Bonds, Clemens and Sosa “cheated to gain an unfair
advantage.” A decade ago, Jose Canseco
claimed that 85% of MLB players took performance enhancing
drugs. Let’s say half that number is true. If even half of all big
league players were taking steroids then Bonds, Clemens and Sosa
did not make for much of a competitive advantage. So it’s hard for
me to take the BBWAA seriously if its writers argue that steroids
on the one hand gave Bonds, Clemens and Sosa an unfair advantage
but, on the other hand, argue they were pervasive. It’s a classic
case of having their cake and eating it too.
The problem with steroids in baseball is that perception equals
reality. Houston Astros’ slugger Jeff Bagwell never tested positive
for steroids nor was he named in the Mitchell Report but that
hasn’t prevented various members of the BBWAA to
accuse Bagwell of using performance enhancing drugs despite not
having any evidence to back up such claims.
I have a feeling that Mike Piazza will become this year’s Jeff
Bagwell. Even though Piazza never failed a drug test nor was named
in the Mitchell Report, his name has been linked
to steroids by rumor and innuendo. Oh, those baseball writers.
Let me go back to Bagwell for a moment. The player with the best
chance of being enshrined into Cooperstown this summer is Bagwell’s
friend and teammate Craig Biggio. The catcher turned second baseman
collected
3,060 hits in a 20-year career with the Astros. Biggio belongs in
Cooperstown but I’m sure he and Astros fans would prefer if he were
to be inducted with Bagwell. Biggio and Bagwell go together like
peanut butter and jelly. Unless, the BBWAA has evidence Bagwell
acted improperly there is no reason to deny baseball fans peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh, those baseball writers.
As a Red Sox fan, I wonder about Curt Schilling’s chances. No
steroids issue here. But a bloody sock turned into a bloody mess
when his video game business
went belly up last year. Unlike his ankle, Schilling’s business
could not be sutured back together. Will his financial troubles
keep him from getting into the Hall? Oh, those baseball
writers.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few of the players who
have been waiting for years to get the call from Cooperstown.
Holdovers from previous ballots include Jack Morris, Tim Raines,
Lee Smith, Alan Trammell and Dale Murphy. A two-time NL MVP, it is
Murphy’s 15th year on the ballot. Unless the longtime Atlanta
Braves slugger and Gold Glove outfielder receives 75% of the vote
from the BBWAA, Murphy falls off the ballot. In 2012, Murphy
received
14.5% of the vote and has never topped 25%. And to think that
Murphy never took steroids. Barring a miracle, there’s a good
chance that the only way Murphy will ever be inducted would be
through the Veterans Committee. Oh, those baseball writers.
Like Brooklyn Dodgers fans, we might have to wait ’til next year
when 300-game winners Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine join the ballot.
Chicks might dig the long ball
but they’ll be making speeches in Cooperstown and McGwire won’t.
Nor for that matter will Bonds and Clemens.
Oh, those baseball writers.
Photo: Keith
Allison (Creative Commons 2.0).
