It seems that most of you are stuck on the steroid issue involved in "Or So My Pizza Told Me," so it seems to me that we should put a stretch blog in to cover a more broad area of steroids, instead of just focusing on Mark McGwire.
So to answer some questions brought up in responses to the blog.
There is a difference between Pete Rose and the Steroid Sluggers. Pete Rose didn't cheat to make himself a better ballplayer. He cheated ON the game, not IN the game. He deserves a spot.
On your other point, GOSSIPKING, you're probably right. I'm sure there are many players in the Hall of Fame right now who used steroids. But that doesn't mean we should continue to promote cheating in baseball by allowing other steroid users entry. We need to fix the problem NOW, not worry about mistakes voters have made in the past. They are making the right decision now, that decision being to send the message to all the anklebiting sluggers and high school sluggers and college sluggers who will one day be confronted with a choice: Take steroids or don't take steriods. It is MANDATORY in order to save the game of baseball that the message we send to these young players is WE WILL NOT STAND FOR STEROIDS. Not as Hall of Fame voters, not as fans, and not as true supporters of the game.
Just because people have gotten into the Hall in the past with the help of illegal substances doesn't mean we should let everybody who ever used steroids in. At some point, the line must be drawn and that time is now. And what a better way to send the message. Baseball has everybody's attention since 1995. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are household names, all the way up from parents and grandparents and all the way down to four year olds who were watching and listening to Mac and Slammin' with their dad. Barry Bonds could possibly break the all-time Homerun record (a feat many people thought would never be accomplished.) This accomplishment will bring about world-wide attention. ESPN will stop their boring, miserable Poker Tour and cheesy reality TV programs to show you every at-bat. Sportswriters and sportscasters from all over the world will be in the press boxes trying to get the news back to their countries. Every sports page in America will have front page coverage for a week.
EVERYBODY WILL KNOW THE NAME OF BARRY BONDS.
What better way to send the message to kids, an important message (one that could potentially add years to their lives), then to slap on the front page, six years later:
"Bonds Banned from Hall of Fame due to Past Steroid Use."
"McGwire Misses Hall. Steroids to Blame."
"Sosa Voted Out. Steroids to Blame."
"Canseco Gets 1%. Steroids to Blame."
Palmiero Misses Hall despite Apology: Steroids to Blame."
Kids see this. High schoolers see this. College Athletes see this. And all of a sudden they start thinking, "Hey, these guys are serious. Steroids won't stand."
Or it could go the other way:
"Bonds In, Despite Steroid Use."
"McGwire Voted In, Steroids Forgiven."
"Sosa Lands Spot in Hall: Corked Bat and Steroid Use all but Forgotten."
"Canseco Finds Himself in CoopersTown, despite Putting Steroid Needles in other Men's Butts."
Kid see this. High schoolers see this. College Athletes see this. And all of a sudden they start thinking, "you mean I can cheat and harm my body and still get away with it. Nice."
You decide which direction you want American Baseball to go.
This is the time, folks. The pivotal moment in baseball history. It has to happen now. We have to put our foot down while we have everybody's attention. Sorry it had to be a St. Louis favorite to take the fall.
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32 comments:
Plenty of comments to come, but it's game time!
"Just because people have gotten into the Hall in the past with the help of illegal substances...." - a quote from david unterreiner's recent blog. this is bull****. no substances were illegal in baseball. they were legal. STERIODS WERE NOT AGAINST THE RULES. just like the dale e comment. come on, it's just like saying that somebody can't get the new lebron james shoes because they give you an advantage and in five years they will be ban.
This is all heating up. Heres a list of found steroid users in the 2005 baseball season. Rafi is the only one that has credibility to his name, maybe Rincon. Im going out on a limb and say that the minority of the MLB population dont take some sort of "Roids". Look at these names. Did roids help any of them. NO thank you. Numbers dont lie boys and girls. Takes some skill to hit a homer, and for people to be hitting 400+, I promise you cant do that by taking a damn pill. But if it were the case, then why arent every person juicing hittin homers?? Just a thought. And to anyone who thinks I am actually Jose Canseco, sorry, I'm just a normal fan of sports in America.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/steroids_baseball.shtml
Sorry, this may be helpful!!
I stand corrected. Sorry for the use of "illegal," it was obviously the wrong word. Those drugs weren't illegal. You're right.
However, thanks for missing the entire point of the blog, ms. mona lisa. The point of the blog is the moral issue of teaching our young athletes that steroids is wrong and won't be stood for. And the kicker is that NOW, RIGHT NOW is the best time and the most influential time to get that point across.
End of story. Big Mac did nothing illegal. He should be in the Hall of Fame. Bonds, on the other hand, might be doing something illegal. If he has taken steroids since 2002, no go on the Hall. If not, let him in. Same goes with Sosa. Don't tell me that he doesn't belong in there. Are you seriously gonna say that his numbers don't qualify him. Come on.
My opinion about the HOF issue is that the voting process is completely flawed. To vote for the HOF, a baseball WRITER must have covered the game for 10 years and be a member of the BBWAA. The key word here is WRITER. No players, no coaches, no announcers. The writers make such a huge deal out of this because it is their way to effect the game. To me, a big group of has-been high school athletes that couldn't make it at the next level who just write about the games have no business being the final authority on who should be in the HOF. The voting is just a way for writers to feel like they are a part of the game, when they are not. The current voting situation lets people vote who have just observed the games without stepping out onto the field. If you ask some of the pitchers in the NL Central from '97 to '01(probably roiders too) if BIG Mac should be in, they would probably say hell yes. Does Jay Mariotti(gets a vote) know more about the game than Mike Shannon(gets no vote)? Does Bernie Miklasz(gets a vote) know more about the game than Tony La Russa(gets no vote)? Has Bob Ryan(gets a vote) know what it was like when BIG Mac stepped into the box? Until the MLB lets former players, coaches, and announcers vote, it really doesn't matter who gets in and who doesn't. Right now, a bunch of nerds with typewriters are trying to have an effect on a game they wish they could play.
As for the steriod issue, if you let players and coaches vote, then we can really find out how rampid the steroids were. If everyone was doing it, which they probably were, then voters wouldn't single anyone out. If it was just a couple cheaters, then we could find out who the few were.
There is one big problem about your newspaper headlines--the money. You mention that Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro and Canseco are not in the hall of fame. However you fail to realize that they are all millionaires. All of these players, with the possible exception of Canseco, have enough money to last each of them 10 lifetimes. If high school kids see that they can get that kind of money, most of them will cheat their body too. These players may be hated by fans, but they are livin large and probably don't care that they are hated. Don't say we can save a kid by keeping someone out of the Hall of Fame because it is a totally different story when millions of dollars are dangled in front of them. All the earnings that these players have made are completely safe whether they are in the hall of fame or not. Money is more important to a struggling athlete trying to make it than being a member of a club like the hall of fame. If I was Mark McGwire, I would do exactly what he is doing after the vote--Not talk to anyone and just kick back in my mansion and my millions and live my life.
I agree. Put the power in the hands of people that actually know the game and know what is going on behind the scenes. Players and managaers know who is on or not on steroids and I think they would vote accordingly. Great idea.
To all the people who say that steroids were not illegal in baseball: Wake up retards, it was and still is against the LAW. Is it okay to murder someone out on the diamond? There is no rule in baseball against murder, so it must be okay to kill someone in baseball. Can you argue that? People that use this argument are putting baseball above the law.
People should not take away from the accomplishments of steroid era players because most of the players in baseball were guilty. If you take away from McGwire and Sosa in the steroid era, then how should we deal with the cocaine era of the 70s and 80s? Cocaine was the drug of choice in major league baseball. Should we take Rickey Henderson's stolen base record away because he was all hopped up on blow? Should we forget about Whiteyball and give back our '82 championship because because all our manager did was steal a ton of bases with crackheads? If we single out the steroid era, where does it end?
The thing that gets is when Big Mac is speculated to use steroids... still no proof we say that he is a cheater.. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? But when Merriman for the Chargers gets caught using steroids we turn our heads and declare him the best defensive player in the leauge this year?? Does this make sense to anyone else??
So how do you decide who's worthy of having a vote for the Hall of Fame, anonymous and GossipKing? Since sports writers are just "nerds with typewriters" (which, by the way, is a stupid comment; you probably don't know half the stuff these guys know, whether you want to admit it or not) ... What criteria should be set for vote eligibility? Just let everyone who has ever played and ever coached vote? Don't just throw out an empty suggestion like that. Back it up.
Ballin', I agree with what you're saying. It's pretty ridiculous how one 'roider gets busted and another gets praised. However, MLB and NFL are two completely separate organizations that have nothing to do with each other. I agree, though -- the NFL needs to get its act together, also.
Fiirst off to the anonymous person referring to others as "retards" I take offense to because I have a mentally ill family member and I dont appreciate people using that term. Secondly, to the same person, I think it is probably illegal to kill someone on a baseball diamond. But, is it illegal to throw a round hard object at another human being? No. But would it be if it were on the streets? Yes, its called assult, brotha. Anyone who did or didnt take roids before the rule was enforced, HOF!!! Anyone after, sorry Charlie!
We're not talking about the damn NFL. They're all juicing. Lets keep it about beisbol porfavor.
How do you know Pete Rose didn't cheat "within" the game? Lots of cheaters just don't get caught! Big Mac has not been proven a cheater: END OF STORY!!
some steriod were illegal outside of baseball, NOT ALL OF THEM. there is no proof big mac was on steriods, and im not for sure, ill have to check, but maybe the steriods they accused him of weren't illegal outside of baseball, not sure. but just a thought. i say let every person that was born in a player's lifetime vote. heck, i gotta feeling more people are caring about this election of HOF then the presidential one.
Anonymous, first of all, I never said that I knew more about baseball than BB writers. I'm sure that they know more than me, but do they know more about the game than players and coaches? I don't think so. Also, sorry about the "nerds with typewriters" comment. You probably took it personally. I mean seriously, who is on an internet blog at 5:51 in the morning? My guess is a nerd with a typewriter. Anyway, I have one question to ask everyone, Does everyone really think that writers who have never stepped on the field of play have the final say on who the best baseball players of all time are? The HOF is for the players and coaches(not writers), so they should vote in whomever they want. If the baseball writers had a HOF, should the players vote for them?
THANK YOU STEVE!! I totally forgot that Big Mac didn't play for the Rams... I am so glad you pointed out to me that this whole blog was about baseball not football and for that I am sorry I must have gotten confused so I appreciate it. My point was how there are so many double standards in our society.. even you said it "We're not talking about the damn NFL. They're all juicing." so then how is it that basically when steroids are brought up Major League baseball and Barry Bonds is the first thing people think of? I just don't understand it. And still no one has even shown me ABSOLUTE PROOF that Big Mac did steroids... show me that then he does not belong in the hall... For my final comment think about that for a second Mark not allowed in the hall due to speculation but yet Merriman voted Defensive MVP after testing positive for steroids?? How?
To the person who insists I am a nerd with a typewriter: I wake up at 3:17 a.m. every day to start blogging. I visit 34 different blogs every morning before 8 a.m. That's just how I do things. Gets my day started with a bang. You should try blogging that early sometime. That's usually when my best thoughts come out. At about 10:17 a.m., I check all 34 sites again and do more responding. Then trend continues until about 10 p.m., when I retire for the day to prepare for a great day of blogging tomorrow!
5:40 a.m. WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?
You're still not giving any suggestions as to WHICH players and coaches should vote. Should Bobby Bonilla vote? Jose Lima? Reggie Sanders? Brian Jordan? Raphael Furcal? Gary Gaetti? Blake DeWitt? Should Bo Hart get a vote? I know someone who played one inning in the majors -- should he get a vote just because he played an inning? I just want a suggestion here. All you're saying is that players should vote, but you're not telling me how this is going to happen. Come on, Sally! Maybe you should get up early like me and start blogging!
This guy is dedicated to blogging! I love his enthusiasm! And he's right -- how are you going to get this player-vote thing to work, anonymous? Should players start voting themselves into the Hall of Fame? That makes a lot of sense.
I think a steady diet of writing is a nessecity. Apparently some anonymous bitter young chap thinks everyone who posts is a nerd. Well buddy, I'll admit im a nerd, but you're gonna bite your tounge when you, by posting on this blog, are too sir, a nerd! I bet the guy who is up at 5 has a job, unlike yourself, who probably is the reason for goverment paychecks to the poor.
Just throwing an idea out there. Perhaps the Hall of Fame voting process could be like the Heismann Trophy. Allow only the players who are in the Hall vote on who and who shouldn't be in the hall. On another note I am suprised no Cardinal fans aren't saying Lee Smith shouldn't be in the hall of fame?? I mean I believe he is up for votes.. and he was the all time save leader until this year.. where is the love for the closer??
I think the players and coaches, and Hall Of Fame members should be the ones voting on who goes into the Hall. I agree with you ballin'. Let people in and around the game to let people into the club. Just a thought.
What if Ted Williams was on steroids. Or how about Ty Cobb? Maybe Cy Young? What if we found out that they were using steroids when they played? Would MLB remove the HOF from their title? No, becuase they would say well it wasn't against any regulations in those days. Hmmmmm.....
I wonder if this guy who wakes up to get on the computer at 3 am has a girlfriend or wife & what she thinks of his internet blogging lifestyle.
He is a priest and offers an eary mass. I know him.
If this is true than I sincerely apologize.
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