I followed his career from start to finish and you are correct in your 3 thoughts imo. on another feeling, I think the hall of fame members should decide if his induction is warranted, they should have the final say on that I feel, not us fans after what he did. one of my favorite players and competitors.
dittos to those you mentioned. a different time then for sure. I’m and old timer MLB ‘numbers guy’ and it kills me to look at how lifetime stats have been compromised.
The informal polling of living Hall of Fame voters has always been more anti-Pete than the sportswriters have been. If it were a vote of the players, he’d lose big time.
The Hall of Fame has a real problem when it can’t admit the all-time hits leader and the all-time home run leader because they were both known cheats who dishonored the game.
I’ve felt the solution has been to create a “notables” wing that acknowledges some of the bad apples without giving them the full plaque routine. Otherwise, the Hall will soon become a joke.