Posted on 01/26/2022 1:56:23 PM PST by navysealdad
The 21st century has made clear the inadequacies of various institutions that were once the bedrock of American society. In government, in business and in media, there has not just been a collapse in trust, but a sense that the systems we’ve got in place cannot cope with our present challenges.
The perfect microcosm of all this is the Baseball Hall of Fame.
(Excerpt) Read more at nymag.com ...
Wow, this is one of the few things concerning sports that I’ve felt pretty good about lately (other than Schilling). Imagine the notion that cheating is not rewarded?
Baseball fans are familiar with the debates. Based purely on statistics and performance on the field, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds would be in the Hall of Fame. They are not there because not enough of the baseball writers, who elect players to the Hall, overlook their use of steroids.
It all depends on the criteria being used to evaluate them. If we elect players based solely on eye popping statistics, they are in. If we are critical of their use of performance enhancing substances which belped them achieve those results, then they are out.
Bonds and Clemens arguably had HOF careers before they got onto steroids. One could argue that waiting 10 years for admission would have been penalty enough.
I think every voter for the BB HOF needs to have their personal history gone over with a fine tooth comb.
I bet most have drinking and/or drug issues that should be discussed.
To be fair.
We’re long past the point where the players want to risk injury playing in the various all-star competitions, Olympic games, etc. The money is so big in players’ salaries that it isn’t worth the slightest risk that a career ending injury might result.
Owners are now “shutting down” players with nagging injuries if there are no prospects for the playoffs.
Ultimately future players will not care one-way or the other if they get nominated or inducted into the various halls of fame. It’s simply how much bank you’ve made over your career.
I think the penalty for Pete Rose is not that he won’t ever get inducted into the HoF, but rather that he will not LIVE to see the day. It may very well be the same for others like Bonds & Clemens.
Yes, I know the argument, but I fall on the side of those who think preserving the integrity of the game is just as important, or more, than home runs and strike outs when considering whether admission is warranted.
So you take issue with who elects players to the Hall of Fame, and their moral or ethical transgressions?
Well, Pete Rose broke the cardinal rule by gambling on games, and agreed to his suspension from baseball. His is a different case.
There too, if we evaluate Pete just on his performance on the field, he would be in the Hall of Fame. I think he’s not even allowed on he Hall of Fame ballot because he was banned from baseball.
Schilling, who was fired from ESPN following a tweet likening the Muslim demographics to Nazi Germany’s. “Schilling, If I had said, ‘Lynch Trump,’ I’d be getting in with about 90 percent of the vote this year,” Schilling, a 50-year-old Breitbart talk show host and professional meme-sharer, told TMZ.
no its the BBWAA that is broken, not the HOF
How are the baseball writers broken?
21st century America; if something isn’t to your liking, it’s “broken”.
Bonds is not getting in until he clears the air about his PED use. He has to admit it and give verifiable details. Then I think he might get in.
McGwire is a stranger case as he has admitted to using substances that were not on the banned list and ceased using them when they were added. But MLB may think McGwire was using more stuff besides what he has acknowledged using.
“Bonds and Clemens arguably had HOF careers before they got onto steroids.”
That’s a solid point, but Shoeless Joe Jackson hit .375 in the 1919 World Series (best on either team), and clearly had a Hall of Fame career before that. I can’t see how they could let Bonds and Clemens in if they didn’t do the same for Jackson.
Yes I guess that’s where we are.
Some take issue with the Hall of Fame election results, and some tske issue with the Baseball Writers Association members who elect members of the Hall of Fame.
I don’t know who decided the Baseball Writers are the voting body for the Hall of Fame. Nor do I know why players must get 75%. Both Bonds and Clemens got about 2/3 of the vote. Which indicates a strong majority of support.
In fact, Jackson’s performance during the World Series where he was supposedly bribed to take a “fall” hardly supports it.
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