The Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame contemporary era ballot results will be made public this Sunday, directing attention once again toward two very well known steroid users, and whether they should be forever enshrined in the MLB Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were incredible on the field, but forever tarnished by the illegal means in which they achieved their amazing stats while playing. Has enough time passed to where the Contemporary Baseball Era HOF Committee will elect guys like Clemens and Bonds, and if so, what does that say about sports ethics, integrity, and the criteria used to re-evaluate players who were thought to be forever banned from the HOF? While the passage of time may help Bonds and Clemens, Pete Rose’s gambling issues were viewed as unforgivable, making this week’s election even more puzzling if they get in, while Rose never did.
What has changed?
There are a number of really great former players up for election this weekend, but none of the names are as big as Bonds and Clemens. While both men will forever have the steroid tag affixed to them, their on-field accomplishments were incredible to say the least. Bonds was arguably the best position player ever, and Roger Clemens can certainly make a case that he was the best pitcher ever when taking in to account his 7 Cy Young awards. And while it is easy to dismiss both of their remarkable careers by simply pointing to steroids, it is important to note that both players were shoe-in Hall of Fame inductees years before steroids when they were clean and their numbers were already off the chart. In other words, neither man needed to cheat.
Barry Bonds has not played since 2007, and his last good year was in 2004. Roger Clemens retired in 2007, with his last all star year being 2005. It’s now been 20+ years since we old folk have seen these guys at their best, and for young people today they have no memory of the 762 career HR by Bonds, or the 4,672 career strikeouts by Clemens. Both are incredible feats, and yes, both figures were fueled — at least partially — by steroids. In fact, both men exited baseball in shame and disgrace, but now 20 years later we will soon learn if all is forgotten, or if the lingering stain of steroid use will continue to keep them out of the HOF.
So what has changed over the last couple of decades? Steroids and other performance drugs are still illegal and banned from the game. Hall of Fame voters have continued to shun other, lesser known but still good players, who admitted to steroids. And neither Clemens nor Bonds, to my knowledge, has ever admitted to using steroids, or engaged in public efforts to educate young players about the dangers of steroids — so no observable remorse. In trying to remain open-minded, it’s tough to see what exactly has happened to now view Bonds and Clemens any different today than in the early 2000’s?
My hunch is both players will be inducted this weekend, and the debates will continue as to whether either is deserving based on previous steroid usage. To date, MLB has done an admirable job standing up to steroid cheating post the steroid-era, and the HOF voters have been tough about voting in players even suspected of using (I can’t think of a single steroid-player who has been elected). All that will change this weekend if both are elected, and the integrity of the HOF will come into question, specifically around the level of cheating that will be tolerated from great players. Will future steroid users face any consequences? Is MLB going to hold onto the “Rose Rules,” where players who gamble are banned for life, but all other types of cheating are a case-by-case evaluation?
Final thoughts
Steroids aside, Clemens and Bonds were two of the best to ever play baseball. That’s the problem, however, is that we can’t push the steroids aside. There is little debate today that both players were the direct benefactors of steroids from both a performance position (farther hit balls, increased pitching velocity), and an injury maintenance helper (steroids help with player muscle recovery, a big deal in a 162 game season). It’s a real shame these two players in particular put themselves in this position in the first place, as both were clear first ballot HOF members before steroids. This weekend we will learn whether MLB will continue to hold out cheaters, or set aside previous views on the subject and create a new precedent by voting in Bonds and Clemens.
drstankovich.com
