Good morning Mets fans,
I’m writing this on Thursday night. Â I’m not watching the Mets game since the future is now, except they sent F-Mart down so aguy that has zero chance of being on the 2011’s can play RF, they are platooning the first baseman of the future with a Quadruple-A player, and are carrying three catchers rather than finding out if Thole deserves the job. Â I’ll take it seriously when the organization does.
So I will write about Clemens. Â In my opinion Congress can’t allow itself to be lied to. Â Case closed.
Most of us will focus on the steroids issue.
There are 15 or so years of baseball that are ruined. Â Maybe more as Alex Rodriguez moves up the home run chart.
I can’t change the record books. Â All I can do is teach my children.
When Junior asks me who the best players I ever saw were I will give him names like Mike Schmidt and Tom Seaver. Â I will never say Alex Rodriguez, and while I will recognize how dominant Roger was late in life with the Jays and Yankees, I will discount his achievements.
These things get complicated. Â As fans we shake our heads at Gooden, yet the cocaine usage by Keith Hernandez is rarely mentioned. Â I won’t respect Mark McGwire but I can be happy to see a Darryl Strawberry who seems to have his life straightened out.
People make mistakes in life, and they can be forgiven. Â Roger hasn’t taken that first step in admitting wrong. Â When my son asks about him I will share my opinion.
I’m stealing this next line and I can’t remember who said it (would love to credit): the Hall of Fame needs to decide if it is keeper of the records or a museum. Â If it’s a museum let them all in. Â If it’s the standard barer of all things holy then keep everyone out.
My personal choice is to keep them all out.
Got your back, you are spot on.
I heard Mike Francessa say a few weeks ago that if guys like Mickey Mantle (his hero) had illegal substances available, they would probably have tried them…those guys wanted to win at all costs.
Well I have news for everyone…something was available.
http://www.steroid.com/
Testosterone was used in the 1950s by weightlifters. What are the side effects of those injections?
“Other testosterone side effects reported include acne, hair loss, depression, moodiness, swelling in the arms and legs, gynecomastia (breast growth in males), breast pain, high blood pressure, decreased libido and nervousness. Gynecomastia is said to occur frequently.”
What happened to Roger Maris in his 1961 homerun chase? Anybody remember? They said he lost his hair from the pressure…he was very irritable and moody…his best friend Mantle also chasing the record went on the DL with a hip abscess…gee the only other player I heard of with a hip abscess was A-Rod from his HGH injections.
And Maris never hit more than 39 HR any other year…so, while I have no proof, there is enough evidence that it make it very possible something was going on.
Steve’s Maris point there is why I let them all in.
I’m always said that by keeping some out you give the illusion that your’e keeping cheaters out, which implies that guys that get in are clean. This is not the case. I’d rather “false positives” then “missed negatives”. I’d rather we put the guys in and remember that steroids existed for this era, rather than keep some guys out and let the “better” cheaters get away with it.
You recognize players as fallible for their off field stuff, and can forgive: but PEDs are on-field stuff and that is a no-no. Keith and cocaine did not cheat to get a record, Big Mac did, Roger did, Arod did.
Doc and Ceetar,
I am pleased that you both have an open mind to my point…I was expecting people to mock my premise. There was also a revered pitcher who did amazing things at a late age that makes me wonder.
Babe Ruth didn’t play against minorities, though that was not of his own doing. Look at the list of single season HR leaders…this is funny:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hihr4.shtml
There have been 41 season with 50 or more HR…at least 17 of those were known or highly suspected steroid users. Kind of destroyed the record book…that’s what make me so mad.
Babe Ruth didn’t play in MLB against minorities, but he played against just about everyone (including regularly against/with Negro league teams and the NL). And he dominated there as everywhere.
there has always been cheating. There’s not even concrete proof/data that show how much steroids/hgh/amphetamines actually do towards the actual records.
One big thing to remember is that steroids were not banned in the majors until 2003. If a player used PEDs prior to 2003 then you can’t crucify them and shouldn’t keep them out of the Hall. They were not violating any rules of the game. In fact some would argue – myself included – that MLB knew and tacitly accepted the use of PEDs. (see their over-the-top promotion of the 98 home run race).
Every generation in baseball has issues that are eventually addressed. This is just another example. I’m with Shannon on this – Bonds. Clemens, etc may have done something that was not in the spirit of the game, but it was not against the rules of the game.
And on that last point – we know of at least 1 Hall of Famer who did get in openly violating the rules of the game – Gaylord Perry
Dan,
I agree with you for the most part…but while it wasn’t against any formal rules, why did McGwire lie about it so long and Bonds, Sosa and Clemens allegedly still lie about it? Even Pete Rose came clean about his gambling. Come clean and be forgiven and help youngsters avoid using these dangerous substances.
They lied about it because they knew it was not in the spirit of the game. It was not how great players are supposed to behave. And perhaps they also lied because it was an ego thing – most of these guys have huge egos and to admit that they needed help to do what they did would destroy their sense of who they were.
As for Rose, he has made partial admissions – but even still that took 20 years for him to do that
let us never forget the affect of greenies on the sport.I’m a believer, not.Stop the world, I want to get off.
I fear we are just bozoz on this here bus.