Rather than just sit here and complain about the Hall of Fame, I'm going to offer a solution. Granted, no one who is anyone is going to read this, but I don't care. I'm sick and tired of people talking about the PEDs issue with potential Hall of Famers and how it's unfair to judge them because of the use of amphetamines throughout much of MLB's history.
Here it is, elect players based on what they did on the baseball diamond. I know this seems like a ridiculous concept. However, I'm not done. For guys like Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Clemens, and eventually A-Rod (puke), they get their own special wing in Cooperstown. I've actually written about a little bit about this before. Members of the 1919 White Sox would be in there. Pete Rose would finally be home. All of the steroid guys, who "deserve" to go in, could go in. The selection process would be the same, but don't give them the induction ceremony. No speeches, no celebrations, just a plaque/bust/exhibit commemorating their achievements in the game and explaining why they are in this special wing. I feel like this would truly represent their career. Which is what the Hall of Fame is supposed to do.
You cannot deny the contributions made to baseball by the guys I mentioned above. However, I fully understand why this won't work. People like Ken Gurnick screw up this idea. His notion that he'll never vote for any Steroid Era players screws this up. But having this option might actually open his mind. Instead of these guys he's so dead-set against going in to his coveted Hall of Fame with all the glitz and glamour of the players he deems clean, he could actually vote for people who were the best of their era.
I realize this poses a ton of problems. In Gurnick's mind, Maddux, Thomas, and Glavine all played in the Steroid Era and he won't vote for them. So maybe in his mind he thinks they should go in the wing with Rose and McGwire. But the vast majority of people don't think any of those three used PEDs and should be given the full enshrinement. So maybe he still wouldn't vote for those guys. Or maybe he would, who knows? And what would the criteria be for a player going into the "tainted" wing? A positive test? An admission? Overwhelming evidence? I'm sure there are people much smarter than me who could figure that out, but I doubt they'd get everyone to agree with them.
It's time to stop ignoring history and start learning from it. You don't want to glorify Mark McGwire because he admitted using steroids? Fine. Then use it as a teaching moment. When a kid goes to the Hall of Fame and reads about everything he did in that magical season of 1998, including the PED use, and then sees that he's not in the same part of the Hall as Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, maybe that kid will understand.
Again, I know this is pretty much just a rant. But I'd love to know what other solutions there are. Don't tell me drugs should keep a player out of Cooperstown. Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays have all said they used amphetamines when they played because it helped them perform. But I don't see anyone arguing that they should be removed.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
