Hall of Fame Solution

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.

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Hall of Fame Voters Toss A Shutout

The results everyone expected were confirmed Wednesday, no one has been elected to the baseball Hall of Fame this year. This was one of, if not the most controversial ballots in MLB history. Names like Clemens and Bonds appeared for the first time. Also making their inaugural appearance were Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio. But after the votes were counted, no one received enough votes to be enshrined in Cooperstown this year.

Like I said, coming into today it seemed as though this was going to be the outcome. Personally, I don't like it. I don't see how Biggio, who led all vote-getters with 68.2%, and Piazza, 57.8%, didn't get elected. Yes, I know they will eventually get in, but it only gets muddier from here. Guys like Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux will be eligible next year. They're sure to get take some votes away from Biggio and Piazza. That's not to mention guys like Jack Morris, who will be nearing the end of their time on the ballot.

The surprising result, to me at least, was the lack of a disparity between the amount of votes Clemens and Bonds got. Clemens got 37.6% and Bonds got 36.2% of votes. Even if you add their percentages together, they're still not eligible. For me, Bonds should never be enshrined, but I'd vote for Clemens.  Clemens never tested positive, and has never been convicted in anything related to performance enhancing drugs. The same can't be said for Bonds. I know that may be a thin line to some, but it's enough for me. That also means McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, and when the time comes A-Rod would not get my vote. I simply don't think people who cheat should be honored with baseball's most prestigious individual honor.

I realize there are cheaters already in Cooperstown. The use of uppers, aka greenies, was rampant throughout baseball for decades. Sadly, there is nothing that can be done about that now. But electing more cheaters just because there are already people who cheated doesn't make it right. Like the old cliche says, two wrongs don't make a right. This isn't to suggest guys like Bonds weren't great. He was great. Perhaps one of the greatest hitters I'll ever see play the game. He put the bat on the ball amazingly well, and no amount of performance-enhancing drugs helped that. But I firmly believe his power numbers would've been nowhere near as high without PEDs, and that says to me he wouldn't have won as many awards.  The sad part in my mind is that Bonds would've been a Hall of Famer without using PEDs. There's no debate that he had an incredible amount of talent.

It is completely understandable why people think Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame. I'm not saying my way of thinking is right, it's just my opinion. I can argue for Bonds just as easily as I can argue against him. I do have one radical idea that will never happen. Cooperstown creates a wing that is just for cheaters. Members of the 1919 White Sox would be in there. Pete Rose would finally have a home. All of the steroid guys 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 of the Hall. Never going to happen, but I sure wouldn't be against something like this.

My ballot, if I had one, would've been-Biggio, Bagwell, Piazza, Clemens, Murphy, Morris, Schilling, and Edgar Martinez. If you filled out a ballot, who would you have voted for?

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