What do Paly seniors and Barry Bonds have in common?
Rejection.
In the wake of college applications and the recent Hall of Fame snubs, Paly students and some of baseball’s all-time greats can commiserate over the fact that they were unjustly rejected by an inexplicably exclusive group. However, while some Paly students’ rejections may be more than warranted, the recent Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame exclusions are simply ludicrous.
Highlighting the list of snubs from the Hall of Fame are the all-time home run leader (Barry Bonds), arguably the best hitting catcher of all-time (Mike Piazza), the man with the most 60-homer seasons (Sammy Sosa) and a seven-time Cy Young award winner in Roger Clemens.
Now this brings up questions about what it takes to get into the Hall of Fame. One would certainly assume that an athlete who showed superior play on the field throughout his career would be a strong candidate for the Hall. As we look at the list of rejects, we see some of the best players of all time missing out on Cooperstown glory. This would seem like a mystery to an outsider, but we all know the reason why these players aren’t getting the recognition they deserve: the “Steroid Era.”
The suspicion surrounding the “Steroid Era” of baseball has made it such that writers will simply not vote for any player who has had his name mentioned in the same sentence as “performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).”
I’d like to pose a question to these writers who see themselves as bastions of equity and justice. When did purity become more important than performance? Regardless of my, or anyone else’s, opinion on PEDs, the fact remains that Bonds did hit 762 homers. Mark McGwire did hit 70 homers in one season. Clemens did win seven Cy Youngs. No matter how “disgraceful” or “tarnishing” the last three decades of baseball have been, they happened. You can’t erase history.
What’s more, you know what hasn’t been proven? That any person on the ballot did use steroids. If the voters believe that these greats are unfit for Cooperstown, no player since 1990 should be allowed into the Hall of Fame since they can be somehow caught up in the McCarthyistic steroid witch-hunt.
Do I condone steroid use? Absolutely not. Do I believe that great players should be recognized for their on-field deeds rather than be condemned over off-field allegations? Absolutely.
If the voters want to keep placing their perception of “fairness” over on-the-field accomplishment and solid facts, then Cooperstown will soon become an outdated shrine dedicated to players who played before 1990 and the so called “Steroid Era.” It’s time the voters value statistics and performance over rumors and political correctness.
