Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Baseball Hall of Shame

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire what do these gentlemen have in common other then giant foreheads, arms and some of the best stat lines of all time? None of these men are heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. Why are none of these men in the Hall of Fame?

Steroids.

In any other circumstance, all of these men would be first ballot Hall of Famers. But banned substances like steroids denied these men their chance at glory, at least this year. I don't believe this is right.

Barry Bonds, for example, has averaged a batting average of .298 and 41 home runs over his 22 year career starting in 1986, that is amazing longevity over the course of a career. Sure, if you look at the year he broke the record, he had an amazing year. But if you look at 1990 through 2000 – before he started getting huge – he was averaging around 30 home runs a year. Still an amazing number. Taking HGH (human growth hormone) didn't help his eye in the batter's box get better. He has always had the talent throughout his career.

Mark McGuire wasn't a sure thing Hall of Famer, roids or not. His numbers were above average for his career but nothing earth shattering. However, there are much worse selections in the HOF than McGuire. 12 All Star games, three-time silver slugger, a former home run record holder, and constant threat to hit 40 to 55 home runs any given year.

Sammy Sosa was a sure fire Hall of Famer. He had fantastic number through his career – similar to McGuire’s. He averaged 42 home runs for his career, an OBP of .311, and BA of .273. Sosa and McGuire resparked the game of baseball during their thrilling home run chase in 1998.
Roger Clemens. What can you say about the Rocket? 7 Cy Youngs, a MVP, 11 All Star games. He is one of the greatest pitchers of his generation. His mechanics and tenacity were well known. Steroids weren't responsible for helping with that. His fastball wasn't an over-powering speed like Aroldis Chapman, who topped the gun at 106 MPH.

I do not believe HGH or steroids of any form to be that much of an enhancer to natural talent. Sure, it helped filled their bodies out but the talent was always there. During most of these men’s careers, these were not even banned by the MLB. PEDs were illegal in the United States but not by the governing body of the sport they played. So, why punish these men from being in the shrine to the profession they gave everything to? If they are to be punished, let the law hand out judgment. These men have put in their time and have had amazing careers. They should be honoured for their achievements, not punished for a substance they did that was not illegal in their sport.

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