Should steriods have the same effect on a player as other cheating?

Question

Should we hold those who used steriods before they were against the rules of baseball 2006 season to a higher standard than we hold pictures who doctor balls (against the rules for a long time) or corked a bat?

If we keep a player out of the Hall of Fame for steriods should we kick out every player in the Hall of fame who was ever proven to have cheated in a way that is against the rules?

For example Gaylord Perry a hall of Fame pitcher was ejected many times for doctoring the ball but no one made any fuss over this cheating when he was up for the Hall of fame.

Answer 1

We should hold steroid abusers to the same standard of corked bat users, and pitchers who doctor baseballs, etc.

Answer 2

First of all, we (meaning you and I) can't decide to keep a player out of the Hall for any reason, unless one of us is either a Hall of Famer or a professional sportswriter who has been a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America for over 10 years (or who have been awarded either the Frick Award for broadcasting or the Spink Award for writing). And guess what, I don't think either one of us qualify.

That being said, the steroid issue does have more of an impact on people than a corked bat or a scuffed ball does, and that's probably due to the fact that a corked bat or scuffed ball can't affect a player's health. Steroids are dangerous, players have known this for years, and yet they've still run rampant throughout the game. As a fan of baseball, I'm angered by the fact that Major League Baseball officials had some knowledge of just how widespread the problem had become and did nothing about it, giving tacit approval to their use. How many players will be affected later in life by their use of steroids to get ahead in their profession?

Personally, I think an example should be made of some of these players, just like Pete Rose's betting on baseball was. What they have done has seriously damaged the integrity of the sport, almost to a point where it can't recover.

Answer 3

Steroids may not have been on the list of banned substances, but they were still illegal in the United States before 2006. So any way you slice it, what players were doing was wrong by legal and ethical standards. The thing about kicking players out of the Hall is that most of them are deceased, or noone cares what the guys who are already in did. Plus, it is hard to prove anything about a guy who played in the 1970s; all there may be is circumstancial or witness evidence, no real hard facts. As far as I'm concerned, players who are in the Hall will stay there for that very reason. Supposedly they take a player's character and integrity into account when they vote for the Hall, a la Pete Rose. The man with the most hits in baseball HISTORY isn't in the Hall of Fame because he gambled on baseball. The real problem is, where do you draw the line?

Answer 4

This is a great question....While one (steroids) is criminaly wrong the other is wrong just in a given sport. We are in fact talking about that specific sports HOF. There is no HOF for citizenship. OK, maybe the Nobel Peace Prize. Ty Cobb was a racist, there is proof of this. Read his excerpts. He is in the hall of fame. Racism is not something that society looks kindly on. He however was one of the greatest players and original inductees to the HOF. Pete Rose cheated on taxes. He was convicted of this. Why is he not in the hall of fame. There are no tax statues in baseball. Babe Ruth was an alcoholic. Look at books written by his family and friends. This is something looked down on by society, yet he is in the HOF. These three players should be in the HOF. Even Rose should be enshrined. He was a great hitter and he contributed to the game. Steroids...are they cheating? Not until recent years years steroids banned from baseball. So, technically now you would be cheating. However, If McGwire, the savior of baseball in the 90's was found to have taken steroids should he be allowed in the HOF...I say yes. Along side the racist Cobb and the alcoholic Ruth.

Answer 5

Yes, we should hold these players a little more accountable for what they did, but things such as doctoring the ball and corking your bat arn't as serious as taking steroids, and not as much of a problem. Steroids has recently gotten much more bad publicity that these other little crimes. Its like comparing a felony and a misdemeanor, there isn't the same punishment for both. Steroids have long term effects, while a corked bat (which was horrible, plus we all know that Sammy's on steroids anyway) or doctoring the ball are only effective for one game, until they are caught. The effects of steroids can last a lot longer time.

And as a note, Pete Rose was kicked out of baseball for betting, not cheating on his taxes, and Racism and Alcoholism aren't crimes, like steroids are.

Answer 6

No, there was an art to the way Gaylord Perry cheated. He did his cheating in the middle of the field, in front of allthe players, and in front of all the fans. Even guys like, Graig Nettles and Mickey Rivers, who would cork their bats, took the embarassing chance of having their bat break during a game and be exposed. But these clowns, that are risking their health, and forcing other players to risk their helth, just to keep up, are doing their cheating in the stalls of the locker room like complete cowards.

Answer 7

Yes, all forms of cheating, including cheating with variable sizes of rubber inserts inside baseballs should be considered CHEATING

Answer 8

i am a pro-athlete and we get tested regularly for doping. IT IS A BIG DEAL... and an unfair advantage. Sports are about how hard and far you can press yourself further than others. Steroids are not part of that and are not in the spirit of the sport.

Answer 9

i say yes.