So, will Barry Bonds make the Hall of Fame? And if so, shouldn't Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa and Mark?

Question

McGwire all make the Hall as well? Barry having over 700 HR's, Sosa over 600 and Palmeiro and McGwire both over 500 HR's, as well as Palmeiro having over 3,000 hits, but all have been tied to STEROID usage. The way I look at this is, if you let one of them in, you have to open the flood gates and let these other 3 guys in. All have Hall worthy numbers, but their stats are definitely tainted from Balco, etc. So, what do you think about this?

If they let these guys in for cheating and using performance enhancing drugs, they have to let in Pete Rose, who didn't use roids during his playing career, and was only busted for gambling after his playing career was over and he was the manager of the Reds. Unfortunately, Rose signed the "banned for life" document from the late Commish A. Bartlett Giamatti and it seems unlikely that Bud Selig will overturn this lifetime ban.

Chipmaker, you're nuts. I lost a lot of respect for you now dude. You always have great insights, not on this one. All 4 of this guys I mentioned were cheating/roiding and you know it. Like I said, you either let all in or none. You can't cherry pick these guys, because based on their stats, they all deserve to be in, but the writers should put their foot down and not vote them in, and if they do, make sure they are very very old men when they do, in their 70's like Phil Rizzuto was.

Answer 1

The right thing to do is NEVER to let any of them in the hall of fame. Yes, their numbers warrant hall of fame consideration but those numbers are NOT their numbers. They are chemically enhanced numbers. Numbers that these ball players would not have achieved without those chemicals.

Mark McGwire not getting in last year was a major statement by the baseball writers association. However if he is elected down the road that would be like saying, "It's not alright to cheat today but next year or the year after it's okay that you cheated". What sense would that make?

These guys should never be allowed in the hall of fame. They have absolutely no integrity.

Answer 2

I would seriously endorse federal legislation to make any "if X then Rose" argument a hanging offense without appeal.

I'd vote (not that I can) for Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, and Palmeiro. Products of their times, as well as the best of their times. That there have been at least as many pitchers caught and penalized indicates that (a) PEDs were very, very widespread and (b) the strike zone therefore maintained reasonable balance, within the context of the seasons, as it has over the longer reach of history. This can be supported with a quick review of leaguewide batting averages -- it always hovers around .260, and it did just that.

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Um, I'm not sure what THAT rant was about, as it wasn't refutation of anything that I wrote (well, I see that a lot). There isn't any indication of "cherry picking" in my opinion expressed above -- product of the times, and STILL excelled in the conditions present.

More to the point: MLB didn't prohibit certain PEDs until 2003 (this really is important), and until that time I genuinely do not care who used whatever they could. Baseball is a competitive enterprise that attracts competitive people, and if the governing body (MLB) couldn't be bothered to draw some lines, I don't see why anyone would expect individual players to do it.

Answer 3

So, I take it everyone here is a doctor, speciallizing in supplements? Seriously, just re-read all your posts. Chastising and judging all these players before ANY of them have been PROVEN guilty? As a human being, yes, it is hard to ignore some details surrounding them, especially Bonds. However, NONE of them have been found to be guilty. McGwire said he was on Andro, but at the time it was NOT banned. I am not a fan of Bonds, simply because of his lack of PR skills, but I am not going to ban him from the hall simply by what I presume.

To the original poster-"but their stats are definitely tainted from Balco, etc." Really? You work for Balco? Neat! Why aren't YOU in prison? The ONLY one on here with a coherant, mature response was the person who said that cheating has always been around, and always will be (Neifi Perez). You don't like Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, etc. fine, that is your right. However, you don't have all the answers, so hold off villifying someone until judgement is passed by the ones who do.

Answer 4

I don't think he will. It was bad enough that MLB let him pass Babe Ruth, and the fact that MLB let him pass Aaron, but to put him in the Hall of Fame, would be an even bigger mistake. All Bonds deserves is to be forgotten. I also don't think that the other players that you mentioned shouldn't be in either. Sosa might actually be the most innocent of the players that you mentioned, even though I think he might have done other drugs, and the fact that he lost the ability to speak English can make anyone suspicious, even though that hasn't been proven. McGwire did it, even though he doesn't want to talk about the past, Palmeiro was caught, and Bonds tested positive for amphetamines. Sosa has yet to be busted. The MLB should try to get more info on Sosa. The worst thing that they had on Sosa was that he used a corked bat. However, they tested all of his other bats, which were all found to be clean. George Brett used a lot of pine tar in one game, and that didn't stop him from making the Hall. I think using a corked bat is about as bad as using a lot of pine tar on it. I am not saying that Sosa should make the Hall, I am saying that MLB needs to find out more info on Sosa. I also think that Pete Rose should be in.

Answer 5

McGwire is a definite "No" because his numbers simply aren't there .McGwire is a one trick-pony who choked during the WS.
The steroids won't help his cause
Bonds is a maybe . Personally I hope that it's a permanent "No " because the man's numbers are clearly tainted
If my wishes don't come true and Barroid does get into the HOF then I hope that he has to wait 5 years after he is eligible to get in.
I mean it is possible that if Smoltz , Maddux and Bonds were all eligible in the same year that Barroid wouldn't get in and if that pattern of very eligible candidates were to repeat itself for a number of years that Barriod would have to wait his turn until finally the competition was such that he had to be elected.
Oh yeah NO HOF for Sosa or Palmeiro
Edit :
Friends of Bonds.You guys may want to look up the definition of circumstansial evidence .If you do that you may discover that a dirty whiz test is not the only way to convict somebody of using steroids .

Answer 6

I don't think Bonds' head would fit in the hall of fame!
And as for the other one's, they don't deserve to be in the Hall cuz they cheated.
How about putting Balco in the hall of fame? They pretty much did all the work!

Answer 7

"What?" is right.

Of the 4 players you mentioned in your question, Bonds is the only one who was a no-questions-asked Hall of Famer BEFORE he got juiced up. So it'll be interesting to see what the writers do.

I don't think the writers will elect any of the other 3 guys.

Answer 8

I hope not!!! I don't think anyone of those players deserve to even get their name on a hall of fame ballot....They all were and still maybe juiced up!!! Let Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame before they let anyone of these idiots in!!!

Answer 9

Barry Bonds will make the Hall of Fame. He's too good not to be in it.

Answer 10

I don't believe any of them should be allowed in the Hall of Fame because of the tainted records with steroid abuse.