2013 is when the "Steroid Era" hits the Hall of Fame Ballot Full-Force

[splitterpfj]

Bonds, Clemens, Sosa...the stars of the 90s are now hitting the ballot in waves...this is going to lead to some wild vote totals. Not counting holdovers, I think there are at least six viable candidates for election based on purely stats...but of course, these votes WON'T BE purely on stats.

 

http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=472

[3and2Fastball]

The Clemens vote will depend on how the current trial goes... Bonds & Sosa will get skipped. Bonds will likely make it in year 2 of eligibility while Sosa might have to wait awhile

[brettac1]

Yeah, they will all certainly go in within a few years. I would think that McGwire will be in in two more years, as well.

[homer]

The Clemens vote will depend on how the current trial goes... Bonds & Sosa will get skipped. Bonds will likely make it in year 2 of eligibility while Sosa might have to wait awhile

 

 

The sad irony of the Bonds situation is that he was a surefire first ballot HOF'er and probably top 10 player of all time even BEFORE he took one drop of steroids.

[Outlander]

Yeah, they will all certainly go in within a few years. I would think that McGwire will be in in two more years, as well.

 

Couldn't disagree more, this is the beginning of a huge backlog of players with great stats being stuck on the ballot for a number of years.

[gregmag]

The Clemens vote will depend on how the current trial goes... Bonds & Sosa will get skipped. Bonds will likely make it in year 2 of eligibility while Sosa might have to wait awhile

 

 

The sad irony of the Bonds situation is that he was a surefire first ballot HOF'er and probably top 10 player of all time even BEFORE he took one drop of steroids.

Yes, this is what kills me. I think most of these guys we're talking about -- Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, probably Sosa, let's throw in Bagwell although no one has persuaded me he used anything -- easily belong in the HOF based on what they achieved under their own power.

 

If we're arguing against including them, we should be clear about why. The only reasonable argument against voting for, say, Bonds is that he disqualified himself by the (presumed) fact that he cheated. The argument can't be that we doubt his credentials; that's absurd. If someone was pushing Ken Caminiti, then yes, his credentials are (to say the very least) in doubt. But that doesn't work for these premier guys.

 

I'm not saying whether I think the cheating argument is sound on its own terms. But we should be clear that it's the only argument worth considering for keeping these guys out, and we should judge it accordingly.

[splitterpfj]

I'll bet on Biggio going in this year, based on the 3,000 hits, and I'll go with Piazza as well. I doubt they'll put Bonds, Clemens or Sosa in this year, even though I think it would be better for baseball if they just voted them in and moved on.

 

The longer these otherwise obvious candidates are kept out based on steroid suspicion, the longer it will be debated, which just draws more negative attention. It's probably time to just read the numbers and vote...these guys were allowed to play, and the numbers all counted in major league games.

 

You can't divorce one group of numbers from the others, you can't remove Bonds' stats, and Palmeiro's, etc, without somehow adjusting the stats of the pitchers they faced, for instance. "We think Bonds would have hit 517 home runs without steroids", so adjust him down, which means adjust opposing pitchers to better numbers too...."Except, wait, we think these seven pitchers over here probably cheated too, so don't adjust theirs." That's impossible.

[RockCoCougars]

Palmeiro and McGwire haven't sniffed the place. This tells me that Bonds, Clemens and Sosa won't either.

[berniebrewer4life]

The Clemens vote will depend on how the current trial goes... Bonds & Sosa will get skipped. Bonds will likely make it in year 2 of eligibility while Sosa might have to wait awhile

 

 

The sad irony of the Bonds situation is that he was a surefire first ballot HOF'er and probably top 10 player of all time even BEFORE he took one drop of steroids.

 

And that's why he is so hated. I actually don't blame guys who had no real game other than the long ball(McGwire, Canseco, ect), you do what you need to do to earn that money. However, when you are already one of the greatest of all time, and you take them simply because of envy, then i hope you never get in.

[JimH5]

The longer these otherwise obvious candidates are kept out based on steroid suspicion, the longer it will be debated, which just draws more negative attention. It's probably time to just read the numbers and vote...these guys were allowed to play, and the numbers all counted in major league games.

 

The Hall of Fame doesn't want it that way.

 

From the HOF's website on how the BBWAA should consider candidates:

 

5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

 

It's not just about putting up numbers. They included integrity, character and sportsmanship for a reason. And yes, Cobb, Landis, Anson and others failed in those areas--but I wouldn't force today's BBWAA to have the same interpretation as did the writers of yesteryear.

 

It's a 15 year ballot for a reason. There's bound to be disagreements that take time to settle, and often you can't see the impact of the times until there is some distance.

 

I don't see why a backlog of candidates would be terrible. It would just show the process in action.

[3and2Fastball]

Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character. Yeah, Bonds isn't getting in for awhile

[splitterpfj]

[sarcasm]"We'll take the racists, the spitballers and the drunks, but the rest of you guys better have good character..."[/sarcasm]

 

I love the Hall of Fame, and the debates that come with it, but sometimes I think this museum takes itself a little too seriously.

 

I don't blame anyone who chooses not to vote for a steroid guy, but I think in time, you'll see a lot of these guys voted in.

[brettac1]

Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character. Yeah, Bonds isn't getting in for awhile

Playing baseball well factors in, right? In that case, I would think the greatest player of a generation will probably go in.

[3and2Fastball]

for what it is worth, I think Bonds deserves to be in the HOF. I'm saying that he'll likely be forced to wait a few extra years due to perceived integrity issues