I like to think that my opinions about Major League Baseball matter. Not really sure if they do, but maybe that’s why I share them on here and not as a member of the Baseball Writers of America.
The 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame results were announced tonight, and surprisingly, I won’t be doing too much yelling.
Drum roll please…
Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman get to head up to Cooperstown this summer to be inducted into the hall of fame. Jones and Thome were first-year balloters, while it was Vlad’s second year and Hoffman’s third.
These were the players I grew up watching. I remember in elementary school I had a folder that had Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Ivan Rodriguez, and Vladimir Guerrero on it. I watched Chipper Jones on the Braves, Jim Thome bounce around in the AL Central between the White Sox and Indians, and Trevor Hoffman play for the Brewers.
Each one of these guys is respectable, and I’m happy they got in. So I won’t be doing a lot of yelling. However, when it comes to players from the steroid era, I might raise my voice a little.
Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds came in seventh and eigthth, respectively, and after their tenth year on the ballot, they get kicked off. (The rule was changed in 2015 from 15 years to 10 years.)
Back when I was on my Bumble game in the fall, my question to any guy I matched with was “Do you think players from the steroid era in baseball should be in the hall of fame?”
AKA my way of weeding out the weak.
It was fun to see what guys wrote back. One told me he didn’t follow baseball, others would say yes, and only a few I got into a serious conversation about. I think it threw guys off that that was my first question, but like I said, it was my way of weeding out the weak.
I could write another post about my thoughts on steroid era players being in the hall of fame. Maybe if I have some spare time soon I’ll write something because it deals with more than baseball itself. It reflects the culture of the time period, how the league responded (or didn’t respond) to what was happening, and the effect of usage for future players.
I mean, in my freshman year of college in my public speaking class, I wrote a persuasive speech about steroid use in MLB and that the league should adopt stronger punishments. Because that’s totally normal.
Strikeouts + Sprinkles 
I don’t know if I’ve ever really had a strong opinion on this. I just listen to arguments on both sides and see where people are coming from. However, if I were a baseball player – not even a good one, just an average guy – and I played against guys who were taking steroids and now I see them go to the Hall of Fame, I’d be really upset that the sport I love and devoted my life to, would allow that to happen. At the same time, MLB looked the other way while Sosa and McGwire took over sports networks every time they had a plate appearance. It’s such a sticky issue. Question for you – do you want David Ortiz in the hall of fame?
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One of my issues with this and the steroid era is that Bud Selig was inducted and he turned a blind eye to the whole situation. But all commissioners make it in. I think if they do get in – McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, etc. – their past connections to steroid use needs to be acknowledged. There’s no way you can compare them with players who were clean. I might seem old school because I’m hesitant to induct those guys, but you have to look at what the hall of fame stands for. And if it’s a way to look at its history, then you have to acknowledge the usage.
I would like to see Ortiz get in, but I know there’s two arguments. 1. He’s a DH, but Edgar Martinez will most likely get in next year and they just inducted a one inning reliever in Hoffman. 2. His failed PED test years ago. I feel like I’m biased because I’m a Sox fan, but I think he deserves to be in there.
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From what I can tell, the hall of fame has never given the writers any guidelines as to who should or shouldn’t be in the hall. They’ve never actually said “Don’t vote for the guys who took steroids.” It’s almost as if they want to ignore it and not pick sides. Bud Selig being inducted bothered me because he was essentially the enabler.
The whole voting process is weird to me. A guy isn’t a hall of famer this year, but 9 years from now he could be. I mean, he is or he isn’t. If they’re concerned with putting too many in every year, then cap it at 5 and schedule them out. I thought Edgar Martinez should’ve been in years ago. The whole argument around “Oh he was just a DH” annoys me because they’re punishing him for thriving at a position that’s a part of the game.
I’m curious to see if Ortiz has to wait a few years to be inducted as “punishment” for his PED test, or if he’ll get in sooner because he’s a more likeable figure than a Barry Bonds.
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You make a good point about the voting process and how long it takes for someone to be voted in. I understand why it’s capped at 10 years (it used to be 15), but it all depends on the percentage of votes and if a guy gets 75% or more. It’s probably an old school process that’s trying hard to work now in the 21st century when they could probably do something different.
I wouldn’t think twice about inducting a DH. It’s a position. Like just because a guy only hits, what, three or four times a game, doesn’t mean he deserves to be in? Heck, the DH award is NAMED after Edgar Martinez. Come on.
I feel like Oritz won’t be a first time ballot but he’ll eventually get in. But the whole PED test will come up, and I don’t think it’s fair to lump him in with Bonds because we all know what Bonds did. And the same issue will happen with A-Rod.
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