So this is part 2 of my Hall of Fame Ballot. I broke down some of the smaller issues
(which we learned aren’t that small) in the first part, which you can find here. This second part sees my
tackle the big issue and I tell you which guys received my vote.
There’s one major issue here. And it’s steroids.
It’s been an issue in the past.
But this season, we have three guys who we know were juicing and have
great numbers because of steroids.
This is the first year of eligibility for Bonds, Sosa and Clemens. The unholy trinity. Even within this quagmire, we have two
levels. Let’s separate them. Some guys were going to the Hall of
Fame before they took PEDs. Some
weren’t. Sosa likely wasn’t going
to make it without the juice taking him to 600+ HR. So he’s the first guy I’ll dismiss. The other two are a different story.
Barry Bonds started his career in 1986. He was a 5-tool player. By 1994, he had led the league in HR,
RBI and R in a season, (though not the same one) stolen 52 bags in a season and
had four years with a batting average north of 300. He was a 6 time 20/20 player in that time, including being a
30/30 player twice. He’d also gone
to 4 All Star games, won 5 Silver Sluggers, 5 Golden Gloves and 3 (!)
MVPs. He was a 12-time BB leader and
now has more career BBs and IBB (those being walks and intentional walks) than
anyone in the game. He was well on
his way to being a hall of famer before the steroids. However, after taking them (he is believed to have started
them in 1999) he won 4 straight MVPs and Silver Sluggers, led the league in HRs
with his record breaking 73 in a season while winning two batting titles. However he stopped winning Gold Gloves
and his stolen base numbers dropped precipitously. His career high from that point on was 15, after stealing
30+ bases 9 times prior to that.
What’s the point of all this?
The steroids made his power numbers improve greatly, but he was a better
all around player before that. And
due to that all around talent he was showing, he was likely heading to the Hall. But he chased the long ball and the all
time home run numbers, and became more one dimensional, though he did end up
breaking all the records he sought.
PEDs made a Hall of Fame player an icon. But it’s almost certain that he’d be in the Hall without the
drugs. Should that matter in this
vote? No matter what you think
about his career after 1998, he would have likely been HoF bound before he took
the PEDs. Is that worth
recognizing?
Roger Clemens started his career in 1984. He is believed to have started juicing in
1998. Prior to that he had five 20-win
seasons, 6 ERA titles and led the league in Ks 5 times. He had 5 Cy Young’s in that time and 1
MVP. He already had over 200
Wins. He, too, was headed for
Cooperstown before the PEDs were taken.
Should guys like Clemens and Bonds receive more credit than other
steroid users, who would never be Hall of Famers if they didn’t cheat? It’s easy to say no and take a hard
stance for ideological reasons.
But it’s a legitimate question, one that I haven’t settled yet. Will we ever accept the steroid
users? It’s hard to know at this
point, although at this moment the answer is clearly no.
At the end of the day, I’ve decided a few things:
1.
If a player was a giant in his era and had good
numbers I think he’s worthy of a vote, even without the “magic numbers”. If the numbers are good enough the
awards can put them over the top
2.
If a player played during the Steroid Era, and
had good numbers without taking PEDs, then that fact might push him over the
top. It’s not enough to make a guy
a HoF contender on his own, but if he’s VERY close, that might get him my vote.
3.
While I think some guys may be HoF worthy, I
think being a first ballot Hall of Famer is a special honor. So there are guys who I won’t vote for
on their first ballots that I may vote for later.
4.
PED users are a special case. At this point, I don’t want to vote for
them. Beyond that, guys who are
only on the Hall bubble because of steroids definitely don’t deserve to get
in. Guys who would have been Hall
of Famers anyway, are more worthy, but perhaps still not worthy enough. And while I’m unsure about them, I
won’t vote for them. Certainly not
the first time. Possibly ever.
So with that in mind, the only players on the ballot that I
haven’t talked about yet are Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmiero, both steroid
guys. It’s not their first time on
the ballot, but they are still no’s in my book. I will be voting for someone this year. A few guys. And after a lot of consideration, the players who are
getting my Hall of Fame vote are:
Jeff Bagwell, Dale Murphy, Jack Morris and Craig
Biggio. I may vote for others in
the future (Piazza, Schilling), but for this season, I’m only voting for those
4 guys.
Biggio was the easiest choice as 3,000 hits is still
impressive. Biggio also hit a ton
of doubles, stole a ton of bases and was good in the field. Bagwell had numbers that compared
favorably to steroid users. And he
did that playing against steroid users and never gave in to temptation to start
juicing. So while his numbers made
him come close, his strength of character took him the rest of the way.
As for the older guys, I really like that complete game to
Saves comparison that Morris suggested.
It showed how solid and dominant he could be. He piled up over 200 Wins with a ton of Complete Games. His ERA, WHIP and K numbers may be
lacking, but he was still a dominant pitcher. Not everyone in the HoF is an All-Time great. But Morris was pretty great in his own
right.
And last we have Dale Murphy. His numbers were good, but not good enough. His dominance in the game, that was
worth a lot. I saw it as enough to
push him over the top. Mattingly
didn’t quite have the numbers or awards of Murphy, which makes him fall short
in my opinion. This is the last
year for Murphy and Morris. I
think that makes them worth my vote, as there is a difference in players who
make it in the first vote, as opposed to their last.
That’s my ballot.
I’d love to know what some of you think. Share your votes with me or tell me what you think of the
guys I voted for.
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