Barry Bonds has us in a predicament.
If we don't vote for him or Clemens, how do we know for sure the guy we are voting for is Hall Of Fame material?
Or the guy could not be first ballot Hall Of Fame, but he gets in, on his year on the ballot! Hey, even Roberto Alomar didn't make it his first year, and he didn't takes PEDs!
That's a scenario that could very well play itself out, not only this year, but over the course of the next coming years.
See, take some of the names I think should be in:
Morris
Wells
Schilling
Okay, like I said, they all had great postseason success, which does seem to be an edge.
But take Morris and Wells, who had high ERAs, or Schilling, who won only 216 games. Schilling's ERA was pretty high (3.46), too. Should Schilling go in his first year on the ballot? Should Morris or Wells go in at all?
Now, none of them cheated.
And while I think they should be in, that doesn't mean you think they should be in.
It's strange, you know. Some guys might make it because they're numbers fall short.
I even expect Dale Murphy to get a high number of votes this year. It's his last year on the ballot. He was Mr Nice Guy To All.
He won't get enough to get in. But when we are talking about whose better, years down the road, you will all say he was better than Bonds. Just as you all say that Roger Maris was better than Bonds.
I have to laugh at that. I'm here to tell you (and I like both Roger Maris and Dale Murphy), neither of them is better than Bonds.
Not even close.
Not even in the same sentence.
Know how painful that is to say?
Not so painful as knowing they were better people than Bonds.
But that is not what the Hall Of Fame is all about here, people. It's about greatness, domination.
And you could argue that Mattingly and Trammell, two of my favs, are also not Hall Of Fame material. But, you know what, I think one of them might make it if no one votes for Clemens, Bonds, Sosa and other PEDs who will be added to the ballot next year.
.
I mean, Griffey is better than Bonds, I think. It's so sad to look how his numbers went down the last few years. Why? Because he didn't cheat.
Part of me wishes he had cheated. He was a nice guy, he was well liked, and he was better than Bonds. Better than Sosa, McGwire, A-Rod, Palmerio, Gonzalez and these other sluggers who we know cheated.
But years from now, look at their stats. Griffey looks not as good as Bonds, A-Rod. And not that much better than Sosa, Palmerio, Gonzalez, etc
And part of me thinks that is not right!
I want to be able, years from now, to walk into a bar and say how happy I am that (insert non-cheater HOF here) made the baseball Hall Of Fame. And not hear, out of the corner of my ear, "He only made it because they didn't vote for Bonds", and have to nod my head in reluctant agreement!
References
Canseco, Jose. Juiced (Jose Canseco). Regan Books., 2005.
Kalb, Elliott. Who's Better, Who's Best in Baseball: Mr. Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 75 Players of All Time. McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.
If we don't vote for him or Clemens, how do we know for sure the guy we are voting for is Hall Of Fame material?
Or the guy could not be first ballot Hall Of Fame, but he gets in, on his year on the ballot! Hey, even Roberto Alomar didn't make it his first year, and he didn't takes PEDs!
That's a scenario that could very well play itself out, not only this year, but over the course of the next coming years.
See, take some of the names I think should be in:
Morris
Wells
Schilling
Okay, like I said, they all had great postseason success, which does seem to be an edge.
But take Morris and Wells, who had high ERAs, or Schilling, who won only 216 games. Schilling's ERA was pretty high (3.46), too. Should Schilling go in his first year on the ballot? Should Morris or Wells go in at all?
Now, none of them cheated.
And while I think they should be in, that doesn't mean you think they should be in.
It's strange, you know. Some guys might make it because they're numbers fall short.
I even expect Dale Murphy to get a high number of votes this year. It's his last year on the ballot. He was Mr Nice Guy To All.
He won't get enough to get in. But when we are talking about whose better, years down the road, you will all say he was better than Bonds. Just as you all say that Roger Maris was better than Bonds.
I have to laugh at that. I'm here to tell you (and I like both Roger Maris and Dale Murphy), neither of them is better than Bonds.
Not even close.
Not even in the same sentence.
Know how painful that is to say?
Not so painful as knowing they were better people than Bonds.
But that is not what the Hall Of Fame is all about here, people. It's about greatness, domination.
And you could argue that Mattingly and Trammell, two of my favs, are also not Hall Of Fame material. But, you know what, I think one of them might make it if no one votes for Clemens, Bonds, Sosa and other PEDs who will be added to the ballot next year.
.
I mean, Griffey is better than Bonds, I think. It's so sad to look how his numbers went down the last few years. Why? Because he didn't cheat.
Part of me wishes he had cheated. He was a nice guy, he was well liked, and he was better than Bonds. Better than Sosa, McGwire, A-Rod, Palmerio, Gonzalez and these other sluggers who we know cheated.
But years from now, look at their stats. Griffey looks not as good as Bonds, A-Rod. And not that much better than Sosa, Palmerio, Gonzalez, etc
And part of me thinks that is not right!
I want to be able, years from now, to walk into a bar and say how happy I am that (insert non-cheater HOF here) made the baseball Hall Of Fame. And not hear, out of the corner of my ear, "He only made it because they didn't vote for Bonds", and have to nod my head in reluctant agreement!
References
Canseco, Jose. Juiced (Jose Canseco). Regan Books., 2005.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.
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