This is take two on my commentaries on eligibility criteria for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In take one, as you may recall, I stated the case for Pete Rose’s election to the hall, despite his gambling activities.
That issue, of course, may never come up again in the real world, unless a majority of Hall voters permits it.
Now comes 2011, the year of decision regarding the infamous steroids issue. The trials of slugger Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens on whether or not they knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs and/or lied about it to authorities are scheduled for later this year.
The reputations and records of other former stars such as Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark McGuire also could be affected as the media coverage heats up again this spring and summer. Clemens and Bonds have much more than their Hall of Fame reputations to worry about as these legal proceedings unfold.
My, what numbers these guys put up amid allegations that their achievements were tainted by chemicals. McGuire and Sosa eclipsed the hallowed home run records of Roger Maris and Babe Ruth, and then Bonds lit up all of baseball when he chased and finally caught Hank Aaron’s career home run record, after which Bonds promptly retired. In 1998, McGuire and Sosa were cheered and almost worshiped for their home run duel that put thousands of fans back in the seats a few years after a player strike cut short a season and canceled a World Series.
On this steroids question, I’m a lot less forgiving than I am of Pete Rose. I don’t want to minimize Rose’s bad behavior. But steroid use, if proved, directly affects performances on a playing field. If it is proven that Clemens and/or Bonds, or any other player for that matter, knowingly used chemicals to improve performance, and then lied about it, I can’t envision their statues and records sitting in Cooperstown for fans, and especially kids, to see and emulate. If their hitting and pitching records were chemically enhanced, they are meaningless.
I fervently hope for two things to happen to Clemens and Bonds this year: 1) If they are guilty, I hope prosecutors have their act together to prove it beyond any reasonable doubt, both in a court of law and in the world of public opinion. 2) If they are innocent, I hope defense counsels have their act together and can prove it the same way. Clear-cut decisions need to be made by authorities. Random, regular, properly-conducted testing of players needs to be instituted, now, in all sports. If that has to be accomplished by federal law instead of collective bargaining, so be it.
This whole mess has spawned one good thing. Steroid testing has been instituted by many state athletic associations for high school athletes. In Illinois, athletes are randomly tested on a regular basis. I‘m happy and thankful, to say that, so far, the results have been overwhelmingly positive regarding any school or athlete. It’s the right thing, but of course it’s been done for the wrong reason.
When you can’t admire a sports’ hero because you doubt his integrity and fair play, the whole of sport is tarnished. It’s time baseball and all professional sports buckle down and address this chemical issue head-on, now.
