First of
all, congratulations to the Hall of Fame Class of 2017: Jeff Bagwell, Ivan
Rodriguez and Tim Raines. If you were following my blog last July, you will
remember I had a Top Five list of players who weren’t in the Hall but should
be, and Raines was on that list. It’s so good to see him finally get the nod,
as he was a player who was more than worthy and should have been in long ago.
But that brings me to the four
on the list who still are not in. I won’t bother griping about Joe Jackson and
Pete Rose, because they were linked to gambling and as far as MLB is concerned,
that’s worse than high treason for some reason.
No, we’ll look at the other two.
The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) can’t seem to find the
courage to give Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens the necessary votes to gain entry
to baseball’s hallowed ground. Since their playing days ended, both Clemens and
Bonds have been accused of using Performance Enhancing Drugs and that seems to
be the albatross that is draped around both of their necks.
But this is where the hypocrisy
of the BBWAA (and the Hall itself for that matter) is painfully obvious.
Here’s why: On December 4 of 2016, former baseball commissioner Bud
Selig was selected for induction and will be included in the Class of 2017.
Now, whether Bonds or Clemens
actually used PEDs will forever be up for debate as there is no proof of the
allegations. But to ignore that the “Steroid Era” happened under the watch of
good ol’ Bud, and the fact that he turned a blind eye to it for so many years,
and only introduced drug testing after the United States Congress got involved,
and induct him into the Hall while refusing entry to perhaps the two biggest
stars of the last 50 years, is an insult and a slap to the face of baseball
fans.
Consider Bonds and Clemens
wouldn’t even have to face accusations if Selig had done his job and investigated
alleged PED use like he should have, rather than pretend everything was on the
up-and-up while watching all the money rolling into MLB. He didn’t dare mess
with success, such as the McGwire and Sosa power display in the late 1990s that
defied logic.
But, the BBWAA won’t ask
questions about Selig’s ineptitude when it comes to the PED situation, for fear
of losing their precious spot in “the club” (so to speak) if they stopped
towing the company line. So, instead they will keep printing stories about the
players who cheated, rather than lay the blame at the feet of where it belongs:
the former commissioner.
And while it will be great to
see Bagwell, Pudge and Raines enter the Hall this summer, it will be
embarrassing watching them share the stage with Bud.
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