Hall of Fame: Using the ‘Morality Clause’ for Good?
By s.a. rose
The Hall of Fame candidacies of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have obviously been stunted by the Hall’s “morality clause,” but has there ever been a case where a player’s character or leadership during his career helped his case beyond the typical numbers? Recent examples would suggest that character only influences voters if it is used to keep deserving candidates out.
The Hall of Fame vote last week came and went, and the vote totals of both the era’s greatest hitter, Barry Bonds (seven MVPs), and greatest pitcher, Roger Clemens (seven Cy Youngs, one MVP), continued to trend upwards. Both players were considered first-ballot locks during their playing careers, but a movement to preclude suspected performance-enhancing drug (PED) users due to the Hall’s morality clause has kept both candidates out so far. In the five years that both players have been on the ballot, the voting percentage Bonds has received has gone from 36.2 percent to 53.8 percent in 2017, and for Clemens from 37.6 percent to 54.1 percent in last week’s vote.
The Hall of Fame morality clause talks about “the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played,” but it is difficult to find any cases where it was used to advance a player’s case for entry, rather than being used to keep a statistically deserving player out. Retired Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek was designated captain (which, granted, does not have the same responsibilities as in hockey or soccer) of the championship-winning teams in 2004 and 2007, and holds the major league record for most no-hitters caught. He received two votes for the Hall of Fame – one calling him a vital cog in the curse-busting championship run of 2004 – and will not be on the ballot in 2018.
Fellow AL East catcher Jorge Posada had much better batting numbers than Varitek, ranking in the top 20 among catchers in a number of statistics, as well as being credited for clubhouse leadership and batting in the heart of the lineup on four World Series winners. That wasn’t enough for voters as his candidacy is one-and-done as well.
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Former Kansas City Royals captain Mike Sweeney, who made five All-Star games and three appearances in AL MVP voting, received three votes during last year’s Hall of Fame vote despite being the face of the Kansas City franchise in the previous decade. Obviously, it is a stretch to say any of those three are deserving based on their statistical outputs, but should voters have given them greater consideration than the dreaded one-and-done (less than five percent) for their influence in the clubhouse and contributions to team dynamics?
Among current major leaguers that are considered the best clubhouse leaders, part of their ability to lead comes from their ability to produce at the plate. Often cited as one of baseball’s strongest leaders, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has an MVP award and four top-five MVP finishes in the last five years, but if you double his current career statistics (from ages 22 to 30), he will not reach any typical Hall of Fame milestones.
Hometown boy Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins also has an MVP to his name as well as multiple Gold Gloves, Silver Slugger and All-Star appearances, but as he prepares to lead a young lineup on the downside of his career, has he done enough on the playing field during his peak seasons to warrant enough consideration for the Hall? Like Mauer, Buster Posey is a catcher transitioning to first base and his effect on the Giants’ clubhouse has been described as “Jeteresque” as the face of a franchise with the multiple championships. Posey also has an MVP award but will his final career numbers exceed those of Jorge Posada?
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If the current trajectories for McCutchen, Mauer and Posey continue to create borderline Hall of Fame cases, will their positive character be enough for voters to reward their positive influence and get them eventual entry into the Hall? It seems in the current era of Hall of Fame voters that the value of integrity, sportsmanship and character only has an impact on voting when it is negative.