White Sox: The Big Hurt Has a Big Problem with PEDs and the Hall of Fame
White Sox legend and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas is not happy with the recent shift in voting when it comes to PEDs and he is letting the baseball world know about it.
“Either you let all those guys in and put them in a special wing or you clean it up and keep everybody out.” That’s the opinion of 2014 Hall of Fame inductee Frank Thomas.
The Big Hurt has taken a clear stance on PEDs and whether or not those accused should be able to join the sport’s most prestigious club. During the White Sox’s annual fan convention, Thomas was asked if he was happy about the 2017 Hall of Fame election results. “Not happy at all,” he said as Sox fans began to cheer (h/t Associated Press). “Some of these guys were great players. But they wouldn’t have been great players without drugs. … I don’t mind these guys doing what they want to do for their families and make their money. But don’t come calling to the Hall of Fame and say ‘I’m supposed to be in the Hall of Fame’ when you know you cheated.”
Coincidentally, as strongly as Thomas opposes PED users getting into the Hall of Fame, he believes that players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens should be inducted. “They should be in now, as far as I’m concerned,” Thomas said. “They’ve let a few people in already we all know. It’s uncomfortable at this point. I’m sure this year’s going to be uncomfortable because we’ve got two great players going in, but they know. It’s no secret. If they didn’t do it, they would be stomping and kicking and in interviews saying, ‘I didn’t do it.’”
2017 Hall of Fame inductees Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez have both been accused of PED use during their careers. Bagwell played almost his entire career for an Astros team that had numerous players tied to steroid allegations. Players like Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Ken Caminiti, Luis Gonzalez and Steve Finley have all dealt with steroid allegations. All of these players played with Bagwell during the course of their careers.
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Rodriguez was targeted with very specific allegations of steroid use in the book Juiced written by former teammate Jose Canseco. Canseco said that he personally injected Rodriguez with anabolic steroids when they were teammates in Texas.
Regardless of the accusations, it appears that a shift is taking place with voters when it comes to players getting in who have had allegations tied to them. It was evident during this year’s Hall of Fame voting when Bonds and Clemens each received over 53 percent of the vote. All signs point to both players more than likely getting the call within the next five years.
Thomas does echo the opinions of many as it relates to where these players go once they get in. You simply cannot ignore such a significant time in baseball history. The numbers put up in this era cannot go unmentioned. I, like many, agree with Thomas in the all-or-nothing approach when it comes to players being voted in who were accused of cheating. With the inevitable inductions of Bonds and Clemens on the horizon, voters cannot ignore others like Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Gary Sheffield.
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If voters want to put all of these players in Cooperstown, then so be it. However, when these players do go into the Hall, it should be a few halls down from those players who played the game the right way.