Steroids and Pete Rose: What lies ahead for the Baseball Hall of Fame
As known steroid users creep closer and closer towards being enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it is crucial to consider what this means for baseball’s past, present, and future.
A Controversial Future
When the recent 2020 MLB Hall of Fame voting results were fully revealed, one of the most eye-opening revelations was the percentage of voters who approved of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens– two steroid-users who spark heavy debates among baseball’s writers, fans, and critics.
Bonds and Clemens received 60.7% and 61% of the votes, respectively. This left fans and writers contemplating whether or not they will receive the necessary 75% of the vote to be Hall of Famers before their names disappear from the ballot in two years.
Whether they pull off a late miracle or not, one thing is certain. There is virtually no way to please every baseball fan on such a divisive issue. However, we need to take a step back and look at the Hall of Fame, itself, in order to fully understand the weight of the situation.
According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website (baseballhall.org):
“The National Baseball Hall of Fame is a nonprofit committed to preserving the history of America’s pastime and celebrating the legendary players, managers, umpires and executives who have made the game a fan favorite for more than a century. Help the memories live on and celebrate the game you love!”
Whether or not you support steroid-users such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire being rewarded with the ultimate individual honor for a baseball player, one thing must be clear: the steroid era is a massive piece of baseball’s history.
When the Baseball Hall of Fame notes that it is dedicated to “preserving the history of America’s pastime”, one glaring inconsistency becomes apparent: the “Steroid Era” and all it brought to baseball.
It is with no uncertainty that we can declare players like Bonds and McGwire broke the rules. However, to say that they did not contribute to one of the most historically significant eras of baseball is blatantly incorrect.
McGwire’s 10 years on the ballot are up, so he will need to be honorarily enshrined if he ever truly joins the all-time greats. Bonds, however, can still be voted in. That much is up to the Baseball Writers Association of America. Even though they have the power to determine whether or not a player becomes immortal in Cooperstown, there is still one legend that even the writers cannot help (yet).
Charlie Hustle
Speaking of preserving the history, how many of you would argue that the Baseball Hall of Fame is accurately doing so without acknowledging the MLB’s all-time hits leader?
Like Bonds, Pete Rose is a record-holder who remains removed from Cooperstown. Unlike Bonds, Rose’s name has never appeared on the voting ballot.
Like Bonds, Pete Rose violated an MLB rule. Unlike Bonds, Rose broke a rule without giving himself or his team any true advantage.
For those unfamiliar with Rose’s story, he remains the MLB’s all-time hits leader at 4,256 in his career. In 1989, he was banned from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti for allegedly betting on baseball games.
One thing that Rose-haters like to hide is that he never bet on his team to lose. This is a major difference from the 1919 Black Sox scandal, when the Chicago White Sox fixed the World Series and intentionally lost to the Cincinnati Reds.
Even though Pete Rose is undoubtedly a central piece of our pastime’s history, the Hall of Fame has a policy stating that nobody who bets on baseball can be elected.
To elect or not to elect?
In a day where baseball writers seem to be growing warmer about voting in known steroid-users, it makes no sense to refuse to consider reversing the decision about Pete Rose. If a player who scientifically gave themselves an edge over their peers can get close to the 75% threshold, why not throw Pete Rose’s name on the ballot and see how the experts feel about it?
I believe that if Pete Rose were allowed his 10 years on the ballot as everyone else gets, he would eventually be elected and take his place among the history and memories of the game.
Related Story. Don't bet on the ineligible becoming eligible. light
A new wing
There will never be a perfect answer about how to properly handle the steroid era and its impact on baseball. However, it is my belief that there should be a separate wing of the Hall of Fame dedicated to the steroid era. This could contain pieces of context, videos, and artifacts for those who did not live to see it and also provide a home for the plaques of those who were known cheaters but gain the necessary 75% to be there.
This way, baseball shows the history of the iconic 1990s decade of PEDs without suggesting that players like Bonds and Clemens deserve to be enshrined next to players who had clean Hall of Fame caliber careers.
Time to decide
Before we know it, players who found another way to violate baseball rules will appear on the ballot. I’m looking ahead to the future where members of the 2017 Astros may be up for consideration. If the higher-ups of baseball do not shore up their plans and policies soon, it can only get messier as time goes by.
Next. Larry Walker overcomes his steroid. dark
Without record-holders and the steroid era accurately represented in Cooperstown, is the Baseball Hall of Fame truly preserving baseball’s history… or are they simply camouflaging it?