IMO: Steroids in the HOF Pt 1/4

Okay, lets jump right into this topic. It is always a pretty big topic of discussion early in the season every year right around Hall of Fame elections. I want to talk first about what I think of steroids in the HOF. I am all for the integrity of the game and keeping baseball clean and as natural with talent as possible. BUT when you think of what other guys have done to cheat the game: Pete Rose cheating, Black Sox scandal, Astros Sign Stealing and Steriods. There has been a lot of different fraud that has impacted the game. Quick shoutout to my friends over at RAZE Energy. This drink is unlike any other Energy Drink I have ever tried. It's delicious; it's natural and dye-free, it's not full of all the awful stuff that other energy drinks have. Its clean energy, with tons of different flavors. The team over at Repp Sports has done an excellent job with this product and if you haven't tried it yet, then please go to reppsports.com and go and snag some RAZE today To recap some of those and what happened. Pete Rose is still on the ineligible list and will probably never see himself into the hall of fame. The Blacksox were also punished similarly to Pete Rose for a crime worse than Petes. The Astros/Red Sox GOT let off with a slap on the wrist for things that were worse than Pete Rose and on par with the Black Sox scandal. For steroids, we have seen lots of suspensions, Barry Bonds gets his title stripped, and these guys who had great careers and HOF worthy careers probably not get in for their choices. But I also want to play devil's advocate first. Look at the 1990s and early 2000s ALOT of players were using a type of steroids and Human Growth Hormones. There are the guys like Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, Gary Sheffield, Rodger Clemens, Barry Bonds as the most known names. But what about guys like Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi, Eric Gagne, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, Paul Lo Duca, Bret Boone, Chuck Knobloch, Ken Caminiti, Matt Williams, Miguel Tejado, Neifi Perez, Steve Finley, John Rocker, Bobby Estalella, Jeremy Giambi, Benito Santiago, Wally Joyner, Rafael Palmeiro, Jim Leyritz, Paxton Crawford, Jason Grimsley, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon. I listed so many names to PROVE there were a bunch of players and a lot more beyond the list I just gave you that were using steroids. This point is to prove the playing field was more balanced than we think from what we have been told. Keep this in mind because if so many were doing it and had elevated performance beyond what we know, then how accurate are the stats from the steroid era. This tells me it was normalized among players at that time what was happening. Hitters knew they were going against others who were better, and they had to elevate their game to match it. The hitters that did, Same for the pitchers they took the mound and had to execute their pitches better. Not only did these guys have excellent skills, they just did it all the better than their peers who even tried to do the same. Which for this argument says these guys should be equally considered. A guy like Edgar Martinez, who carved out of the best DH careers of all time during this era, barely got in on his last year of eligibility. So, it shows those who did it without juicing were genuinely great; the guys that did both well were also great because they made their name against players who were doing the same. Overall, from this perspective, I think they should be considered as usual. Then we can look at it from the perspective of cheating is cheating. None of these guys had a successful career post steroids, and that's not surprising. You can ask the question if ARod still would have been on the path the greatness he was before PED's we don't know. I think yes because, after the PED suspensions, he still had excellent statistical seasons. But we will never know, and we have not to take that into consideration. Cheating is cheating. Another perspective but as we have seen with the Astros. Manfred doesn't care if you cheat and steal wins and a World Series title, which should say that PED and Steroid use should be thrown out of the window because the Astros and Red Sox got as a punishment. Pete Rose got put into turmoil for the sentence he got. Bonds got the great accomplishment of the HR king taken from him. The overall message he is cheating is not just cheating in baseball. Punishment is so inconsistent as we are now seeing. It's hard to tell what sentence means if anything for baseball now. There should be a big difference in arguments against those who used during 1991-2004, and those who got caught using after 2005 policies went into effect. In other sports, PED's aren't seen in the same light as baseball has seen them. Also, Bud Selig, former MLB commissioner, can be in the HOF despite handling this time. Then why can't the players? Lastly, I will do another piece on players who dominated this era, which could be strong cases for the HOF. Still, the HOF voters are urged to consider the following "record, playing ability, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." To me, it says to consider the player's personality, character, and the intangibles they had on the field and what they did off the field like a man. Thank you for reading!