Reading Clark’s post on Barry Bonds, I’m left with some questions. First of all, what is it about this issue that turns people into Vigilantes, regarding the allegations of wrongdoing by Barry Bonds. We haven’t sat down yet and examined the nature of the evidence, yet Clark makes this amazing statement:
In the next few months, I really want some definitive proof to come out that Barry Bonds has never used steroids. It’s become pretty clear that McGuire used them, probably Sammy Sosa too, and, of course, it’s been proven that Palmeiro, Canseco, Giambi and others were juicers. We don’t need to lose our esteem of another mega star.
Well good luck proving a Negative. Barry Bonds really finds himself in the situation Mark McGwire talked about back in his Congressional hearings. If he denies it, he’s attacked, if he admits it, he’s attacked and maligned. If he’s innocent, he might as well be guilty.
BrianR joining the hang man’s squad writes in the comments:
Bunch of cheaters…baseball needs to make examples of them all to rid the sport of this terrible habit.
Wow, so string them up and disqualify every part of their career. Maybe Gaylord Perry should be put in charge of punishing the cheaters.
Lets be honest, baseball didn’t ban Steroids until after the 2002 season when Bonds stopped using them, according to the book. Well, you may say, it was still illegal. That’s the job of the US Attorney to punish, not the Hall of Fame.
To look at precedent, throwing a spitter is now cheating in baseball but Burleigh Grimes is in the Hall of Fame, though that pitch was his bread and butter. He used it before it was banned.
I think the penalties laid out are harsh enough…
Regarding Sosa and McGwire, BrianR writes:
These two men are now known to have been using illegal substances, so it leaves a bad taste in your mouth to think you actually cheered these cheaters on.
They’re known to? Care for some evidence on that. They’re widely rumored to have, but we don’t have any steroids tests showing them positive. For McGwire, we have the world of an ex-Felon, and for Sosa, we’ve got rumor, innuendo, and a poor congressional hearing performance as our "proof."
BrianR almost touches on something very important. The fact is that back in the 1990s, we were very excited about Home Runs. There was a sporting goods commercial around that time with the theme that "Chicks love the Home Run".
Steroid use was widely rumored, but we loved the entertainment of the Home Run chase. We didn’t care what McGwire was taking as long as he hit those Super Home Run blasts.
That past deserves a pass, unless we’re going to expel all those owners who let this go on, the managers who turned a blind eye, and the trainers who should have said something.
Instead, we are turning these players into scapegoats to cove up the guilt of complicit parties including th efans.
As I look at the players who are charged with Steroid Use in regards to their Hall of Fame ellibility: McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, and Palmeiro. I think that before sentencing them to pariah like existence and refusing them admittance to the Hall of Fame, we should give them the benefit of the doubt.
McGwire: The only evidence we have is the word of convicted felon and sore sport Jose Canseco. He retired before Steroid use was banned.
Sosa: We’ve got rumor and innuendo.
Bonds: According to the writers of the expose, he stopped in 2002 and then went on to win MVPs in 2003 and 2004.
Palmeiro: While he tested positive last year, he claimed it was a supplement that led to a positive test. Its a serious problem, so serious MLB is going to start selling supplements to prevent the problem. That plus the word of a Convicted Felon doesn’t add up to enough to ruin 500 homers and 3,000 hits.
Now, some will ask what about personal responsibility? There’s a point to this. I’d simply refer them to the sad case of former NL MVP Ken Caminiti who used steroids with the 1996 MVP as he led the Padres to the playoffs. Subsequently, he was washed up at 38 and dead at 41 and remembered as a little more than a tragic waste. Doubtless, if players used steroids, they’re going to pay for it. The crime produces the punishment and that’s far greater than denying someone a plaque.