The news concerning Mark McGwire, he finally admitted to using steroids, has once again given rise to an old debate: should players who have used performance enhancing drugs be allowed into the Hall of Fame? Many people suggest that anyone who has altered their body with drugs didn’t actually achieve the statistics and level of play on their own and therefore the records shouldn’t count. If that’s the case, there would have to be a couple of ejections from the coveted Hall, or at least a couple of record changes. You can’t tell me that those guys weren’t doing some sort of drugs or using back handed tactics. Players used the spit ball, stole signs, corked bats, and of course, took PED’s. And does anyone remember Dock Ellis (does Dock Ellis remember Dock Ellis?) and his 1970 no hitter, where he claims he was on LSD? Yeah, so scratch that argument.
Another group of people like to flash the morality argument, saying that cheaters should not be allowed into the HOF because it teaches kids and other players that it’s okay. While this argument holds a little more salt, it still falls short as a legitimate reason to prevent admittance of these talented baseball players. The number of people who are enshrined in the hall right now who have admitted to willingly cheating and taking drugs to enhance performance is too high. Racists, thugs, boozers, and all kinds of people who had questionable morals are all celebrated in Cooperstown because they could play the game of baseball. I saw one article where a guy wanted to have a “Hall of the Very Good and Moral,” where all the people who have been cheaters or low-lifes would be forbidden from joining. On top of that, morality would be the primary factor in deciding who gets in, while good play takes a backseat.
If that’s the kind of hall the fans want, then by all means, go to town. Personally, I think the idea is downright ridiculous, not to mention over the top. To its credit, it is one solution to a problem that will continue to plague Major League Baseball for a long time to come, I guess. The major flaw in this line of thinking is the generalized idea of morality. Who decides what’s moral and what isn’t? But that’s a topic for another time.
If the Pete Rose’s and Mark McGwire’s of the world aren’t allowed into the Hall, sooner or later its going to look like a joke. People visiting Cooperstown will start to question its legitimacy when some of the game’s most notable players aren’t present. Hopefully the voters get over themselves and their personal agendas and allow the Hall to represent great play, and not the will of a few aristocrats.
