I know what youre thinking. The steroid era has been talked about to death. Youre tired of it. Im here put my own spin on it. This came to mind again when I was recently looking ahead to next years potential hall of fame class. Rafael Palmeiro will be on the hall of fame ballot for the first time next year and most likely will not get in. I think this is a travesty. Im not going to get into Palmeiros specific stats or argue his case here (I realize I may be getting ahead of myself and there is a chance he will be elected). Instead Im going to argue that he will be potentially one of many victims to be unfairly punished for playing during the steroid era.
So Palmeiro, someone who tested positive for steroids, is a victim? Partially. Everyone seems ready to put anyone who has ever been connected to steroids in the electric chair. Ultimately we are all responsible for the decisions we make, but lets take a little bit of a closer look at this era and the hypocrisy of the owners, managers, trainers, agents, the commissioner, and the fans.
Lets go back to 1994. An ugly strike took place in August which resulted in the cancellation of the rest of the season and for the first time in 90+ years there was no world series. The popularity of major league baseball took a devastating hit. Many fans vowed to never return to baseball again. A couple new ideas were introduced to try to regain the fan base. The divisions were reformatted and we saw the creation of the wild card (implemented in 1994). We were also introduced to interleague play. These were popular ideas, but baseball was still suffering. Then in 1998 Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa caught the attention of the entire nation with their historic home run race. Everybody was caught up in this and baseball was back.
Twelve years later and now the holier than thou baseball community looks back at the home run race as tainted. Its hard to argue against that, but I think everybody needs to share the blame instead of just throwing McGwire and Sosa under the bus. Of course they have their share of blame, but I have a hard time believing everyone else is oh so innocent. You think the owners, managers, and trainers didnt know what was going on with their team? I find that hard to believe. What about the agents? Some of these players dont cross the street without their agents permission. You think the agents dont know what their clients are putting in their body? I doubt it. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if the agents encouraged it. After all, the more famous and popular their client is and the bigger the contract he can get results in a bigger pay day for the agents too. What about Bud? He seems genuinely upset, surprised, and even hurt that so many players were allegedly on steroids. Im not buying it. He may not have known for fact what was going on, but I think at the very least he turned a blind eye. The worst strike in baseball history came under his watch. Im sure he was thrilled in 98 when McGwire and Sosa were bringing the fans back. Im sure he was perfectly willing to overlook anything that was going on in favor of the renewed popularity in baseball he was so desperately seeking. Now the fans. So many fans call these guys nothing but cheaters. They dont deserve to be in the hall of fame and should have their records stricken from the books. These are the same fans who tuned in everyday and cheered wildly during that 1998 season. Now they feel betrayed. These fans are either incredibly naïve or incredibly stupid. These players morphed form relatively ordinary looking athletes into men chiseled from stone from one year to the next. Nobody found this unusual? The truth is the fans didnt care. They pretended not to notice because all they wanted to do was have fun. I dont have a problem with that. My problem is now the fans that didnt care and were having such a great time in 1998 are such hypocrites and are ready to hang McGwire and Sosa. They were willing to look the other way back then because they were caught up in the excitement of everything. Id say the fans turned on the players rather than the other way around. If you feel betrayed Id say you are easily fooled. Its possible that Im being too hard on the fans. I may have had my eyes open wider than some after following the WWF steroid trial in 1994 and wrestling in general. I dont think any wrestling fans were surprised to learn Hulk Hogan had taken steroids so I wonder why so many baseball fans were surprised to learn about McGwire. In fact people outside of wrestling speculated for years that Hogan was on steroids long before it was proven as fact. Why didnt these people think the same of baseball players?
I know Ive rambled on, but if youre willing to stick with me sit back. Im just getting started. I think its terrible that some of the greatest players of my generation will potentially be excluded from the hall of fame. The common definition of a hall of fame player is one who dominated his sport during his respective era. Palmeiro, Sosa, Bonds, and Clemens should be first ballot hall of famers. The fact that McGwire has been on the ballot for four years and has not come close to election makes me worry about the others chances. It is popular opinion that the majority of players who played during the steroid era were on some type of performance enhancing drug. If thats the case wouldnt that make for a level playing field? The ones who dominated the era should get in the hall of fame. It also seems to be popular opinion that steroids help the hitters and inflate their power stats. Nearly half the people who tested positive for steroids are pitchers. Again, this levels off the playing field. Also most of the players who have tested positive are mediocre players at best. This makes me wonder how effective these drugs actually are.
Theres one other thing I cant help but cry hypocrisy on. Hall of famer Gaylord Perry. In case you dont know Perry is a pitcher who is known for doctoring the baseball to get an advantage over hitters. For years he used a variety of illegal substances on the baseball. This is not speculation, it is fact. He openly admitted it even approaching Vaseline hoping to land an endorsement contract. This is a man who blatantly broke the rules yet managed to get in the hall of fame. Not only that, but every year during the hall of fame ceremony the media and other hall of famers actually affectionately joke about this. Im not trying to make Perry out to be baseballs greatest villain, but why is he remembered fondly and rewarded for his cheating ways while Palmeiro, McGwire, and Bonds are treated like criminals?
There are two other things I wonder about. First, why is it treated like the crime of the century when a baseball player tests positive, but no one seems to care about steroid use in the NFL? Im not saying people dont care at all, but it seems that way by comparison. Also, how do we know some of the players from past generations didnt use steroids? Steroids were around long before the 90s, but players werent tested until recently. How do we know Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, or Mike Schmidt never used steroids? Im not suggesting that these three did, but why is it just accepted that no one from that era did?
I dont approve of cheating, and I wish steroids never came into baseball. The fact is we did have a steroid era in baseball. We shouldnt just pretend it never happened. Rafael Palmeiro used steroids. His reputation has been forever tarnished. He is also one of four players to hit 500 home runs and have over 3000 hits. If steroids were the reason he would not be one of only four. Steroids may enhance performance a bit, but they are not miracle drugs. Lets keep things in a realistic perspective. Im willing to bet Palmeiro would be a hall of famer with or without steroids. The steroid era was from about the late 80s through the mid 00s. It is not considered an era because of one persons participation. Palmeiro played in that era and was a dominant member of that era.
Baseball is well over 100 years old and is made up of many different eras. There was a time when there were very few teams in the league so the players faced the same opponents over and over. There was a time when relief pitchers were almost non existent. There was a time when there was only day baseball and players traveled by trains instead of planes. There was a time when only white players were allowed in the majors. There was a time when the mound was higher than it is now. There was a time without a designated hitter. There was a time when video tape on any player was not readily available for scouting. My point is these are just some of the variables to consider when reviewing the history of the game. The steroid era can be considered another variable. The hall of fame is a museum about the history of baseball. To ignore an entire generation would be irresponsible.
I realize Ive gone on forever. The bottom line is the players are not the only ones guilty in the steroid era and those that were able to dominate during that era should be recognized.
So Palmeiro, someone who tested positive for steroids, is a victim? Partially. Everyone seems ready to put anyone who has ever been connected to steroids in the electric chair. Ultimately we are all responsible for the decisions we make, but lets take a little bit of a closer look at this era and the hypocrisy of the owners, managers, trainers, agents, the commissioner, and the fans.
Lets go back to 1994. An ugly strike took place in August which resulted in the cancellation of the rest of the season and for the first time in 90+ years there was no world series. The popularity of major league baseball took a devastating hit. Many fans vowed to never return to baseball again. A couple new ideas were introduced to try to regain the fan base. The divisions were reformatted and we saw the creation of the wild card (implemented in 1994). We were also introduced to interleague play. These were popular ideas, but baseball was still suffering. Then in 1998 Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa caught the attention of the entire nation with their historic home run race. Everybody was caught up in this and baseball was back.
Twelve years later and now the holier than thou baseball community looks back at the home run race as tainted. Its hard to argue against that, but I think everybody needs to share the blame instead of just throwing McGwire and Sosa under the bus. Of course they have their share of blame, but I have a hard time believing everyone else is oh so innocent. You think the owners, managers, and trainers didnt know what was going on with their team? I find that hard to believe. What about the agents? Some of these players dont cross the street without their agents permission. You think the agents dont know what their clients are putting in their body? I doubt it. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if the agents encouraged it. After all, the more famous and popular their client is and the bigger the contract he can get results in a bigger pay day for the agents too. What about Bud? He seems genuinely upset, surprised, and even hurt that so many players were allegedly on steroids. Im not buying it. He may not have known for fact what was going on, but I think at the very least he turned a blind eye. The worst strike in baseball history came under his watch. Im sure he was thrilled in 98 when McGwire and Sosa were bringing the fans back. Im sure he was perfectly willing to overlook anything that was going on in favor of the renewed popularity in baseball he was so desperately seeking. Now the fans. So many fans call these guys nothing but cheaters. They dont deserve to be in the hall of fame and should have their records stricken from the books. These are the same fans who tuned in everyday and cheered wildly during that 1998 season. Now they feel betrayed. These fans are either incredibly naïve or incredibly stupid. These players morphed form relatively ordinary looking athletes into men chiseled from stone from one year to the next. Nobody found this unusual? The truth is the fans didnt care. They pretended not to notice because all they wanted to do was have fun. I dont have a problem with that. My problem is now the fans that didnt care and were having such a great time in 1998 are such hypocrites and are ready to hang McGwire and Sosa. They were willing to look the other way back then because they were caught up in the excitement of everything. Id say the fans turned on the players rather than the other way around. If you feel betrayed Id say you are easily fooled. Its possible that Im being too hard on the fans. I may have had my eyes open wider than some after following the WWF steroid trial in 1994 and wrestling in general. I dont think any wrestling fans were surprised to learn Hulk Hogan had taken steroids so I wonder why so many baseball fans were surprised to learn about McGwire. In fact people outside of wrestling speculated for years that Hogan was on steroids long before it was proven as fact. Why didnt these people think the same of baseball players?
I know Ive rambled on, but if youre willing to stick with me sit back. Im just getting started. I think its terrible that some of the greatest players of my generation will potentially be excluded from the hall of fame. The common definition of a hall of fame player is one who dominated his sport during his respective era. Palmeiro, Sosa, Bonds, and Clemens should be first ballot hall of famers. The fact that McGwire has been on the ballot for four years and has not come close to election makes me worry about the others chances. It is popular opinion that the majority of players who played during the steroid era were on some type of performance enhancing drug. If thats the case wouldnt that make for a level playing field? The ones who dominated the era should get in the hall of fame. It also seems to be popular opinion that steroids help the hitters and inflate their power stats. Nearly half the people who tested positive for steroids are pitchers. Again, this levels off the playing field. Also most of the players who have tested positive are mediocre players at best. This makes me wonder how effective these drugs actually are.
Theres one other thing I cant help but cry hypocrisy on. Hall of famer Gaylord Perry. In case you dont know Perry is a pitcher who is known for doctoring the baseball to get an advantage over hitters. For years he used a variety of illegal substances on the baseball. This is not speculation, it is fact. He openly admitted it even approaching Vaseline hoping to land an endorsement contract. This is a man who blatantly broke the rules yet managed to get in the hall of fame. Not only that, but every year during the hall of fame ceremony the media and other hall of famers actually affectionately joke about this. Im not trying to make Perry out to be baseballs greatest villain, but why is he remembered fondly and rewarded for his cheating ways while Palmeiro, McGwire, and Bonds are treated like criminals?
There are two other things I wonder about. First, why is it treated like the crime of the century when a baseball player tests positive, but no one seems to care about steroid use in the NFL? Im not saying people dont care at all, but it seems that way by comparison. Also, how do we know some of the players from past generations didnt use steroids? Steroids were around long before the 90s, but players werent tested until recently. How do we know Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, or Mike Schmidt never used steroids? Im not suggesting that these three did, but why is it just accepted that no one from that era did?
I dont approve of cheating, and I wish steroids never came into baseball. The fact is we did have a steroid era in baseball. We shouldnt just pretend it never happened. Rafael Palmeiro used steroids. His reputation has been forever tarnished. He is also one of four players to hit 500 home runs and have over 3000 hits. If steroids were the reason he would not be one of only four. Steroids may enhance performance a bit, but they are not miracle drugs. Lets keep things in a realistic perspective. Im willing to bet Palmeiro would be a hall of famer with or without steroids. The steroid era was from about the late 80s through the mid 00s. It is not considered an era because of one persons participation. Palmeiro played in that era and was a dominant member of that era.
Baseball is well over 100 years old and is made up of many different eras. There was a time when there were very few teams in the league so the players faced the same opponents over and over. There was a time when relief pitchers were almost non existent. There was a time when there was only day baseball and players traveled by trains instead of planes. There was a time when only white players were allowed in the majors. There was a time when the mound was higher than it is now. There was a time without a designated hitter. There was a time when video tape on any player was not readily available for scouting. My point is these are just some of the variables to consider when reviewing the history of the game. The steroid era can be considered another variable. The hall of fame is a museum about the history of baseball. To ignore an entire generation would be irresponsible.
I realize Ive gone on forever. The bottom line is the players are not the only ones guilty in the steroid era and those that were able to dominate during that era should be recognized.
