The Baseball Corridor of Fame introduced its inductees this previous week with only a few surprises. Billy Wagner, C.C. Sabathia, and Ichiro Suzuki all acquired the required variety of votes to be enshrined into Cooperstown, however the large story, as at all times, is those that didn’t get their names referred to as to be part of baseball’s group of eternally. Is the “Morality Clause” the explanation these guys didn’t get the decision this time round as soon as once more?
All three gamers are Corridor-of-Famers, however no person who has ever watched a Main League baseball sport of their lives will ever have the ability to say with a straight face that Billy Wagner is a greater baseball participant than Alex Rodriguez, one other one who was on the poll this yr, or, higher but, Barry Bonds, who’s now not eligible to be on the poll.
Sure, each gamers above have hyperlinks to the PED period of baseball, however each gamers have been leaps and bounds higher than Wagner and different current Corridor of Famers resembling Joe Mauer and Scott Rolen.
Why Writers?
It’s broadly understood that PED customers are at all times going to be shunned by the writers who vote for the gamers linked to utilizing performance-enhancing medication, and, to a degree, justifiably so. However baseball was “saved” by the likes of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998.
MLB had the “Chicks Dig the Longball” marketing campaign across the identical time, and no person blinked an eye fixed. So why now? So why have all of those larger-than-life gamers (actually and figuratively) been shunned all these years later? There have been lots of gamers (not all) doing “The Juice” again then that slipped by means of the proverbial cracks. Some could have even discovered their approach by means of the doorways at Cooperstown. Why has baseball given the writers who vote on this “Carte-Blanche” to who will get into the Corridor? Bonds was a Corridor-of-Famer when he left Pittsburgh, lengthy earlier than his bodily stature acquired to the place it was with the San Francisco Giants.
The identical may be stated for Alex Rodriguez. Arguably one of the vital gifted gamers to ever play the sport. His largest fault was his fragile ego. He noticed that others have been doing a little nefarious issues behind closed doorways and that these folks have been getting a bonus he didn’t have and will participate to maintain the sting. He nonetheless needed to hit the baseball. And he did it higher than most. It’s the identical with Bonds. Spherical ball, spherical bat. It’s a must to hit it sq.. And people two did it higher than most.
Will the “Morality Clause” ever finish?
So the place does this “morality clause” finish with regards to The Baseball Corridor-of-Fame? Curt Schilling discovered the arduous approach that it by no means does. Schilling is part of baseball historical past. The bloody sock, the Pink Sox lastly successful a World Collection, his championship with the Arizona Diamondbacks over the New York Yankees, and his stats alone ought to be sufficient to get him into the Corridor-of-Fame, but when it have been solely that straightforward. Schillings has had a a lot lower than exemplary life since leaving baseball, preserving him out of the hallowed halls. However ought to it? No. If it does, shouldn’t it even be the identical clause that takes folks out of the Corridor-of-Fame?
Roberto Alomar is one in every of, if not the best, second baseman to ever play the sport. He was saved out of Cooperstown for one yr after his spitting incident with umpire John Hirschbeck, however he acquired in throughout his second yr of eligibility. Alomar was granted a move after that, however what continues to be puzzling is that he’s within the Corridor now. The Toronto Blue Jays have exiled him for some sexual assault allegations. He has been faraway from their “Ring of Honor,” and his likeness has been faraway from something related to the group. So that you inform me, ought to Alomar be within the Corridor of Fame? Which is worse. A participant going for a aggressive benefit or a participant with sexual assault allegations and cover-ups?
Conclusion
The place is the ethical excessive floor now, baseball writers? It appears a little bit odd. Baseball must discover a solution to get in entrance of this in some way, however one thing tells me, as at all times, with regards to baseball, that they received’t.
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