Baseball, the Baseball Hall of Fame, Tony La Russa and PEDs
There's no question that Tony La Russa belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. He will be so enshrined this coming Sunday, along with players Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas. All three players were elected in their first year of eligibility. Managers Joe Torre and Bobby Cox will also go into the Hall.
That's fine. La Russa is a great manager, but as an ethicist he leaves something to be desired. At least he does when he advocates that players like Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds belong in the Hall of Fame. He says that maybe they should have an asterisk, indicating that their achievements could possibly be tainted; but they still deserve recognition.
Rules are rules and they are particularly rules when it comes to athletics. Track and field has standards that prevent a performance from being recognized as a record if there's too much wind. Since the wind can impact the performance that is obviously fair.
Let's go back to Don McCune. He was a virtual unknown on the Professional Bowler's Tour until 1973 when he discovered that soaking a plastic bowling ball in Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) made its surface softer. Softer means more hook. More hook meant more power. That season he won six titles, finished in the top 10 on the money list and was named Player of the Year. He went back to being an also-ran after that season. Why? They changed the rules. McCune may have taken advantage of a flaw in the rules, but he didn't break any rules.
Any MLB player who used performance-enhancing drugs when they were against the rules, does not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, with or without an asterisk. They talked about giving Roger Maris an asterisk when he hit 61 home runs in one season, because he had eight more games in his season than Babe Ruth had in 1927 when he hit 60. Truth be told, in 1932 Jimmie Foxx should have been credited with 60 home runs, but he lost two to rain-outs. He also lost five or six more to a screen erected in St. Louis that wasn't there in 1927.
Just one man's opinion. Maybe the veterans committee will choose to put those PED superstars in the Hall someday. But don't hold your breath.
That's fine. La Russa is a great manager, but as an ethicist he leaves something to be desired. At least he does when he advocates that players like Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds belong in the Hall of Fame. He says that maybe they should have an asterisk, indicating that their achievements could possibly be tainted; but they still deserve recognition.
Rules are rules and they are particularly rules when it comes to athletics. Track and field has standards that prevent a performance from being recognized as a record if there's too much wind. Since the wind can impact the performance that is obviously fair.
Let's go back to Don McCune. He was a virtual unknown on the Professional Bowler's Tour until 1973 when he discovered that soaking a plastic bowling ball in Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) made its surface softer. Softer means more hook. More hook meant more power. That season he won six titles, finished in the top 10 on the money list and was named Player of the Year. He went back to being an also-ran after that season. Why? They changed the rules. McCune may have taken advantage of a flaw in the rules, but he didn't break any rules.
Any MLB player who used performance-enhancing drugs when they were against the rules, does not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, with or without an asterisk. They talked about giving Roger Maris an asterisk when he hit 61 home runs in one season, because he had eight more games in his season than Babe Ruth had in 1927 when he hit 60. Truth be told, in 1932 Jimmie Foxx should have been credited with 60 home runs, but he lost two to rain-outs. He also lost five or six more to a screen erected in St. Louis that wasn't there in 1927.
Just one man's opinion. Maybe the veterans committee will choose to put those PED superstars in the Hall someday. But don't hold your breath.
posted by me at 4:59 PM
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