2
2012
Hall Of Fame No Sure Thing For New Candidates Piazza, Bonds, Sosa, Clemens
An article by 
The calls started to come the other night from other Hall of Fame writers asking if I intended to vote for Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa. As a Hall of Fame voter the past decade I take the responsibility seriously.
Because of their connection to performance enhancing drugs, I did not vote for Mark McGwire or Rafael Palmeiro, the latter whom I covered when he was with the Orioles. Palmeiro certainly didn’t look bulked up at the time. I had been on the Yankees’ beat for several years when he waved his finger at Congress and said he never used steroids. I believed him.
My guess, and it’s only a guess, is he thought after that display he wouldn’t be tested. I liked Palmeiro and it pains me to leave him off, At 3,000 hits and 500 homers, achieved mostly before his testimony, he was a given. He’s fallen off the radar since his retirement which leaves me wanting more.
Of the new candidates, the only one I am sure of is Craig Biggio. Bonds, Sosa and Clemens are a definite NO now because they have been implicated or tested positive. There is evidence as to their use. Piazza is different and I don’t know about him yet. He hasn’t failed a drug test and wasn’t accused in the Mitchell Report.
I don’t care about the newspaper articles of his back acne. What gives me pause is his autobiography is coming out in February, deliberately held back by the publisher until after the Hall of Fame announcement. I am wondering why. If Piazza didn’t use steroids, then why not come out and scream it? He has friends in the press in New York. Why doesn’t he say something?
I’ll probably wait on Piazza until next year depending on what he says in the book.
What is also interesting is the silence from the teams. Not a word. In previous years, teams would bombard the voters with emails, similar to what the colleges do when they have a Heisman candidate. Nothing, not a peep from these teams. Makes you think they know something, and it isn’t good.
Not only their silence speaks volumes, but the Giants and Cubs seem to be distancing themselves from Bonds and Sosa, respectively. Sosa is a two-time cheater in my book, using steroids and a corked bat. He can pretend not to understand English before Congress and bleach his skin white after retirement, but he can’t hide. We know what he is.
With the Mets, a franchise in desperate need of positive news, there’s been no public support for Piazza, a player who said he wants to go in wearing their cap. (The Hall of Fame decides the cap with its basis on where that player made his mark.) The Hall’s thinking with Piazza is he’d wear a Dodger cap. Clemens would wear Boston, Bonds would wear San Francisco and Sosa would wear the Cubs.
I don’t think that will be an issue on the first ballot.
I’m sensitive on the steroid issue because I believe the essence of sport to the viewer is for him/her to know what they are seeing is real. Steroids blurs that perception, as does gambling.
I read one columnist wax poetic on Clemens’ rigid workout routine, of how he dragged a tire from his waist as he ran sprints. What do you think enabled him to do that?
I listened intently when Clemens boast of his workouts when I covered the Yankees. I wrongly assumed steroids was just for hitters, that the juice wouldn’t add anything to his fastball. That’s what David Cone told me.
But, that wasn’t the point, or the issue, to me then.
What steroids do is enable you to train longer and harder, to give you that strength and stamina to play hard in the August heat when other players struggle.
Yes, you still have to hit the ball. But, when you’re stronger and not tired, you’re able to maintain bat speed and that’s what generated the power. It’s not about the 450-foot homer, but the 411-footer that just gets over the wall. That’s where the ability to work harder comes in.
That’s the rub on steroids. How many additional homers and strikeouts the player accumulates when on steroids is anybody’s guess. When a player uses steroids, he’s enhanced by chemistry. Yes, he still has to work in the gym, but the steroids give him that extra push to lift that extra weight.
It isn’t really him doing that. It isn’t real and the public deserves real. The teams didn’t care at the time, neither did the Commissioner.
Baseball was wounded by the work stoppage of 1994-95 and the killing of the World Series by Bud Selig. Desperate for positive news, all of baseball relished in the McGwire-Sosa home run chase. Fannies were in the seats, and don’t forget, chicks love the long ball.
So did baseball, as the fans started to come back to fill the greedy owners’ coffers.
It was a shameful era in baseball history. But, it is history nonetheless, and history isn’t always clean and pretty.
If baseball would put an asterisk by the names of the players that cheated and remove them from the record books as cycling did to Lance Armstrong, I’d be all for it. As far as I am concerned the real home run record holders are Hank Aaron and Roger Maris.
When I talk of Bonds, I don’t even use the term home run. I say balls hit over the wall.
If baseball would do that, and the Hall of Fame noted on the plaque the player was implicated using steroids, then I’d vote for him.
That would mean the truth.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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John – Most of my frustrations below are based on the general voter.
I keep hearing this about Piazza, the same with Bagwell. There’s no evidence but because writers think maybe he did something, they don’t vote him in.
I personally do not feel it is the responsibility or really the right for any sports writer to ASSUME a player took PED. If you do that then just don’t vote anybody in who played in that era.
I can easily assume Biggio took them http://www.homeruncards.com/imagesrc/biggioud.jpg
Writers like yourself have said Biggio yes, Piazza ehhh. Due to steroids.
I can easily argue that from age 22 until 27, Biggio hit 30 HR in his career and then suddenly became a 20+ HR guy from age 27 on. But I don’t because there’s never been a steroid case against him.
To me if you (the generic writer) was to be judge jury and executioner on the steroid era, that’s fine. It’s a joke and hypocritical but it’s fine. But to start not voting guys in simply because you think maybe they did something is so ridiculous.
During a time when it was rumored that 90% of the league was on some sort of PED, it doesn’t seem fair to just single out a few. Are we just going to erase these great players from history because they may have used PEDs, or did use PEDs in an era where practically everyone was using it? Vote them all in with asteriks stating that it was the steroid era. At this point, that is the only fair way to do it.
Had the reporter not asked Mark Mcgwire what was in his locker would we even be having these discussions? Do people really think this problem has gone away? This is a multi-million dollar business for the people who develop the performance enhancing drugs and the masking agents of the PEDs. It’s never going away. It’s their job to stay one step ahead of the testing and with such large sums of money at stake for the players, it is a very lucrative business for the chemists.
Trust me, it’s still in the game and the reason why players test positive is probably because the masking agent doesn’t have a 100% guarantee of working. But players are obviously still willing to take the risk – Melky Cabrera.
are ya kidding. you are going to go tghrough life and never make a decision or make an assumption unless you see proof. You are going to be severly dissapointed in life.
There is a difference between making decisions based on assumptions for yourself and ruining a guy’s legacy AND future financial opportunities just because a lot of players did what they should not have done and ASSUMING it’s likely this guy did too….
If there is proof even solid suspicions that Piazza was involved in PEDs it’s one thing because his name would already have been cast into the mud.
Do I Believe he probably used PEDs? Sure! if 90% of players did then the odds are certainly in the favor of his being a user.
But I can’t indict or punish someone based merely on odds cause as Jessup said if thats what your going to do then no one from that era should get in for the same reason. The odds don’t change for them unless there is even further proof they used them.
Innocent until proven Guilty is the key that makes this country great.
Truth of the matter is since it wasn’t really against the rules at the time it’s almost a stretch to call it cheating at all! If 90% were doing it then those who did were merely playing by the same rules as everyone else.
This site has a writer who votes in the HOF? Wow, that’s pretty cool. So do the right thing by Mike Piazza, and the hell with everyone else. LOL
John, I am not a publicist; however, if I was to have a book published I would prefer to do it on the cusp of national news, such as being voted in the hall of fame. Book releases for players without much controversy are difficult. Mike was never implicated. It seems as though you are searching for reasons to keep him off your ballot. Be honest with yourself and ask am I ever going to vote for someone from this era who hit for power? If the answer is no then I would suggest not voting for anyone due to suspicions of drug use. You mentioned Biiggio as a shoe-in yet you are not applying reason. Maybe without PED’s Biggio becomes a 10-15 hr guy and would never be considered. To punish anyone on suspicion is not cool but to only punish those that were exceptional is just irrational.
We all know about the guys who injected or used some PURE form of PED….
But truth is that is just the TIP of the Enhancement iceburg and doesn’t take into account all those guys who used supplements innocently who got as much if not more of a boost from the PEDs and precursors contained within that only someone with a medical or chemical degree would know was in it.
These Supplements have been around for as long as the actual pharmaceutical versions and who knows maybe even longer since it didn’t require anything but precursors to be present to get the performance lift.
It is also difficult to say a guy CHEATED when there were no rules against it at the time.
Was it enhanced performance? Yes but anyone could have done it at the time without breaking a single law. Imagine if they outlawed extra workouts as cheating by givng a competitive advantage? Should you be prosecuted for a law on an activity you did before the law was passed?
I hate the fact that a player got an advantage over others via chemistry but the truth is until it was identified as giving an advantage I find it a bit unfair to penalize them for doing what at the time was legal.
Knowing it’s available and not illegal a person/player must assume that everyone else is doing that and must follow to keep his job.
So they should go after the guys who KNEW it was illegal at the time of the use and unless there is solid proof they actually broke a rule leave them alone.
In the end the only way to protect the record books is to scrap any record compiled during the years PEDS and supplements were available. Which means no one gets elected to the hall for about the next 15 years and a bunch of guys who have been elected should get kicked out regardless of the belief in thier being users or not.
Cause just because you can’t prove they took PEDs or got a direct shipment from Barco they could just have easily got enhanced via the very legal supplements that were on sale before steroids were banned in this country.
And if your going to prosecute one you have to prosecute them as well because IGNORANCE is not enough to claim innocence.
I have acne on my back and i dont use steriods. that reporter must have had it out for mike
Do the right thing vote Piazza and let him in as a Met! Dodgers have a ton of HOF’ers , Mets have one.
I’m sorry, John, but I cannot agree with your reasoning on this issue. You say you will not vote for someone because of the POSSIBILITY they used PED’s, or because they take an action that makes you think they MIGHT have used PED’s? I speak mostly on Piazza’s behalf, but this type of issue could very well occur again, or in someone else’s mind. I can think of one very plausible reason for waiting until after the HOF voting. What about the boost in sales from Piazza being a HOF’er instead of a HOF candidate?
You are basically asking him to give a statement that he does not, or has never used PED’s. Substitute “been a Communist” for “used PED’s:, and it sounds a lot like what Joe McCarthy wanted from a lot of people to keep them off of another blacklist.
Moral: You shouldn’t penalize everyone who swam in the pool when you don’t know who peed in it.
Exactly.
Can you tell me with 100% certainty that Craig Biggio never took a thing?
Ages 22-26 .274/.350/.370/.720 6HR 38RBI
Ages 27-31 .300/.398/.470/.868 17HR 71RBI
His power numbers dramatically increased as he got older during the steroid era. Why isn’t that red flag for voters but Piazza is?
I’m not saying Biggio took anything, I have no idea – which is why I’d never keep him from the HoF.
they also say that the balls used had different stitching and were different.
The league DEF tried everything possible to make the game more exciting
http://deadspin.com/5937432/was-mlbs-juiced-era-actually-a-juiced+ball-era
Not to completely defend Biggio, but how old was he when they moved from the Astrodome? That move could be the reason for an increase in numbers
I do not believe the point was to defame Biggio but only to illustrate the ridiculousness of John’s argument. By basing his decision on suspicions rather than proven fact all players during any era could have been cheaters. This is much more poignant during the steroid era but applies equally to the rest of baseball as well.
Exactly. If I had a vote, Biggio would be in the HoF. I’m not arguing against him. I’m arguing over the statements made by several writers that Biggio belongs but Piazza may not just yet because they have doubts about PED.
And the point above is fair regarding the stadium however Biggio’s HR production increased in to 20+ in 1993 and stayed pretty consistent for 7 years before they moved to Enron Field (now Minute Maid)
So I can’t really use the field as an excuse.
And I am not saying he took anything. I don’t know – but there is an argument to be made for it and if that is enough to keep Piazza out then it should be enough to keep others out.
Actual performance is not a valid gauge for PED use either. To assume that only the most exceptional players used PED’s is to ignore the evidence. Jason Grimsley was a borderline player for most of his career and he was one of the early whistle blowers. Using Biggio as an example maybe he only hits 10 HR’s instead of 20 and if that were true his entire career would have taken a different path. PED’s do not make everyone Barry Bonds some times they just make you league average. No one is beyond suspicion during this era and on a personal note the writers need to stop riding the fence on this issue and make a decisive call. Either these years count or they don’t. If they do then everyone is in if not then only people whose career’s were hall worthy outside of the banned years are eligible. The choice is obvious, these people can not be banned due to their importance to the hall as an institution; therefore inclusion is the only choice. The hall can’t very well not elect anyone for the next ten years, oh and they would have to remove previous members. So include them base your judgement on their stats and their meaning to the game.
John, if you’d like I can fill out the ballot for you this year. It would be no problem at all and nobody would ever have to know.
John
During the steroid era, a player age 22-31 hit a career 116 Homeruns. Then from age 35-41 they hit 131 HR.
So Biggio suddenly got more powerful in his final years without any help?
Why isn’t that a red flag for voters? If Biggio was less liked by writers, it would be. Keeping Piazza out due to suspicion with no evidence but voting Biggio IN is a copout.
No 1st ballots for any obvious increase statistically in player between 1998 threw 2005. Or witness for that matter. They will get in unless in front of Congress, but should be held for later ballot. Blacklisted years for baseball fosho. Look at Luis Gonzalez for crap sake;0
Steve from Norfolk,
I couldn’t agree with you more and I love your McCarthy reference (the peed in the pool one too).
For me personally I would vote for Piazza not for Biggio (I just don’t feel he’s a first ballot HOFer) I would NOT vote for Bonds, Sosa, McGuire, Palmero or Sosa. The numbers for each of these players SCREAMS first ballot HOF but the reason I would leave them off is NOT because they took steriods, I would absolutely vote for Alex Rodriguez (and I can’t stand him). I would NOT vote for them for the FACT that they made a mockery out of deceiving the public on the matter. At least ARod came clean.
With Mike Piazza, he played hurt or exhausted throughout periods of his career. As a met fan I know that if he had used steriods or any other enhancing drugs his career would have been longer and his statis higher.
Crazy question but was Sosa ever really implicated in PED’s? I remember the corked bat and well the incredible shrinking man syndrome in his last years but was he ever actually proven to have used?
Found this.
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/2009/06/sosa-reportedly-tested-positive-in-03.html
So much for Sammy Sosa having kept his alleged use of steroids at arm’s length.
The New York Times is reporting that Sosa was among the group of 104 big-leaguers who tested positive in 2003, when the union agreed to supposedly anonymous, “survey testing” to determine if use was widespread enough to trigger a random testing policy. These were the same tests that Alex Rodriguez infamously tested positive for, according to his admission after a report from Sports Illustrated.
Thanks Hodges. I wasn’t sure if he was implicated or not by that report and I was having a diickens of a time finding it.
Shame, shame, John Delcos. Not for your refusal to vote in players for whom there exists very credible evidence (Bonds, Clemens), but for your refusal to vote in Piazza based on PURE SPECULATION as to what MIGHT be in his upcoming book! That is terrible reasoning. It’s some of the worst reasoning I’ve heard.
The idea that Piazza held back the publication of his book till after the voting because he is going to make a revelation is ludicrous. There is no benefit to doing that. It would make him look arrogant, assuming he is a lock for first-ballot induction. And if he didn’t get in on the first ballot, then there would be no benefit to making a revelation at any time. It would sabotage any attempt to get in on a second or third ballot. If he ever did do steroids, there is no benefit at all to reveal it at any time whatsoever in any form.
Another thing … how can you presume that the HOF has already decided Piazza will go in wearing a Dodgers cap? Have you already spoken to HOF execs who have the power to decide that? I thought that if it were close, the players’ wishes would be weighed heavily. He said he’d like to go in as a Met. And Piazza’s stats were just as impressive with the Mets as they were with the Dodgers.
Also, your assumption that the Mets haven’t lobbied for Piazza because they may know something about PEDs usage is pretty shoddy. I don’t recall teams heavily lobbying for many players in the past, but even if they did, with Piazza what cap he should be wearing is up for debate. So I could see the Mets not wanting to lobby for Piazza only to see him going in with a Dodgers cap. There are enough jokes and criticisms of the Wilpons for their love of the Dodgers that they don’t need yet another reason for fans to bash them should Piazza go in as a Dodger.
So all in all, your thinking on Piazza is incredibly weak and speculative. I certainly hope most writers who have votes have better reasons than you for voting in or not voting in certain players.
The problem is the writers think that because they let all the evidence of use slip by for years before calling players out about it they have to make up for it with the HoF vote. The writers are just as implicit as MLB in this and yet they act as if they are holier than thou
John Delcos wants to talk about PEDs and says that Hank Aaron is is home run king. The same Hank Aaron who admitted using amphetimines during his playing career? Hey John, do you know what a PED is? Greenies qualify.
And what about other performance enhancers. The big argument writers like to make is how it allows people to work harder and come back from injuries and prolong careers. You know what else prolongs careers, medical advances. In tommy john surgery, they remove a ligament from your leg and put it in your elbow, a stronger ligament then what was naturally in your elbow. While recovery takes a while, most pitchers return from TJ surgery and actually throw harder than before. The surgery both enhanced their performance AND prolonged their careers. Should we start holding them out as well?
Steroids were a part of baseball. Many many players used them. Before the steroids area, players admittedly took greenies even in the dugouts! We can’t cast a pall on this era and pretend that in the 60s and 70s guys were using substances. Its total bs, its shameful. Regardless, to not vote someone in the hall because some asshole journalist who no longer even works for a credible newspaper said piazza has backne is totally bullshit and John Delcos, you should be ashamed of yourself, and ashamed to call yourself a journalist.