Now that I have more or less done an about-face regarding the late Pete Rose’s former lifetime ban from baseball, I suppose I should come clean with some of other cheaters who have been kept out of the Hall of Fame.
We ought to look at them on a case-by-case basis.
Barry Bonds likely ought to go in. Dude did hit 762 home runs over his career, but I still consider the late Hank Aaron to be the homer king with 755 because he did without steroids. I remember during the 2022 season when Albert Pujols was seeking to join the 700-home run club and announcers kept reminding us that “only three men have done so, Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.” I don’t like putting Bonds in the same stratosphere as the Hammer and the Babe.
Same for Roger Clemens, the former Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher. Still not sure what Clemens did that was so egregious.
Alex Rodriguez? Same thing. He hit home runs for the Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners and the Yankees. He hit a lot of ’em, in fact. The allegations against him also have seemed a bit murky.
Others, not so sure. Mark McGwire hit 583 homers for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Oakland A’s, but the rest of his career stat line is mediocre. His Bash Brother in Oakland, Jose Canseco, brags about using the drugs. Rafael Palmiero lied to our face about drug use. Sammy Sosa? Keep him out, too.
I guess my old age has softened me just a bit. I’ve listened to the Bonds/Rodriguez/Clemens fans long enough to be persuaded that they ought to be in the Hall of Fame. Their stats would be worthy even had they not cheated a bit to roll up those big numbers.
One final point. I am frankly a bit surprised at the negative reaction to baseball’s decision to lift the ban on Rose and on “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, who got involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal in which he conspired to throw the World Series.
But … everyone has an opinion.