Baseball's Dirty Laundry

Last week they named the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina will be enshrined this July in Cooperstown. They each got over 75-percent of the ballots cast. .

But that is not the point I want to make.

At least two players connected to the use of performance enhancing drugs, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens each got their names on more than 50-percent of the ballots. Lets add names like McGwire, Sosa, Conseco, Palmeiro, A-Rod…all major leaguers who had moments of greatness….all connected to the use of steroids. All not in the Hall of Fame.

Should they be admitted? They certainly have the stats.

I say no.

I believe they might have made the Hall without the use of PEDs…but we will never know. They cheated and their numbers can’t be viewed with anything but skepticism.  In my view, Henry Aaron is still the home run king---not Barry Bonds. Bonds’ numbers were greatly inflated after taking performance enhancing drugs.

Now, I will say something controversial. I do believe the all-time

 hits leader, Pete Rose, should be admitted into the Hall of Fame based on his 4256 hits. Yes, he broke the rules and gambled on baseball. And yes, if he had just admitted that maybe he would be already in…..but he isn’t, and I think that denies his greatness. And do it before he dies….If you need to, put it on his plaque that he gambled….but put Rose in the Hall.

As for the drug users?

Keep them at the front porch. But don’t let them in…