Cheating and the Hall of Fame: 2023 Take

I wrote about my thoughts on steroids and the Hall of Fame prior to the 2021 vote, and two years later, they haven't changed much but the discussion has gotten more complicated. Back then, we were discussing players like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire, who almost certainly cheated but did so at a time where it was rampant, untested, and perhaps even encouraged. We were also starting to see players like Gary Sheffield, Andy Pettitte, and David Ortiz, who played in the same era but have more mystery surrounding the existence and extent of their cheating. Now, we have players like Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, who tested positive at a time where cheating was cheating, end of story. Throw in Carlos Beltran and his sign stealing scandal, and it's just a lot more complicated than it once was.

Like I mentioned, my thoughts on that initial group of Steroid Era steroid users haven't changed much over the past two years, and you can read them at the link above. To summarize, I hate cheating, I think it's bad for baseball, and I also recognize the reality of the situation – players have cheated throughout baseball history in a variety of, and steroids are hardly the first instance of it. With Bonds, Clemens, and all other players who fall into that category now gone from the ballot, it's not like it matters much. For the second group of alleged cheaters, I don't feel the need to play judge and jury. If there's no general consensus, who am I to keep a potentially innocent player out of the Hall of Fame? Well for one, I'm not actually a voter, but hypothetically.

And lastly, we have the third group to discuss. That would be those that failed a drug test when the rules were clearly being enforced, and it would also include Beltran and his Astros scandal. There's no gray area here – these players are cheaters, whether for one season or their whole career. I don't believe cheaters belong in the Hall of Fame, but unfortunately, they're already there. Players have bet on games, scuffed baseballs, used illegal performance enhancers, and oh yeah, they completely segregated the game for more than half a century. There is no keeping the Hall "pure." It's not, and given that prominent segregationist Cap Anson was elected in 1939, it really never was. So unfortunately, the Hall is a place for cheaters, whether we like it or not. So I have two methods of dealing with the issue. One is that I won't vote for them in their first year. Think of it as "timeout" or whatever, but I don't think cheaters should be first ballot Hall of Famers. From year two, though, the thinking changes. Then it comes down to their accomplishments on the field. Borderline Hall of Famers who were proven to have cheated do not belong in the Hall, because it is entirely possible that they may not have been good enough if they hadn't cheated. But those who are clear or fairly clear-cut Hall of Famers should get in. If A-Rod had been clean his whole career, I find it highly unlikely that his numbers would have dipped enough to keep him out. So he's in for me.