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Once and for all


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Posted by: min0 lee

The final word on who's headed to Cooperstown






They are the "'60s Boys" - all of them born in the tumultuous decade of Vietnam, free love, the British Invasion and, for baseball, the Great Runs Depression.
In a way, that's rather ironic, since no group of sluggers appears to have taken more advantage of the measures enacted to juice up the offense in baseball after 1968 than Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent and Ken Griffey Jr. Because of that, and in large part because of the tainted era in which their careers peaked, all of them are now undergoing different kinds of scrutiny in terms of their accomplishments and Hall of Fame worthiness six to eight years from now.
In 1968, runs per game in the majors dropped to 6.84 - the lowest since 6.77 in 1908 - after a decrease of 1,059 runs scored from the season before. Alarmed at this dramatic decrease in offense (which was accompanied by the rise in popularity of the NFL and the growing perception that baseball was too slow and boring), major league officials concluded drastic rule changes were in order. So in 1969, they lowered the mound by five inches, prompting an immediate rise in ERAs and batting averages. Four years later, the American League took a further, even bolder step in shifting the emphasis from pitching back to hitting by introducing the designated hitter.
Granted, there have been other significant and legitimate factors - expansion, smaller ballparks replacing the all-purpose bowls constructed in the '60s - but offense in baseball has been on a steady rise for the last three decades. In 2000, the year Bonds hit 49 homers, Sosa 50, Bagwell 47, Piazza 38, Palmeiro 39 and Sheffield 43, runs per game in baseball had risen to 10.32, the highest since 10.37 in 1929, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Unfortunately, there has also been one mitigating illegitimate factor linked to those biggest most recent increases in offense: steroids. And therein lies the dilemma facing the game's historians and Hall of Fame voters: How to define and properly evaluate these players and their achievements in what will forever be termed "the steroids era"?
Let's take them one by one, starting with those we're fairly certain were always "clean":
Ken Griffey Jr.
The only one of this group to be voted onto the All-Century team in 1999, Junior is an absolute first-ballot Hall of Famer despite a series of injuries that severely curtailed his numbers over the last four years in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, he'll probably be remembered almost as much for the injuries that prevented him from making a serious run at Hank Aaron's all-time home run mark as he will for the four single-season home run titles and '97 AL MVP with Seattle. At least if he hits 38 homers this year, he can surpass Mike Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, Palmeiro and Harmon Killebrew and move into eighth on the all-time list. Above all, Junior's body type never changed; it just broke down.
Jeff Bagwell
The Astros' all-time greatest player, 49 homers shy of 500, was fighting the ravages of a severely damaged shoulder this spring, trying to make it back for one more season and go out on his own terms. Because he was never oversized (6-0, 195), especially for a first baseman, there was never a hint of steroids associated with Bagwell, the NL MVP in the '94 strike year. Never led the league in HR or RBI, but averaged 34 and 115 over 15 seasons. All of that should be enough for the Hall of Fame but possibly not on the first ballot because he did it all in the relative obscurity of Houston.
Frank Thomas
His 6-5, 260-pound physique made him a poster boy for the bulked-up steroids era, but he was an outspoken critic of anyone being on the juice. Had ten 100-RBI seasons, including eight in a row in his prime years with the White Sox. On hardware (two MVPs) and numbers (.307, 448 HR, 1,465 RBI) alone he's a Hall of Fame automatic, but his White Sox epitaph will always be that of a selfish player who alienated his managers and teammates.
Jeff Kent
Because he set the all-time home run record for second baseman during the steroids era, there will be some skeptics about his authenticity. Unfortunately, Kent will likely be most remembered as an irritant in the clubhouse, although his celebrated feud with Bonds pretty much separated him from all the steroid conduits in San Francisco. As for the Hall of Fame, you can certainly make the case for him being the second-most productive second baseman (behind Rogers Hornsby) in history. And Kent had eight 100-RBI seasons to the Rajah's five.
Mike Piazza
Although there were always steroids whispers about him, he managed to stay under the radar when Mark McGwire, Sosa and Bonds were being outwardly fingered as juicers. He's destined to go down as the greatest offensive catcher in history and that alone will probably be enough to get him a plaque in Cooperstown, even if the perception was always of a DH with shin guards and a mask. Is it just a coincidence his body began to break down in 2003, the year before MLB began testing for steroids? We'll never know, which means he has to be presumed innocent.
Gary Sheffield
At 37, Sheff is remarkably still a work in progress while demonstrating amazing consistency. Has had eight 100-RBI seasons, his first coming in 1992 with San Diego, and has had 132, 121 and 123 the last three years. With 449 homers, seems destined to eclipse 500, which, combined with a near .300 average, should make him a strong Hall of Fame candidate. However, he was tarnished by the BALCO scandal, in which he admitted to the grand jury he'd taken "the cream" as a remedy for a knee problem but said he didn't know it was a steroid. On the other hand, revelations in San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada's and Lance Williams' book "Game of Shadows" suggest that Sheffield knew exactly what he was doing and that could very well be a major deterrent to any Hall of Fame aspirations. Has the book tarnished him? Put it this way, he better hit at least another 100 homers now that they're testing.
Rafael Palmeiro
The only guy so far on whom the testing has given us the goods. Fair or not, that one failed test invalidated those 569 homers and 3,020 hits, and the only way he makes it into the plaque room at Cooperstown is as a visitor.
Sammy Sosa
Hardly anyone believes his body breaking down at the start of testing in 2004 was a coincidence. Told Congress he never took illegal steroids in the U.S. or the Dominican Republic, as if anyone knew what's legal and what isn't in the Dominican. Just the same, nobody called him on it. Maybe a forthcoming thorough investigation, reaching into the Dominican, will provide the kind of proof that BALCO delivered on Bonds. Otherwise, the "innocent until proven guilty" premise will probably prevail with a lot of Hall of Fame voters even if his 588 homers (along with McGwire's 583, Palmeiro's 569 and Bonds' 708) remain the "Monument Park" of the steroids era.
Barry Bonds The incriminating evidence presented by "Game of Shadows" pretty much puts the lie to all his record-breaking accomplishments after the 1998 season. Still, there are many voting baseball writers who maintain Bonds was already a Hall of Famer before he reportedly began using steroids. It's convoluted thinking - after all, wasn't Shoeless Joe Jackson a Hall of Fame player before he participated in the 1919 World Series fix? - but Bonds will probably still get his share of votes. Nevertheless, as the overriding figure of baseball's disgrace, the steroids era, he should be confined to the same life-without-parole sentence as Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe. To elect him would be a disservice to all the Hall of Fame sluggers - Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle, et al. - whose legitimate home run feats he cheated his way past.


Posted by: soxmuscle

Bonds is a horrible human being, but deserves his spot in the Hall of Fame regardless of the steroid usage in my opinion.


Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:
Originally Posted by soxmuscle
Bonds is a horrible human being, but deserves his spot in the Hall of Fame regardless of the steroid usage in my opinion.
I always thought he was a jerk from when he was with Pittsburg.


Posted by: section8

Quote:
Originally Posted by soxmuscle
Bonds is a horrible human being, but deserves his spot in the Hall of Fame regardless of the steroid usage in my opinion.


I agree 100%. He is a prick, but he is one of the greatest hitters that I have got to see in person. I personally thought he was going to get into the hall, back before the alleged steroid use(). Bonds is a great player with or without roids.



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