By: David Washburn
I want to start this off by sharing my two cents on steroid players and whether or not they should be in the hall of fame.
During the steroid era, many players were accused, and punished for using PEDs. In the late 80s it trickled into the game and as players became more educated on PEDs in the 90s, we had seen players like Brady Anderson who were productive, albeit average players before-hand, turn in monster seasons out of nowhere and then come back to earth.
It is documented that while a lot of hitters took steroids for various reasons, whether it be health, durability, fast recovery from injuries, it caused pitchers to dip into the steroids just to be able to keep up with the hitters.
I am a believer that the MLB Hall of Fame is a representation of outstanding players who had outstanding careers and played above the rest in their time. It is my opinion that steroids was a part of that time and since there is such a gray area of who used, and who didn’t and who might have, I have come around on letting some of these guys in.
If I were a sports writer and had a vote for the MLB Hall of Fame, here would be my picks this year.
- Barry Bonds – All-time HR *KING, 14x All-Star, 7x MVP, 12x Silver Slugger, 8x Gold Glove, All-time walks and intentional walks leader. This makes him the most feared hitter ever.
- Mark Buehrle – 214 Wins, 3.81 career ERA, 1,870 K’s, 59.1 WAR, 4x Gold Gloves, 2 No-Hitters and one of them was perfect. (This one could have gone either way)
- Roger Clemens – 354 Wins, 3.12 Career ERA, 11x All-Star, 4672 K’s, 7x Cy Young Winner, 1986 MVP.
- Todd Helton – 5x All-Star, 369 HR, .316 career batting avg., 61.8 WAR, 3x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger, All-time Colorado Rockie.
- Jeff Kent – 5x All-Star, 377 HR, .290 career batting avg., 2000 MVP, 4x Silver Slugger.
- Manny Ramirez – 12x All-Star, 555 HR – .312 career batting avg., 9x Silver Slugger, World Series MVP.
- Curt Schilling – 6x All-Star, 3,116 K’s, 216 Wins, 3.46 Career ERA, NLCS MVP and World Series MVP.
- Gary Sheffield – 9x All-Star, 509 HR, .292 career batting avg., 5x Silver Slugger.
- Sammy Sosa – 7x All-Star, 609 HR, 1998 MVP, 6x Silver Slugger.
- Billy Wagner – 7x All-Star, 422 Saves – Consistent throughout his career with exception to his 2000 season.
I believe that Jeff Kent and Scott Rolen are borderline guys and I don’t think I would vote them in normally, but were I told to use all 10 votes, those are my guys. I feel an argument can be made for or against them getting in, but after Harold Baines getting in…. I’m just saying I would probably take Jeff Kent or Scott Rolen over Baines.
Aside from the guys tied to steroids, I’m not blown away by any of the choices though. Todd Helton is a great player. Mark Buerhle was consistent throughout his entire career. Jeff Kent won an MVP playing alongside Barry Bonds.
Some noteworthy names on the ballot. Torii Hunter was one that stood out to me. It does not feel like he has been away from the game for 5 years but he certainly has. He is a guy I can see easily joining the Twins Hall of Fame but I don’t think he quite cuts it for Cooperstown.
Tim Hudson and Andy Pettitte were other names on there that at first glance I thought “Okay, these guys are definitely in” but at closer looking, I’m not so sure.
Scott Rolen was a proven leader and impact player for much of his career. I think he just misses my top 10 on this ballot though. With me being a Reds fan I have a hard time not pushing for him but I am trying to be unbiased here.
What do you think about this list? How do my picks stack up to yours?
Let me know what you would change.
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