I don’t
blame Reggie Jackson for being angry at Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and the
other performance-enhancing drug users. I can’t even imagine how bad it feels
to watch these guys pass you on baseball’s all-time home run list, knowing that
they cheated their way to the top.
But unlike
Jackson, I make no distinction between ARod and Andy Pettitte when it comes to
PED usage. It’s clear that Jackson would be okay with Pettitte being elected to
the Hall of Fame out of an abundance of affection for the lefty, who grew up in
the New York Yankees organization. He clearly does not have the same level of affection
for ARod.
Some writers
may follow that route, voting in favor of good guys like Pettitte while
ignoring controversial players such as Bonds and ARod. But I don’t think that’s
fair. I’ve always liked Andy Pettitte myself, a lot more than I ever liked
ARod, but I still wouldn’t put him in the Hall if I had a vote because he
cheated. Affection for the player should not be the deciding factor. The damage
they caused to the game by cheating should outweigh everything else.
I do wonder
if Jackson is right about Roger Clemens being elected to the Hall of Fame. His
eligibility begins next year and he was acquitted of the federal charges filed
against him, as Jackson notes. But a court of law and the court of public opinion
are two completely different things. Just because he beat the charges doesn’t
mean he is innocent. A lot of guilty people beat the system, because of
incompetence by the prosecutors, weak evidence or even their likability.
I wonder if the
Clemens acquittal will give enough baseball writers cover to vote for him, if
they are so inclined. But I suspect that too many writers hold my view, that
anyone even linked to PED usage should not get in, which kept Mark McGwire out
of the Hall of Fame for years before he even admitted his steroids use.
Jackson will
always court controversy because that is just who he is, but I doubt that Major
League Baseball will be happy to see such a prominent Hall of Famer talking
about an issue that they probably hoped would go away for a while after the
Clemens trial. But Jackson has every right to express his belief that the
cheaters don’t belong in the Hall. I also hope that the Hall remains free of
the PED users and I make no exceptions for anyone, not even Pettitte and his
pal.
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