The New Class at Cooperstown

Martinez, Mussina, Rivera

Two nights ago the newest induction class to the Baseball of Fame in Cooperstown was announced: Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Roy Halladay, and Edgar Martinez.  Congratulations to them all, and I have no beef with any of them being enshrined.

The results of the balloting also showed that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are stalled in the voting, receiving in the neighborhood of 55-58 percent of the vote.  Seventy-five percent of the vote is needed and they each have, I believe, three years of eligibility left to be voted upon by the Baseball Writers.  Those who know me and read this blog, know my affinity for the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the charming little Village of Cooperstown.  However, with each passing year, the institution is diminished, I believe, due to the fact that neither Bonds nor Clemens is enshrined. We all know the sins that were committed by these two players.  We also know that they were, quite simply, the greatest hitter and greatest pitcher of their era, and, possibly, among the top five or ten players ever.  They need to be included in the Hall of Fame.  Organized Baseball and the Hall of Fame should be capable of understanding that the fans of baseball and visitors to the Hall are intelligent enough to know the circumstances and controversies that surrounded their careers.

Plus, rest assured that there are players already with plaques on the wall in Cooperstown who made use of Performance Enhancing Drugs, and if we were to enhance the definition of PED's to include amphetamines, aka, "greenies", then that would include, well, just about any member who played in the post WW II era.

And perhaps the biggest bit of hypocrisy here is that fact that Bud Selig is in the Hall of Fame.  As Commissioner of Baseball during the "steroids era", Selig and his employers, the team owners, were more than happy to look the other way when guys like McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds were banging out home runs in record numbers and making the turnstiles spin.  They only got religion on the matter when Congress  got interested and threatened their precious Anti-Trust Exemption.

At least the "Museum" part of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum doesn't look the other way.  Go through that part of the institution and the accomplishments and records of Clemens, Bonds, McGwire and others are recognized.  So are the records of Pete Rose and Joe Jackson.

Come to think of it, the "Museum" part of the institution is probably far more interesting that the "Hall of Fame" part is.