The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame voters decided that only Barry Larkin was worthy of the Hall of Fame this year. The biggest snub in my opinion was the Houston Astros’ Jeff Bagwell. It seems that the voters reasoning for leaving Bagwell off was because, “he’s big”. If this is the argument against Bagwell then imagine what the voters are going to think next year when actual performance enhancing drug users are on the ballot. The following is a list of some of the players that will be on the ballot for the first time and whether they should be in the Hall of Fame.
Craig Biggio
We start with the biggest performance enhancing drug user. Just kidding. I don’t think that anybody will accuse Biggio of being on anything and I hope that will help his case but I have a feeling it’s more likely that he’ll be overshadowed by the PED talks and get overlooked. Biggio was a great runner, among the league leaders in runs scored, got on base a ton and was one of the best players at his position.
Should Craig Biggio be in the Hall of Fame? Yes
Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds was the best hitter of our generation. It’s been said a million times before. It’s a shame that Bonds used performance enhancing drugs because he was already the best player in baseball. Bonds could hit for power and average, run the bases and was a great defensive player at one point in his career. I’m not one of those people that says, “everybody was using performance enhancing drugs” but obviously it was common. I don’t like it. I wouldn’t have taken them if I were a Major League Player and if I was clean I would be pissed that others weren’t. That being said. Bonds is the best player of his era.
Should Barry Bonds be in the Hall of Fame? Yes
Roger Clemens
I don’t think the case for Roger Clemens is quite as cut and dry as Bonds. There was never a point in time where Bonds looked like he needed performance enhancing drugs in order to succeed it was just a bonus on top of his God given ability. Clemens’ career does look a little bit more suspicious. There is a noticeable drop in quality when Clemens hits 30-years old and then he suddenly goes 21-7 with a 2.05 ERA again in 1997. However, there is no way of knowing if that was because of performance enhancing drugs or if Clemens just hit a rough patch. Ultimately he won 354 games and had a 3.15 career ERA.
Should Roger Clemens be in the Hall of Fame? Yes
Mike Piazza
If Jeff Bagwell is going to be turned down because, “he’s got muscles” then Mike Piazza probably shouldn’t be counting on being voted in either. That’s just one reason why this argument is ridiculous. Performance enhancing drug era or not Piazza is the greatest offensive player at his position in the history of baseball. Piazza had mad power that would make many skeptical that he was using performance enhancing drugs but how do you explain hitting .362 in a notorious pitcher’s ballpark? It’s a shame that Piazza hung around for the last few years because he would have been a .320 career hitter if he had retired at the right time.
Should Mike Piazza be in the Hall of Fame? Yes
Curt Schilling
I go back and forth on Curt Schilling because his career did not start as well as it ended. However, after a closer look he wasn’t that bad early in his career, his team was. Once you factor in his playoff performances I think Schilling makes the Hall of Fame. The only problem is I wouldn’t vote him in next season just because there wouldn’t be room on my ballot after the four players above and some of the other players already on the ballot.
Should Curt Schilling be in the Hall of Fame? Yes, but not yet.
Sammy Sosa
There is a lot of debate about whether Mark McGwire should be in the Hall of Fame after he used performance enhancing drugs but I don’t think it matters. McGwire was a one-dimensional player and I don’t like one-dimensional players. Sosa is the same way. You’re going to have to do more than hit home runs to impress me. I think it also says a lot about Sosa that nobody ever talks about him. Not if people in Chicago still have a soft spot for Sosa like the people in St. Louis and San Francisco have for McGwire and Bonds.
Should Sammy Sosa be in the Hall of Fame? No
Sources:
Baseball Reference’s Potential 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot
The last several generations of Lee Andrew Henderson’s family were Pittsburgh born and even though he was born in Alabama he has been a long time fan of the Pirates, Steelers and Panthers. Lee Andrew Henderson can be found on Twitter at @LeeAHenderson