Jul 01 2009
Hall of Fame Voting Guidelines Enough to Prevent Steroid Tainted Players
Extra guidelines are no longer needed for Hall of Fame voting. This is the resolution of the Chicago chapter of Baseball Writers’ Association of America in their meeting on Friday. Hall of Fame criteria includes character and integrity and the association deems that these are enough. “Character, if you just emphasize that’s part of the issue, should answer the question,” said Mark Gonzales, the White Sox beat writer for the Chicago Tribune.
Six of the top 20 career home run hitters have been involved to performance-enhancing drugs including Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa. Rodriguez has admitted using the banned substance while Ramirez was suspended for 50 games. The New York Times reported that retired slugger Sosa was one of the players who tested positive during the anonymous baseball drug test in 2003. Meanwhile, Roger Clemens, who is considered as the best pitcher of his generation, is also involved in the controversy though he fervently denies it. Bonds, who is under federal indictment, says he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
The steroid problem in baseball has grown through the years and players once thought to be locks for the Hall are tainted by allegations of drug use. It was Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander who suggested that the Chicago chapter become the very first to discuss the steroid and Hall of Fame issues. The meeting would also determine if any consensus can be found. “I’ve just grown frustrated with us trying to be the arbiters of ethics and morality,” Telander said.
Twenty writers have showed up during the Friday meeting which lasted for only 20 minutes. While some said that they are frustrated at the prospect of voting for players who may have cheated, the majority of writers said that the current criteria is already enough to serve as their guide for voting.
Hall of Fame voters will consider the player’s “record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” Writers who have been BBWAA members for 10 consecutive years are eligible to vote for the Hall of Fame. Writers have the privilege of voting for the Hall because of their knowledge, experience and impartiality, said Gordon Wittenmyer, the cubs beat writer for the Sun-Times. Imposing guidelines, even if it’s done by the writers, takes away from that. “Any kind of consensus on this defeats the purpose of having individual votes,” he said.
Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey even agreed to Wittenmyer’s statement. “I want to have the freedom to vote on what I think,” he said. “If my eyes are telling me a guy got a lot of his numbers based on performance-enhancing drugs, that’s my opinion.” However, Phil Rogers of the Tribune said that he worries that kind of thinking could make Hall entry almost impossible.
The Hall of Fame is an exclusive club and players need 75 percent of the votes for election; 23 names on this year’s ballot, Ricky Henderson and Jim Rice were the only ones selected. If writers decided not to vote for anyone who is suspected of cheating, this means that it would take years where no one is elected.
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