Baseball Writers Need to take of the Moral Authority Hat
The other day I was reading an article stating Chipper Jones would not be a unanimous selection for the baseball Hall of Fame, and that he is losing votes due to his previous controversial tweets. While Jones likely was not going to be a unanimous, and no one has ever achieved this mark, so don't feel bad Chipper. However, this is a growing trend of baseball writers playing the role of the moral authority and keeping people out of the hall because they don't like something about them. Baseball writers need to get over their ego and cast the vote. If you don't like the guy still write about him, and write an article on his short comings if this is so important to you. However, fans do not care for your P.C. bologna, and your legalistic standards of who Hall of Famers are. Let's be honest people who put up numbers worthy of the hall are not in, and some will never get in because of this abuse of power from baseball writers. No one cares about your personal opinion here. Bottom line is there is no reason to prevent Chipper Jones from entering the Hall of Fame. Nor is there a real reason to keep guys like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and eventually Alex Rodriguez out of the Hall of Fame. No offense, there are plenty of cheaters in the HOF as is Gaylord Petty threw illegal pitches, the Babe allegedly corked his bat, and we already know of at least one player who is in the Hall who used steroids at least once...Mickey Mantle yes, Mickey Mantle "In 1961, during his home run race with Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle developed a sudden abscess that kept him on the bench. It came from an infected needle used by Max Jacobson, a quack who injected Mantle with a home-brew containing steroids and speed." Guess what there are plenty jerks as well Ty Cobb was a well known racist. This is not the Hall of Extraordinary Gentlemen of Baseball, it's the Hall of Fame, the venue to honor those who made us ooh and ahh over the course of a long career. To recognize those who were a leg above the rest. So get over your moral objections, this is not a contest who was a great human being because if it was about good morals Tim Tebow is looking like a lock for the Hall.
Listen folks, I get it people don't like Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens because they thing they stained the sport, but the funny thin is this was no where near the mentality people had towards them in their prime. When they were paying for tickets to see these guys, but let's be honest both Clemens and Bonds were Hall of Famers before the juice, there is no logical reason to continue to keep the players out of Cooperstown. If you have such an issue with them being in keeping what should have been a slam dunk 1st ballot Hall of Famer out on the first ballot is enough to get the point across. If that's not enough then have their plaques made by the person who made the Ronoldo statue. Roger Clemens can look like cookie monster, and Bonds like the hamburgler, the point is these were two of the premier players in the game for two decades. They made their mistakes, and no one is condoning their decision, but this witch hunt over players needs to stop. We all have our short comings. Only Babe Ruth has a higher offensive WAR than Bonds, like it or not Bonds is the all time home run leader both career and single season. His accolades go on and on. Clemens statistically one of the greatest pitchers of all-time first in WAR, 9th all-time in wins, and third in strikeouts. The list can go on for days for these guys. We get it they used PED's, but so did people in the Hall, and plenty more have cheated in some shape or form. Sorry Joe Morgan, but your wrong just like you were about many of your other assessments.
As mentioned in the message earlier, no longer is it just PED users who are losing votes, it's also people who are not conducting themselves in a professional manner. Again, the list of jerks in the Hall of Fame can go on, but there is absolutely no logical reason to keep Chipper Jones out of the Hall of Fame. Without a doubt one of the greatest players, and because of tweets some voters are admitting they won't be voting for him. This idiotic trend of legalism needs to stop. When comparing overall value Chipper Jones and George Brett or neck and neck. Let's be honest, though this trend is spilling into other sports as well. Football especially, there is absolutely no reason why Terrell Owens is not in the Hall.
This process is not only impacting those who used, but also those who simply played in the same era and were clean. These writers need to put their ego's aside and stick to what the numbers say. If this doesn't the Hall of Fame is going to turn into nothing more than a collection of well doers and a popularity contest. This legalism around the Hall of Fame vote is getting ridiculous and it's doing more harm than it is good. Baseball has plenty of dark memories which they would like to forget, but we cannot write off history simply because we do not like it. We need to acknowledge it and learn from it. Move on from it and make this game bigger and better each year.
