Quote:
Originally Posted by Runscott
Barry - It's not the American way, it's the way of American cheaters. I hope your comment was tongue-in-cheek. I would hate to see a take home message for our kids of "Don't cheat, but if you do and you can get away with it, that's fine."
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Not tongue in cheek, but cynical. All I see around me are people cheating, in every walk of life. Yes, I absolutely deplore it. But to deny a player into the HOF because he took a drug that built up his muscles is plainly hypocritical. Bonds was the greatest hitter I ever saw, possibly one of the top five all time. Clemens was one of the greatest pitchers of all time. To deny them entrance, but to allow a less than stellar Bobby Doerr in, is a mockery of the whole process.
Gaylord Perry pitched nearly his whole career with a dab of vaseline under his cap. It's against the rules to put a foreign substance on a ball, and nearly every pitch he threw was a greaseball. He's in the Hall. And his stats don't hold a candle to Clemens.
Let's stop pretending baseball is some lily white enterprise and let these guys in. If you want you can affix a scarlet letter "C" for "cheater"on their plaques. That way the fans can tell the good guys from the bad guys.