Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame?

The motto of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is boldly displayed in red ink at the top of its official website.

“Preserving History – Honoring Excellence – Connecting Generations”

On Wednesday, January 9, 2013 the most controversial ballot ever cast for Cooperstown was shot down by a panel of point-makers, revenge-seekers, and traditionalists. Over 500 voters from the Baseball Writers Association (BBWAA) are the select few who have say on this matter. There are 10 slots open on each individual ballot in which voters select from new candidates or previous candidates. 10 is the limit, but there is no required minimum. This means if they choose, they can leave the entire ballot blank if they do not believe any eligible person belongs in this prestigious fraternity.

Now I’ve heard talk all over the sports television networks, sports radio, and word-of-mouth on everyone’s opinions. I have heard both sides of the stories and will admit that Wednesday night I went to bed conflicted.

One side of the argument says we cannot just erase an entire era of baseball and pretend it never happened. That would be like our country never including slavery in our children’s history books. We should teach our kids the history without bias and teach them what was wrong and what was right. Believers in this side feel there should be a separate room in the Hall of Fame for suspected PED (Performance Enhancing Drug) users or proved users thus enabling the accomplishments of these athletes to be recognized as both impressive and controversial.

The other side is what keeps Pete Rose out of Cooperstown. They broke the rules of the game of baseball. They knowingly cheated understanding the consequences of their actions and what it could mean to their careers, reputation, and legacy. For this reason they should not be included in any way shape or form.

“Preserving History – Honoring Excellence – Connecting Generations”

Had this motto not included “Honoring Excellence” I would fully support electing the likes of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire. Clemens dominated throughout his entire career and put up ridiculous numbers. McGwire was truly a great hitter and for that reason he remains in the Majors as a highly sought after hitting coach. Barry Bonds has one of the most, if not THE MOST, astounding resumes EVER! Even before his forearms rivaled tree trunks this man was lighting up the stat sheet. He was an amazing outfielder, base stealer, and contact hitter.

But the fact is that these men cheated. Pete Rose cheated. I love Pete Rose and if the opinions ever change for the BBWAA I firmly believe he would be one of the first to be inducted.

There were players on the 2013 ballot who were never proved or accused of doing steroids; Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Jack Morris, Craig Biggio, and a few others. I certainly believe the BBWAA made a mistake in not electing these players. This isn’t a team! One person should not suffer for the transgressions of everyone else. So what if any other year Schilling and Morris wouldn’t be 1^st ballot Hall of Famers. 1^st or 50^th they deserve to be in there. It was rumored that Piazza was on the juice his first year, but it was never proven. Craig Biggio came the closest of any one on the ballot. Players need 75% of the votes in order to be inducted. He received 68.2% a mere 39 votes away. Terrible.

Yes many people were using PED’s during this era. That does not excuse ANY of them. If that was the case Lance Armstrong would never have been stripped of his titles because the entire Pelaton of the Tour de France was cheating. If people want to make black and white decisions then do it across the board. This isn’t Fifty Shades of Grey.

But who knows, maybe the baseball world will come around like they did in the case of Roger Maris and the single season home run record. They may began by putting an asterisk next to someone’s name then erase it. That’s the direction this society is going.

But I want to hear the opinions of the ABQ Sports readers! Post 'em on Facebook at the post that sent you here.

Writers Note: Sammy Sosa should never be inducted. He had an exciting home run race, a cool home run bounce, and a corked bat.

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