It's the most wonderful time of the year. If you are a sports geek like me, that is. I love that the baseball hall of fame and the football hall of fame name their annual inductees within a month of one another. The National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce their 2011 Induction Class on January 5th. I have been reading and listening to a lot people's opinions about who will get inducted.
There are 33 players on this year's ballot. I can, without hesitation, guarantee that the like of Bobby Higginson, Charles, Johnson, Kirk Reuter, Lenny Harris and Raul Mondesi, etc will be off of the ballot next year. There are a few that are tweeners like Tim Raines, Harold Baines, Dale Murphy, John Olerud, Jack Morris and Fred McGriff. And there are the tainted players like Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro who will twist in the wind for a few more years, but will eventually get in once the pissed off sports writers feel that penance has been paid to their satisfaction.
It is my opinion that Bert Blyleven, Roberto Alomar, Lee Smith and Jeff Bagwell should be elected in this vote. However, my opinion means nought. There are a few sports writers out there that have personal vendettas against players for perceived slights that the player may or may not have thrown their way over the years. This absolutely plays a part in voting in players. But, a new demon has snuck it's way in to the conversation this year. That insidious monster is the guilt by association to steroids era. That's right, well he was never named or tested positive but he had great numbers in the steroid era. That means that he should not be voted in on the first few ballots.
Who is this he, you ask? He is Jeff Bagwell. Some numb nuts named Dan Graziano wrote a column on Fanhouse.com saying that he left Bagwell off of his ballot for the hall because he is suspicious. Ok, before we go any further let's look at Graziano's background. Graziano graduated from Georgetown University. Obviously he's not uneducated. He wrote for such papers as The Palm Beach Post and the Star-Ledger in New Jersey. He has also done work for ESPN. So, he kinda has cred. But, this dude is a douche.
So, genius begins his argument that his suspicions would not hold up in a court of law but that this is not a court of law, it is the Hall of Fame vote. Huh? Sportswriter with a grudge? Maybe. But, wait there's more. He states; "the only standards that I am beholden to are my own." He says that he will note vote for any player in the Steroid Era that he suspects were dirty. He says that he will not vote for Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro or Mark McGwire. Ok, they were named in reports and by people that had intimate knowledge of their extracurricular activities. Jeff Bagwell has never been questioned by or named by anyone of any misdeeds.
Graziano goes on the write the following; "People will hate this position, and I understand that. But I offer this in my defense: we writers who covered the game during the Steroid Era are often criticized for not reporting more skeptically based on the suspicions we harbored then. And while much of that criticism is justified, I believe the fact that we and our newspapers could have been subject to legal action for such reporting works in our defense. The withholding of a Hall of Fame vote based on suspicion of illegal activity is not the same as writing a story accusing someone of illegal activity. I'm not accusing Jeff Bagwell of taking steroids or any other performance enhancing drug. I'm just saying I'm suspicious."
What the fuck? You are leaving a dude off of your ballot because he played in an era where others were juiced and you could not have questioned it because you could have been sued? Kiss my big, fuzzy, white ass. You are no better than a writer for the friggin' Enquirer. This guy needs to lose his vote for the Hall of Fame. This is totally wrong and should be looked into by those that choose who gets to vote. Shame on you Dan Graziano! Shame on you!
