We didn’t mention the Hall of Fame announcement yesterday because others covered it so well, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t note Joe Posnanski’s wonderful analysis of What It All Means.
Poz notes the big names up in the next few years – Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Mike Mussina, Frank Thomas – and worries that the voters’ treatment of Mark McGwire will discourage anyone who took steroids from coming clean. (Poz was one of the few who did vote for the slugger.)
We all know he isn’t the only player in his era or on those ballots who used steroids. He’s just the one who came forth and admitted it and said it was wrong and that he was sorry. If the Hall of Fame voters feel like they should punish McGwire for admitting he used steroids – even if he was evasive about the effects – then it seems to me that we are discouraging anyone from coming clean. It’s almost like the voters don’t really want to know the truth. Maybe we would rather think the worst.
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It’s a valid point, especially as the Hall continues to attempt to position itself as a bastion of morality. Wouldn’t getting players to come clean be the best thing to do?