No new inductees into 2013 baseball Hall of Fame
Former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, February 13, 2008, about the illegal use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in baseball. Behind Clemens is his wife, Debbie.
Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza. Baseball fan or not, these are household names.
Barry Bonds holds the record for most MVP awards with seven to his name. Sammy Sosa played in the MLB for 18 years, racking up 609 home runs out of his total 2,408 hits. World Series champion Roger Clemens has a total of 4,672 strikeouts, making him one of the most renowned pitchers of all time. Catcher Mike Piazza proved his abilities as an all-around player by holding the record of most home runs by a catcher with a total of 427.
With so many legends to choose from, why was there not a single player elected into the MLB Hall of Fame (HOF) in 2013? The answer is not because there were simply too many talents to choose from, nor that these players do not measure up to the players previously inducted into the HOF. They did not receive the 75 percent vote required to be inducted into the MLB HOF because they have all been associated with steroid use.
So what happens now? Is no 2013 Hall-of-Famer better than a doped up one?
Without a doubt, Sosa, Bonds, Clemens and Piazza deserve the award based on their records. However, the MLB must consider the message it would be sending if they were to allow players who have tested positive for steroid use to be inducted into a category filled with the most talented baseball players of all time.
The sad thing is that all the players associated with steroid use would have played tremendously regardless. Perhaps it was their actual talent that got their names on the list of potential candidates but their steroid use that kept them out.
While many fans of these baseball legends are protesting the lack of a new HOF inductee, the verdict still stands. This is going to be the first year in over 15 in which not a single player is to be inducted. The spot is too valuable to give up to anyone who has made the MLB’s list of players that have tested positive for steroid use. We cannot really blame the MLB for wanting to keep out tainted names from an elite “hall” of the best players of all time.
Hopefully this scandal will demonstrate to athletes that the secret is not to not get caught but to not give in to steroid use in the first place. If one year without a new MLB HOF inductee will prove a point to aspiring baseball players, then it is well worth it.
