Sports Then and Now

When it comes to electing the upcoming class into the baseball Hall of Fame, we are going to either change the record books or let in everybody that cheated.

The fact that Roger Clemens is up for nomination is going to cause us to see who really gets in and who is left outside looking in with Pete Rose.

Watching Clemens when he was in New Britain, CT in 1983, there was talent on the mound, that had Cooperstown in my mind instantaneously.

That day when he threw a shutout to win the Eastern League Championship, I said “someday I will see him win the World Series for Boston.” When I went to Game Six in 1986, my dream was close to coming true.

He won 192 games in a Red Sox uniform and nobody has worn his number 21 since he left for Toronto in 1997.

The greatest pitcher in Red Sox history, and he threw it all away for a syringe a decade later

How could using PED’s in the 1995-2007 era be any different than those that used greenies from the 50’s until 2011?

We let Gaylord Perry in the HOF and he admits he cheated from day one.

Craig Nettles even had super balls come out of his bat, and how many times has cork been found inside one?

Cap Anson might have been the biggest bigot of his era, and he kept color out of baseball for 64 years, but baseball let him into Cooperstown.

Tom Yawkey did not have a man with color on his team until Pumpsie Green a decade after Jackie Robinson, but he too is enshrined.

What baseball should do is put asterisks on all the home run numbers hit from Brady Anderson to Barry Bonds.

Nobody will ever hit 70 plus home runs again. Someone might have a great year and come near to Ruth and Maris.

Baseball should go back to number 61, and give today’s sluggers a chance.

As far as voting Roger, Barry, Sammy, and Big Mac into immortality, why should anybody whose name was on that 2003 list be allowed into Cooperstown?

Either you let everyone in or you keep everyone out.

This is the meeting that needs to have representatives from the BBWAA, MLB, The Player’s Union, Cooperstown, and the fans.

Funny how baseball has morals for some things like betting that keeps the hitter with the most hits in history out of Cooperstown.

In football players like Paul Horning said ‘sorry, my bad,’ and missed a whole year, but he still went on to Canton, OH, and nobody thought twice about it.

Shoeless Joe Jackson hit .375 and did not make any errors in the 1919 World Series, but Judge Landis said he cheated, after the court said he was innocent, and we still keep him out of Cooperstown. Why does baseball do that?

Say it ain’t so Joe, and his.356 lifetime average were banned from the game but you could still look them up now at

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jacksjo01.shtml

Let Joe in, and Pete Rose too, and let all the stars of our lifetime go in despite their use of PED’s.

This is only baseball we are talking about, this isn’t judgment day.