You better “calmly wait” for a long time and perhaps never expect to get in. I am tired of talking about this topic. I really am. I’m only doing this out of respect for the game that I love so much and the fact that most don’t seem to get why we need to talk about this. For the record they should just reveal the rest of those names on that testing survey in 2003. If those names will eventually be leaked, then just let it out. Having it done this way helps no one. Two questions will now come up every time a player is caught. Will he be voted in the Hall of Fame? Will Baseball ever recover?
In reference to the first question we only have Mark McGwire as the example of if players from this era will be Hall of Famers. No more than 25 percent of the vote has gone to McGwire in his two years of eligibility. What makes this worse is that he was probably a Hall of Famer without the stuff, if he did use any. But it brings out a fact that most voters will not vote for anyone in this era. Whether if they in fact cheated or were suspected of cheating. There is no chance Sammy will be voted in on the first, second or even third year on the ballot. The maximum amount a player can be on the ballot is 25 years. Perhaps time will heal everything eventually, but I seriously doubt that.
Baseball will recover, only when those in power disappear. It has become clear to me that Commissioner Bud Selig will be looked back as the commissioner who looked the other way and became reactive only when the Federal Government threatened to get involved. He is confident in the testing program and its effectiveness, but can’t help to point out the double standard in Baseball. He can’t seem to understand why Baseball is scrutinized more for positive tests when the NFL gets a free pass. Well, I’m here to help you out commissioner. The NFL has always had an image of men beating the hell out of each other for a football and the sport relies on a much bigger roster where every player has to be at his best and whether you like it or not, people would be shocked if these guys aren’t on something. That has always been the image of the NFL. The overwhelming fact is that Baseball was labeled “America’s Past Time” at one point in its history. There as been an emphasis on the numbers. 3,000, 755, 61, we all know those numbers and who is behind them. You changed your image to the long ball and could care less about it’s past. For over a decade we did buy into that image, but it was flawed. Most people don’t like being lied to and they were lied to all these years. When Bud and Union boss Donald Fehr leave, it will be a step in the right direction. Really only the players will be able to heal the game. Be upfront when caught, and demand that the record be set straight so that this will never happen again.
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