First Hall of Famer with a PED suspension?

[Peter_Spaeth]

A Rod maybe.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by BobC

Interesting question. Though I have no idea myself, and am not going to hazard a guess, I've always thought Mark McGwire may likely be the first baseball player who, though never formally suspended for steroid use by MLB, had admitted to using what were at one time legal, over-the-counter supplements/steroids that were later banned. He seemed to be one of those that was somewhat honest and forthright when asked, does not have a bad history with baseball writers and others in the sport, and was well enough liked and respected to have also spent over a decade as an MLB coach after retiring as a player, primarily as a hitting coach, for various MLB teams as well.

When he first came up to the majors, McGwire was ROY and led MLB in HRs, and supposedly didn't start with the supplements/steroids till a couple years or so after his rookie season. And based on the notions/beliefs of many that during these times upwards of half, or more, of all MLB players were taking some form of steroids or supplements, at some point one has to think that maybe it will not be held so much against the better players of this specific time period who have HOF aspirations, as they were acting like most every other MLB player was at the time, but still exceedingly much better than the rest of them. Whether as fans and onlookers who hated/accepted it or not, steroid use was prevalent in MLB, and MLB choose to look the other way for quite a long time. It comes across as almost a retroactive punishment for something that originally wasn't considered wrong. So after a period of time, I can eventually see some acceptance of these steroid era superstars, however begrudgingly, and have always thought McGwire may be the one to lead the way to HOF induction due to his overall acceptance and likability with everyone out there. Time will tell.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

A Rod maybe.

I don't see the writers voting in A Rod and given what happened with Bonds and Clemens with the veteran's committee, that seems unlikely for A Rod as well.

[G1911]

Whenever a player as popular as Ortiz is with the writers comes around, gets suspended for steroids, and the writers decide to chuck out their informal rule to vote in the guy they like.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I don't see the writers voting in A Rod and given what happened with Bonds and Clemens with the veteran's committee, that seems unlikely for A Rod as well.

Well, you're projecting Tatis 25 or so years from now. A lot can change in that many years, and maybe 10. 15, 20 years from now, but before Tatis could be eligible if his career even pans out, things will be different. I think if that happens, ARod is the most likely to break the barrier, as he isn't I don't think as hated as Bonds and Clemens.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Well, you're projecting Tatis 25 or so years from now. A lot can change in that many years, and maybe 10. 15, 20 years from now, but before Tatis could be eligible if his career even pans out, things will be different. I think if that happens, ARod is the most likely to break the barrier, as he isn't I don't think as hated as Bonds and Clemens.

I agree that Tatis is a long way to go to even have a Hall of Fame career and that a lot will change as the composition of writers who vote evolves over time, but I don't think it happens fast enough for ARod to get voted in by the writers in the next 8 years that he has. It will be interesting to see, though. In his first 2 years, he got 34.3% and 35.7% which is right around where Bonds and Clemens started, and they ended in the mid 60% range. While ARod may not be as hated as Bonds and Clemens, he certainly isn't beloved like Ortiz. Maybe his continued presence as a broadcaster helps him some. We'll see.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I agree that Tatis is a long way to go to even have a Hall of Fame career and that a lot will change as the composition of writers who vote evolves over time, but I don't think it happens fast enough for ARod to get voted in by the writers in the next 8 years that he has. It will be interesting to see, though. In his first 2 years, he got 34.3% and 35.7% which is right around where Bonds and Clemens started, and they ended in the mid 60% range. While ARod may not be as hated as Bonds and Clemens, he certainly isn't beloved like Ortiz. Maybe his continued presence as a broadcaster helps him some. We'll see.

Or perhaps if his basketball team wins it will also add to his appeal

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

Or perhaps if his basketball team wins it will also add to his appeal

What basketball team?

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by jayshum

What basketball team?

Talking about A-Rod and the Minnesota Timberwolves

[rats60]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I don't see the writers voting in A Rod and given what happened with Bonds and Clemens with the veteran's committee, that seems unlikely for A Rod as well.

I think ARod has a decent chance to get elected by the writers. I don't see any steroid user ever get in by the Veterans committee. Former players who were cheated by steroid users make up a lot of the membership of the Veterans committees. Less than 4 votes for Bonds and Clemens while they were at 65%+ on the writers ballots.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by rats60

I think ARod has a decent chance to get elected by the writers. I don't see any steroid user ever get in by the Veterans committee. Former players who were cheated by steroid users make up a lot of the membership of the Veterans committees. Less than 4 votes for Bonds and Clemens while they were at 65%+ on the writers ballots.

I think they were afraid of Frank Thomas.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by rats60

I think ARod has a decent chance to get elected by the writers. I don't see any steroid user ever get in by the Veterans committee. Former players who were cheated by steroid users make up a lot of the membership of the Veterans committees. Less than 4 votes for Bonds and Clemens while they were at 65%+ on the writers ballots.

While the opinion of new BBWAA voters toward PED usage may be different from writers that lived through it, ARod was at 35% his first 2 years on the ballot so he has a lot of votes he needs to pick up in the next 8 years to get voted in. Also, I have read many writers who indicate that they distinguish between the time before and after testing was implemented and whether a player was suspended or failed a test. While that can change over time, it also doesn't help ARod.