Only one thing counts, HOF voters

It happens every time I mention someone like Barry Bonds.

Or Pete Rose.

It takes me about 45 minutes the next morning to sift through all the emails from readers who want to scream: “They don’t belong in the Hall of Fame.”

Hey, I hear you.

I read every message and I understand your points, which in some cases are very well thought out and written.

But...

You’re wrong.

(Yes, I know that this will get me another hour’s worth of reading emails. Nevertheless, most of the angry public is mistaken.)

Decisions on the Hall of Fame are made by the Baseball Writers Association of America, of which I’ve been a member for about half my working life.

I don’t want to defend the BBWAA, because there are a lot of small-minded goofballs in the group, and their reasons for voting on anything can be almost unbelievable at times.

JUST LET me make a point today, please, to explain my reasoning.

The world isn’t going to change if we spend hours debating who should or should not be in the Hall of Fame.

Here’s the first thing: You can’t compare the Astros cheating scandal to the era of steroid use.

When players had access to performance-enhancing drugs — which were NOT illegal according to baseball rules at the time — there was a level playing field.

Pitchers and hitters on almost every team were helping themselves with some kind of drug — so whether you enjoyed the games in that era or not, at least it was a level playing field.

Barry Bonds facing Roger Clemens...

Fair fight, no?

The Astros cheating with the use of technology was a premeditated scheme designed to tilt the playing field dramatically in their favor.

Now...

When the time comes, I will jump up and down campaigning for Jose Altuve or any other worthy member of the Astros to be inducted at Cooperstown.

Why?

Because voting should be about what happened in Major League Baseball games – not how or why, or anything else.

Members of the BBWAA sometimes put themselves up on a pedestal, as though they’re gods with the right to judge how players conducted themselves and how THEY think games should be played.

NONSENSE.

Just watch what’s going on, please, analyze careers and then vote.

I personally know Hall of Fame voters who turn up their nose at Bonds, but were happy to buy cocaine for (and from) major league players.

That’s not hyperbole.

I stood in an elevator and watched a drug transaction go down, and two of the people involved were voting members of the BBWAA, while another is now in the Hall of Fame.

Bonds and Rose are interesting cases for different reasons, but they have something in common.

Both treated the media like crap.

It’s tough to be surly and unpleasant every day for two decades, but Pete and Barry managed it — and that’s a HUGE reason that there’s not much sympathy for putting them in the Hall of Fame.

The argument against Bonds, which is what I wanted to mention today, is just plain wrong.

The guy was a Hall of Famer, and likely the best left fielder in baseball history, BEFORE he ever was accused of using steroids.

And then, if he did?

So what?

He was facing pitchers who were likewise juiced up, and I don’t care what you had for breakfast, I agree with Ted Williams that hitting a baseball is the toughest thing to do in sports – and Bonds still had to make contact.

The bottom line is simple for reaching the Hall of Fame.

What did you accomplish in your career?

If you want to add a paragraph on a guy’s plaque in Cooperstown, saying that he played in the steroid era or that he was part of the Houston cheating scandal...

Fine.

But vote on a player’s career accomplishments.

That’s why you get a ballot.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.

Steve’s various tales from several decades in sports — “Moments, Memories and Madness” — run on Sundays.