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When Can The Baseball Writers For The Hall Of Fame Consider Cheating Through PED Use, Or Not?

Barry Bonds once admitted to a Federal Jury that he used PED's. As MLB's ALL-Time HR King with 762 Round-Trippers, will the BBWAA ever consider looking past this and elect him into Cooperstown?

Barry Bonds once admitted to a Federal Jury that he used PED’s. As MLB’s ALL-Time HR King with 762 Round-Trippers, will the BBWAA ever consider looking past this and elect him into Cooperstown?  He only received 36.8 % of the votes last year – and will be in his 4th year of balloting this season.  The 7 time MVP, the 13 time ALL – Star, 12 time Silver Slugger, and 8 time Gold Glove Winner had a career 3 slash of .298/.444/.607 – and is also the ALL – Time Leader in Walks with 2558 – and is in the top 5 for several other categories lifetime.

Prof. Wes Reber Porter and Dan Dressman (Special Guest Writers):  and

When the 2016 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot is  announced tomorrow, the heated discussion will begin about which controversial candidates, if any at all, should have been inducted into Cooperstown (HOF). 

While isolated athletes have come up in previous years, this year represents the fourth year tension between the modern era of baseball – the “steroid era” – and traditional standards for admission into the Hall. With no one that has been connected to PEDs still having been inducted in

The 500+ baseball writers are, and should be, entrusted to weigh cheating and use of PEDs against the HOF’s criteria of “character,” “sportsmanship” and “upholding the integrity of the game” (the integrity standards). 

These writers each will struggle, however, with a preliminary question that falls outside of their expertise:under which circumstances may a HOF voter consider, at all, a candidate’s connection to cheating and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)?    Read the rest of this entry

When Can The Baseball Writers For The Hall Of Fame Consider Cheating Through PED Use, Or Not?

Barry Bonds once admitted to a Federal Jury that he used PED's. As MLB's ALL-Time HR King with 762 Round-Trippers, will the BBWAA ever consider looking past this and elect him into Cooperstown?

Barry Bonds once admitted to a Federal Jury that he used PED’s. As MLB’s ALL-Time HR King with 762 Round-Trippers, will the BBWAA ever consider looking past this and elect him into Cooperstown? —Photo by sportsagent.com.

Prof. Wes Reber Porter and Dan Dressman (Special Guest Writers):  and

When the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot is released in November, the heated discussion will begin about which controversial candidates, if any at all, would be inducted into Cooperstown (HOF). 

While isolated athletes have come up in previous years, this year represents a first real tension between the modern era of baseball – the “steroid era” – and traditional standards for admission into the Hall. 

The 575 baseball writers are, and should be, entrusted to weigh cheating and use of PEDs against the HOF’s criteria of “character,” “sportsmanship” and “upholding the integrity of the game” (the integrity standards). 

These writers each will struggle, however, with a preliminary question that falls outside of their expertise:under which circumstances may a HOF voter consider, at all, a candidate’s connection to cheating and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)?    Read the rest of this entry

Baseball’s Greatest One Hit Wonders Part 1: The Batters

Wedesday August 15th, 2012

Phil Plantier made his debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1990. During the 1992 season, Plantier crushed 11 HRs and added another 35 RBI in just 53 games. He was then traded in the off-season to the San Diego Padres for Jose Melendez. Plantier then thrived in California.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Music has one hit wonders, some have even made an entire career out of just one stretch of time where they were deemed relevant.  Baseball is like everything else, they have had their fair share of players that fit this mold.  In the next two weeks, we will take a look at hitters and pitchers that were really on fire for a stretch before they petered out just as fast.  I harken back to the movie ‘Tin Cup” for this next saying,  “Greatness Courts Failure.”  The difference between the two in baseball is so miniscule.  Unfortunately for every player that makes it to the show, hundreds never get their chance at all.  I am sure if you ask each one of these players if they were happy at their time in the Major Leagues, they would tell you that they thought they did not perform to their full capability.  

The players would think highly of the time they had their biggest successes and would wish they could have had more of the limelight for a prolonged stretch.  The fans of baseball are left to form their own opinions on these individuals.  Just like what happens in the world, there will be some fans who remember these guys fondly and others will turn the page on them, not thinking much at all.  The split is usually right down the middle.  The next five hitters are players that I remember making a big splash before bowing out just as quick as they came into prominence.   I contemplated adding Sam Fuld to this list, however he has a chance to play in the Major Leagues for years to come, so it is too early to list him amongst these men.  So at the very least, I will give him the video tribute down below before the page break.  Fuld is a great inspiration and I look forward to writing about him in future articles.  Also, other players I considered for this piece were Bob Hamelin and Rick Ankiel.  I gave Ankiel a pass in both pitching and hitting because he was so unique to have done both.  You can read a recent article I wrote about the man here .  In the end, I did not think Bob Hamelin had a standout performance even as a rookie.  He was lucky to have such a weak class of rookies to compete against in the year he won it.

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