Sammy Sosa has retired after more or less disappearing from baseball (gee … wonder why). Now he says he will "calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don't I have the numbers to be inducted?" Perhaps, but he might not have the votes. And if and when I get a vote, I don't think Sosa will get mine.
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Funny but I was thinking the other day they should also take the vote away from any sportswriter who lauded Canseco, McGwire, etc., etc., turning a blind eye when it was obvious to even casual observers that steroids were prevelant in MLB. Writers willfully ignored what was going on and were just as complicit as those players in regard to damaging the game.
Amen larry d in calling out the sportswriters for not reporting the obvious. What do you say about that Patrick…and for that matter the PD's Terry Pluto.
Personally, and I am very serious about this, I believe Pluto's "willful ignorance" was simply the result of a very naive guy's unwillingness to be cynical about anything in life. Willy Wonka with a sports column.
As far as Pat's complicity is concerned, come on, Tim. The poor guy was forced to cover pro football during the entire time-frame that Jim Thome magically turned from a string bean into a lumberjack. We're talking about baseball.
As far as everybody else out there is concerned, without hard rock-solid evidence to the contrary, how could they possibly print anything? They're sportswriters, not Mike Wallace. I mean, sportswriters used to see Mike Piazza with back acne so bad that it looked more like a pepperoni pizza than an actual back. What were they supposed to do, write that Piazza is on the juice based upon the telltale Domino's signs?
"Uh, yeah, first of all, I'd like to say, I'm not gay. I'm heterosexual." — Mike Piazza
Yeah, thanks for that. Now explain your pepperoni.
As for Sosa…just how stupid does he think we ARE? He will NEVER be elected to the H.O.F. His corky evidence is still being cleaned up around the Wrigley Field home plate. As far as WE know, Corky, you and Albert Belle were filling your bat with wine-toppers your entire career. So…hold your breath.
I wouldn't give Pat a pass, Alan, if he gets a vote for the hall he must have done something to qualify.
I don't understand why a reporter couldn't have reported it as a whisper heard in the clubhouse. I don't know why a sportswriter couldn't have done a series on steroids and HGH without blaming. The Jim Romes of the world aren't bashful about voicing their opinions but why weren't they burning on drugs before Jose Conseco outed 'everyone'?
In 2000, HBO's "Real Sports" did a feature on steroids in baseball. That was long before Canseco outed anybody.
Besides, what is Pat talking about? Maybe he can fill me in. Only active and honorary members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, who have been active baseball writers for at least 10 years, are eligible to vote. It's also required that any guy who wants to vote has to have been active as a baseball writer and a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America for a period beginning at least 10 years prior to the date of election in which they are voting.
Hey, Pat, are you even a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in the first place?
Pat said "if and when" and I didn't mean to include him as I assumed he doesn't have a vote. The HBO story only underscores the fact that everyone in the world knew that steroids were prevelent–owners, managers, players and sportswriters. The faux outrage from sportswriters at this point is ridiculous.
I don't know, larry. There are a lot of dumb sportswriters out there. I mean, just look locally, there were dumb enough to honestly believe that the Shaq trade in exchange for Wally's contract and additional flotsam was not done because of "chemistry" as opposed to Gilbert not wanting a truckload of luxury tax next season.
Of course there were a few intelligent ones who consciously avoided the steroids issue, but I seriously think a lot of them are just plain naive and/or ignorant. Think of how many media folks simply bought hook, line and sinker into that GNC powdered drink scam that McGwire overtly tried to pull off so as to deflect any possibility that he was doing something that wasn't kosher. Even today, some will look at you with a straight face and assert that obvious past and/or present druggies have never done anything to indicate that they've ever taken anything stronger than Ex-Lax.
How come no one worries much about steroids in football, where they are probably more common and also give an arguably bigger edge? Has Mike Webster been blackballed from the Hall?
Easy answer. Because nobody cares about a football center's individual records. On the other hand, everybody cares about 714 and 755, and everybody cares about 60 and 61. Or at least they did.