The 2023 MLB Hall of Fame ballots had been despatched out yesterday.
This is a fairly weak set of contestants. Gone are the times of bickering over the eligibility of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Curt Schilling. Now, the argument turns into “Are there even 10 people worthy of Hall of Fame distinction?”
For me personally, there are. There are lots. Between Álex Rodríguez and Manny Ramirez alone, I’d most likely have two guys on my poll that the majority voters gained’t. I’d additionally throw Todd Helton, Bobby Abreu (I’ve my causes), Jeff Kent, Scott Rolen, Billy Wagner, and Andruw Jones on there for certain. Maybe Ok-Rod may make his manner onto my poll relying on how laborious the Christmas spirit hit me, but it surely’d take a variety of eggnog and goodwill for that to occur. Of course, none of this issues since I nonetheless don’t have a poll, however I did go away one notable title off — Carlos Beltrán.
If I’m being upfront and sincere, I wouldn’t go away Beltrán off for lack of {qualifications}. He was an amazing defender, a well-above-average bat at a historically non-offensive place, had 4 seasons with 30-plus dwelling runs, and gained a World Series. The cause I’d go away him off is that everybody else will probably vote for him regardless of his involvement within the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
You may be considering: “Jon, you have Rodríguez and Ramirez on your ballot. Clearly, you don’t care about cheating.” Right you’re! DING DING! Well, type of, anyway. I care about consistency from the voters’ standpoint. If one cheater doesn’t get in, zero ought to get in, however within the baseball world’s endless quest to rid any of the 2017 Astros of blame, the Hall of Fame voters are clearly letting sure sorts of dishonest go by with out repercussions.
Beltrán is extensively considered one of many masterminds behind the Astros’ dishonest scandal. He was struggling early within the early components of the season, to the tune of a .231/.285/.409 triple-slash via the primary three months of the season. He wanted a bonus, and in an interview with YES this 12 months, he claimed that he and his Astros’ teammates thought they had been merely “ahead of the curve,” and they’d’ve stopped in the event that they had been knowledgeable what they had been doing was unlawful. This is clearly a silly excuse, and even when it had been a viable excuse, it wouldn’t be seen as such by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), who’s routinely shot down Hall of Fame aspirations from gamers who’ve claimed that they unknowingly took PEDs within the execs.
No gamers from that 2017 Astros workforce had been punished, besides Beltrán, who’d retired by the point the complete story got here out in late 2019. Beltrán was set to turn out to be the supervisor of the New York Mets, however as soon as his involvement within the Astros’ scandal turned obvious, he was pressured to step down. Maybe voters consider that was punishment sufficient for Beltrán and that’s why he’s being critically thought of for the Hall. I don’t purchase it although.
I consider voters are Beltrán’s profession and considering, “Well, this was only one season. He was a Hall of Famer before 2017.” That’s terribly hypocritical although. Do you realize who else was a Hall of Famer earlier than dishonest? Barry Bonds. We don’t know when he began juicing, however the consensus was that he began round 1999-2000, proper earlier than arguably the best four-year run in MLB historical past.
Prior to that 2000 season, Bonds had already accrued three MVP awards, eight Gold Gloves, 445 dwelling runs, 1,299 RBI, 460 stolen bases, and 163 OPS-plus throughout 14 seasons. That’s extra years than Matt Cain, Huston Street, Jered Weaver, J.J. Hardy, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Mike Napoli performed and so they’re all on the Hall of Fame poll, thus, they’ve performed lengthy sufficient to warrant consideration.
The level is that if Beltrán will get allowed in regardless of his involvement in a dishonest scandal, it creates a slippery slope that permits voters to find out which sorts of dishonest are allowed in baseball. Why would anybody chorus from dishonest if it gained’t have an effect on their legacy? I’m personally for letting everybody in except their dishonest was abhorrent and through an period the place dishonest wasn’t well-known and nonetheless brushed beneath the rug (prefer it was throughout the Steroid Era; Bud Selig is within the Hall of Fame in any case). However, so long as one cheater isn’t allowed in, no cheaters must be, thus I discover it laborious to think about a world the place Beltrán finds himself in Cooperstown any time quickly.
The voters have put themselves in a lose-lose state of affairs. Either they induct Beltrán and seem like hypocrites, or they be certain Beltrán doesn’t get in, successfully stopping a really gifted participant from getting the legacy send-off he deserves. I’d guess that the voters will go for the latter. It’s a disgrace, however within the title of equity, it’s what ought to occur.