11/21/24
January 22, 2008
Why Stephen Brunt didn't cast his Hall of Fame vote.:
posted by DrJohnEvans to baseball at 12:11 AM - 6 comments
And that, in a nutshell, is precisely how I feel about the whole thing - and why Mark McGwire is a Hall of Famer. Though were I Brunt, I would simply keep voting for him instead of logging what is esstentially a protest spoiled ballot. Brunt is a guy I hold in high esteem around these parts. He's a thoughtful dude and a phenomenal sports writer.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:52 AM on January 22, 2008
I plead guilty. In 1998 i was a huge mac fan. I even wore his jersey to wrigley field. I cheered with every crack of the bat that we all thaught would clear the gateway arch. I was a 19 year old who had cheered the cards for the entirety of my relatively short life. Yes i covered my eyes to the andro thing. I stood on the moral high ground when the news of barry bonds came out, and today still standing on that moral high ground, i proclaim my guilt to the charge of hypocracy. I am older now. More cynical. A parent. As much as i think many, if not most of us are guilty of this same charge, i still say he should be left out of cooperstown. Bonds too. Not because he alone is to blame, but at some point we have to do something to try to fix the problem. We have to start somewhere. I have all the respect in the world for steven brunt. I appreciate his moral stand. I hope all the other writers will take note. I think they should all admit their complicity, then continue to leave mark mcgwire, barry bonds and anyone else who comes along who is in the same position out of the hall.
posted by elijahin24 at 09:00 AM on January 22, 2008
I agree with Brunt, in 1998 Andro was a legal sustance at the time MLB had not banned or tested for performance enhancing drugs. I don't condone what Big Mac did to get a competive edge or to help recover from nagging injuries, but what rules did he break at the time? If the HOF of was based on morals, how many people would they be willing to kick out. Ty Cobb jumped in the stands to fight a heckler, Babe Ruth & Mickey Mantle were drank heavily and were womanizers. The only thing Big Mac is guilty of is making a fool of himself in congress instead of saying "we are not here to talk about the past" he should have told the truth on what he used while also stating that he did not violate any of MLB rules at the time. Not sure if it was bad legal advice or decision on Mac's part, but the congressional hearing is a poor excuse to keep a player who put up the stats he did from being in the HOF
posted by m8nsman at 04:49 PM on January 22, 2008
I have all the respect in the world for steven brunt. I appreciate his moral stand. I hope all the other writers will take note. I think they should all admit their complicity, then continue to leave mark mcgwire, barry bonds and anyone else who comes along who is in the same position out of the hall. posted by elijahin24 at 9:00 AM CST on January 22 I read the article on Brunt's reasoning and thought about his position. In the end, I agree with your position. If players that cut corners or are strongly suspected of cutting corners are allowed into the HOF, where does it stop - shouldn't Pete Rose be elected? HOF entry has always involved imperfect people voting on players.
posted by Cave_Man at 07:10 PM on January 22, 2008
where does it stop - shouldn't Pete Rose be elected? Comparing Pete Rose to anyone who may have used steroids (and never failed a test) is like comparing murder to a speeding ticket. One guy broke the #1 rule that has been posted in locker rooms for over 80 years now (other than "No Pepper"), while the others may have done something that might not have been illegal that lots of other players may have also done in order to improve their ability to play and help their teams win.
posted by grum@work at 10:56 PM on January 22, 2008
"So the same writers who were celebrating Big Mac back then, and pissing on the reporter who wrote the andro story, suddenly got religion last year. I have a great deal of respect for Brunt for both his views and the stand he took. The above quote from the story sums it up for me, and some of these pious writers, like Mike Lupica, for example, who want to spew all this righteous shit around, when he and others just like him are the ones Brunt are refering to, should be forced to stand up and read this story in front of their entire audience. "To my mind, baseball created the working conditions under which players felt comfortable using steroids, amphetamines, and god knows what else. There were 'rules' and there was a law -- but with no testing and no enforcement, that was like posting speed limits with no radar. This quote, along with the first, go a long ways towards explaining this entire PED mess.