The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a revered institution. Plaques gleaming gold immortalize the game’s greatest players. It’s a place where baseball icons across eras – from the dead-ball era to modern sluggers – share equal recognition for their remarkable journeys. Yet, a shadow falls on this ideal. Some players, despite dedication and exceptional talent, are denied this ultimate honor. They poured their hearts into the game, becoming not just offensive powerhouses but also clubhouse leaders. However off-field actions or at times, simply a lack of recognition from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), have kept them out. Their on-field achievements, proving their worth on the diamond, seem insufficient. This disparity creates a sense of irony. Players dedicate their lives to baseball, yet their plaque-worthy contributions are sometimes tarnished by past mistakes or the subjective opinions of voters

While the Baseball Hall of Fame rightfully celebrates past legends by inducting Negro League stars like Josh Gibson,questions arise about its treatment of recent greats. Despite acknowledging its full history, the Hall seems hesitant to honor players like Pete Rose and Barry Bonds, whose on-field dominance was overshadowed by gambling and PED use.Should off-field actions permanently disqualify players, or can the Hall find a way to recognize both brilliance on the diamond and imperfections off it?

Despite PED use and gambling being major offenses, should these actions, often from younger, impulsive players,permanently bar them from the Hall of Fame? Take Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader with an MVP, 3 World Series titles,and countless accolades. He’s shut out due to gambling. It’s a glaring inconsistency. The Hall celebrates Negro League stars like Josh Gibson, acknowledging baseball’s full history, yet hesitates to honor recent greats like Rose and Barry Bonds whose on-field dominance is overshadowed by off-field issues. Can the Hall find a way to recognize both a player’s brilliance and their flaws?pen_spark

Pete Rose’s misstep was a colossal swing and a miss. As player-manager for the Reds from ’85 to ’87, he took a fastball right down the middle by betting on and against his own team. It was like managing his own fantasy league, only reality bit him hard. MLB’s investigation confirmed numerous bets, leading to his lifetime ban. But hold on, ROSE WAS A FIVE-TOOL PLAYER! The BBWAA is full of curveball-throwing writers who might hold grudges and deny a player based on personal vendettas. Pete Rose deserves to be enshrined for his on-field dominance, not ostracized for a boneheaded error.

PED use and gambling are undeniably serious offenses in baseball. But should these actions, often committed early in a player’s career, be a permanent strike against their Hall of Fame chances? Take Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader with a stellar resume, or Barry Bonds, the home run king with unmatched dominance. Both are excluded due to gambling and PED use, respectively. The same goes for Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers ever, with a record-breaking seven Cy Young awards.

Here’s the rub: the Hall of Fame recently embraced a more inclusive approach, acknowledging the Negro Leagues and inducting legends like Josh Gibson. This willingness to honor the sport’s full history raises a question: why the hesitation to honor recent greats whose on-field feats were undeniably historic? Can the Hall find a way to recognize both a player’s brilliance on the field and their transgressions off it?

If we’re sticking with tradition and believe even if you are a world class athlete but you abuse MLB’s regulations for the hall of fame then you should educate yourself on the hall of fame and their ignorance of either bringing in guys that were connected to PEDs or guys that had no connection to the PED era but were overshadowed by bigger players and did not get the recognition they deserve to be in the hall of fame. One of the more interesting guys to make it into the hall of fame was apart of the 2023 class in Scott Rolen. Actually the only guy from that hall of fame class to be rewarded the hall of fame. Now Scott did not do PEDs and is one of the shinning stars that did not get overshadowed by the Bonds, McGwire and Sosa of his time as for 8 seasons from 1997-2004 he racked up 5.8 WAR consistently.

However besides Rolen’s 70 career WAR he lacked in the hits barely getting above 2,000 hits with only (2077) he also was only a career 125 OPS+ hitter which is good by all means but is that hall of fame worthy? I know he had 8 gold gloves and you can say defense gets you in the hall of fame but then you can make the argument for Jim Edmonds Rolen’s cardinals teammate. Edmonds who finished with 60 WAR, 8 gold gloves and finished with more home runs, a higher OPS, a higher OBP, higher SLG and higher batting average yet didn’t make it to the hall of fame. Even after having pretty similar careers to Rolen he didn’t make it to the hall. Weird right? Well same applies to another center fielder in Bernie Williams who was there for the 4 World Series championships of the late 1990s-2000. He finished his career with 50 WAR, less home runs than both Edmonds and Rolen but was apart of the historic New York Yankees core and was in the Bronx for 16 years, yet no hall of fame? Make it make sense!

Or what about Billy Wagner who was one of the most dominant closers ever. The flamethrowing left-hander notched 422 saves only 2 less saves to John Franco’s 424 as the second most saves for a left handed closer. In his 16-year career with the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves, he racked up 1,196 strikeouts and he had a 2.31 ERA. Wagner one of the most dominant closers to ever take the mound behind Rivera, Lee, Fingers and Hoffman yet he is not a hall of famer. Probably because he didn’t have other accolades among him being top all time in saves. Its strange and a sad story and that how close Wagner got to being in the hall of fame for the 2024 class didn’t;t have enough to make it through who will only have one more year before he reaches 10 years and is taken off the voting ballot, he has 7% more points in voting to achieve in just a year. Or how about Andruw Jones who after 7 years and only 58% of points he still needs to make it to 75% in 3 years to be able to get in the hall of fame, which is beyond silly as he is one of the greatest defensive center fielders with 10 golden gloves. Besides his stellar defense he also has 434 homers, 63 WAR as well as breaking the Braves single season home run record (51) yet no hall of fame. But Rolen who had less home runs and less golden gloves gets to make it to the hall of fame no problem.

Or what about Jeff Kent who after playing for 17 years and accumulating over 50 WAR in is career is the league leader all time for homers for a second baseman with (377) Yet no hall of fame. Even after 4 all star appearance, a silver slugger and a freaking MVP where he beat out prime Barry Bonds is not in the hall of fame? It really is odd. Or again what about Curt Schilling who because of his adverse political ideologies won’t make the cut for the hall of fame? Even after accumulating almost 80 WAR for hs career and being apart of three World Series championships with the Diamondbacks and Red Sox still doesn’t make the hall of fame because he made some writers in the BBWAA angry for his conservative views.

Lets be honest here all these guys I named should be in the hall of fame but the fact that they aren’t only speaks that sometimes getting called into the hall of fame is a popularity contest and if the BBWAA don’t think you are worthy of being ingrained in MLB history and just because you were an all star athlete you don’t get into the hall of fame because of some writers saying otherwise.

Don’t forget that In 2009, a New York Times article cited Ortiz as one of more than 100 players who had registered a positive test during spring training in 2003, when the league was testing to determine how it should proceed with its drug program. The exact substance Ortiz tested positive for has never been made public, though the slugger has said he believes it to have been a vitamin over over-the-counter supplement. Yeah of course Davis Ortiz is going to say it was an over the counter supplement why would he confess that it would be PEDs after getting into the hall of fame.

At the end of the day those that are worthy of playing the game right and being a good person will be rewarded with the hall of fame. It is still one of the most pristine places to give tribute to all of our past history. It just has become more difficult for players to etch themselves properly in history, with so many players debuting and making legacies for themselves it becomes a little harder to decide who is worth the hall when a lot of players share similar careers to others who haven’t been able to make the hall of fame. Baseball is a growing entity I just hope one day we will recognize all the talents that made up the face of baseball that didn’t get their opportunity to be enshrined in the hall of fame. For what its worth performance on the field should have no relevance to off the field activities and hall of fame voting should not just be handled by ignorant baseball writers who only want to favor their biases but appreciate all works of hardworking ball players that are all deserving of scribing their name in baseball history.