The "Hall of Shame"

Podcasters have been spending a lot of time on the baseball Hall of Fame voting for this year. All the debate is over whether or not Bonds and/or Clemons should be voted in. There have been arguments for letting them in and arguments against letting them in. Thanks to them, NO ONE was voted in this year.

Which is fine by me. I know you can't erase the stats that the "roid boys" put up. Sooner or later the baseball world will have to acknowledge them even if they have to use an asterisk. But nothing says they have to get in as soon as they become eligible. Make them pay. Make them pay dearly.

In fact let me suggest a penalty.

Pete Rose is the epitome of a baseball player. He gave 110% as a player and still made time for his fans. I know from 1st hand experience that you can read in this post. What he did was wrong. Egregious even. What Pete did was so terrible that he was banned from baseball. They have tried to erase his existence and deny him any association with baseball whatsoever.

His crime? He bet on his damn self. Maybe he bet on other things as well who knows ... and who cares. Did he ever throw a game? Was that even an accusation?  HELL NO! He played hard on the field and apparently played hard off the field.

And for that he was not even in the discussion of Hall of Fame. Not this year, not any year.

He eventually came clean on his transgressions. Did jail time. Has had some of the best years of his life that could have been spent promoting the game he loved ripped from him like a bad spleen.

Pete has been out of baseball since 1989. 24 years for anybody that has trouble with simple math.

Pete has paid his dues. He has paid penance.

Bonds and Clemons had great careers and accomplished great things. No they didn't bet on themselves, but they did bet that if they juiced up they could improve their performance and their marketable value. They both shamelessly accepted acknowledgments for feats they performed "under the influence" .

To date neither has chosen to come clean.

So, I think the bench mark has/is being set. At a minimum they should be denied consideration to the Hall of Shame for 24 years. and counting......

When, and only when, baseball decides to come to its senses and admit one of the greatest players of all time in Pete Rose will the final penalty for Bonds and Clemons be set. They should not receive one less day for their transgressions than Charlie Hustle himself.

So I ask you MLB.... how much is enough?