Friends, I want this great game to be played on a flat ground, just as most of you do. I don’t want it to be a battle of the chemists. We’ve made some strides in the past few years, many coming at the expense of those outted (Bonds, Palmiero, McGwire, Sosa, ARod, Clemens, Manny, etc.). The one thing that I continue to ponder is just how pervasive the use of all kinds of PEDs were over the last two decades. Let’s face it: the majority of players were doing something that’s now banned (HGH, steroids, greenies, etc.). Remember, too, that the use of greenies goes waaay back, back to the grainy black-and-whites. Cheating isn’t new.
This is not an assigning blame rant; I’ve done that plenty of times.
But what irks me are those who are calling for the stats of those outted (or presumed guilty) to be summarily stricken from the record books. This, of course, absolves those who haven’t yet been outted. It also diminshes the performance of the hitters hitting against juiced up pitchers. It wasn’t only the hitters juicing.
That brings us to Boomer Wells, one of my favorite players, who has the Wite-Out ready to go:
Wells also suggested that Rodriguez, who admitted that he used steroids during a three-year period while playing for the Rangers, should have his numbers scrutinized. Rodriguez hit three homers off Wells in 18 at-bats during that time period and the former hurler doesn’t think those stats should count toward Rodriguez’s bid for the Hall of Fame.
“Well, he claimed he was on the juice, so, no they shouldn’t,” Wells said.
Boomer, so we should just take his 3 HR off his ledger? What about revising your ERA? Should we do that, too? After all, it’s a double book entry system; if you take something off one side, something has to come off the other side as well. What if removing one of those HR’s would have resulted in a change in the result of the game? And what if that resulted in a win that got a team into the playoffs whereas otherwise they didn’t make it? Talk about a slippery slope…
Of course, those who remain guilty in the shadows can sleep comfortably.
Now, Wells’ primary thrust was to ban players from the HOF and to impose a zero-tolerance policy and I am choosing to focus on the stats side of it.
The hefty lefty said MLB should give harsher bans than the 50-game suspensions currently handed out to players who test positive for banned substances. He also said that players who have admitted to juicing should not be elected to the Hall of Fame.
“No 50-game suspension – ban them right away,” Wells said. “That would stop (steroid use) in a heartbeat. Especially with the money they are giving out today. It would be incredible if they did that, you wouldn’t have to worry about steroids or HGH.”
So long as there’s a reasonable appeals process, I can’t say I disagree. What I’d hate to see are players getting heaved from the majors when they take something over the counter from GNC that contains substances not on the ingredients label. I would be in favor of a “one and done” policy.
Last part of this article which really made me chuckle is the tweaking of Clemens by Wells. Remember, these two were traded for one another, with Wells going to Toronto tearfully, as Clemens arrived in NY in 1999.
“I started calling [Clemens] Eli, because for years, he called me Eli, you know ‘Whatever comes out of Boomer’s mouth, he-lies.’ Well I got payback,” Wells said with a big smile. “It was great. Debbie and him on the first tee, (country singer) Toby (Keith) and I and a buddy of his were finishing up and I said, ‘Toby, watch this.’ I yelled ‘Eli,’ and Roger didn’t like it very much, but he came over and said hello.”
Jason Rosenberg began his blogging career in late 2007 at his own baseball-focused blog, ItsAboutTheMoney, Stupid. 