Letter to the Editor
I had a comment on my last post and my response to it became so long that I figured I may as well make it another post.
The comment came from Julia over at Julia's Rants. Here's the comment:
Scott - I don't think you can compare the possible use of PEDs (a CHOICE someone makes) with someone who struggles with alcohol abuse (NOT a choice). I have to agree with those who feel that McGwire, Clemens, Bond and others don't deserve to be in the HOF because of use of PEDs. I also agree that Pete Rose doesn't belong in the HOF because of gambling. When a player makes the decision to do something that violates the rules of Baseball then they have to live with the consequences. There is a difference between behavior that we might not approve of - but doesn't violate MLB policy - and behavior that does.
~Julia
Here's my response:
DISCLAIMER!: Julia, this is not an attack on you and please don't take it that way. My response was just so long I wanted to make it a post. I respect you and your opinions, this is just my response.
Jules,
I can certainly see why the majority of people don't believe accused steroid users belong in the hall of fame, and their argument is certainly legitimate, as is yours.
But I have to disagree with you when you say we can't compare steroid use with something like alcohol abuse. First of all, everything is a choice. Addiction - whether it is alcohol, gambling or tobacco - is no exception. We make our choices in life and when those choices become too overwhelming, we are quick to write it off as "not our choice" so we feel like it's not our fault. It was always our choice, just like using steroids is a choice.
I never liked the term "Performance Enhancing Drugs" because it doesn't tell the whole story. A lot of things can be considered "performance enhancing" - coffee, red bull, cigarettes, even Gatorade - but steroids has medical risks if not used properly, which is why everyone is in such an uproar. But somehow, we label anabolic steroids as "Performance Enhancing" and they sound like a forbidden fruit instead of a medical necessity, as it sometimes is. There are plenty of major leaguers playing today only because they were prescribed steroids to help them return to play. Everyone who ever had Tommy John's surgery has steroids to thank for the rest of their career. Should we consider all of the stats they accumulated afterward as "cheating." No, because they have a doctor's note, McGwire, Bonds and Clemens don't.
There's still way too much smoke around steroid use in baseball to let it effect Hall-of-Fame voting just yet. Some say that steroids enhanced Mark McGwire's performance "significantly," yet there are no positive tests, no court ruling, nothing, just a suspicious statement at a congressional hearing five years ago and the word of Jose Canseco. Damning as it was, I don't think it's right to keep Mark McGwire out of the hall because we suspect he used steroids.
My point is, Hall-of-Fame voting should be based upon on-field performance and nothing else. There are a thousand different things athletes use to enhance their performance, anabolic steroids is just one of them. Mark McGwire supposedly used steroids when there was no steroid policy, so he broke no rules. Yet, we continue to act as a society who judges people on standards we ourselves can never meet. At our jobs, we use all kinds of things to "enhance" our performance. But should a business person be denied a raise because he used a caffeine pill to stay up all night and finish the presentation? Should my writing be considered "phony" because I use spellcheck?
Don't get me wrong. I am definitely against steroid use in baseball, but not because I'm afraid of someone hitting more homeruns than someone else. I'm concerned because of the danger of their use. Plain and simple. Without doctor supervision, steroids can be dangerous or even kill you, and that's why I want to keep them out of sports.
The crusade against steroids is something I support but not if it is going to be a witch hunt against former players. We aren't going to remove the numbers from the record books so we can't take them away from the player either. Major League Baseball is going to keep McGwire out of the hall but they have no qualms about celebrating the magic of the summer of 1998 at the same time.
I support the cause, but I won't support hipocracy.
~Scott
P.S. Pete Rose gambled when he was a manager, not a player. He broke the rules after he put up the numbers and played the game. Ban him from managing, ban him from commentating, that's all fine, but you can't keep the all-time hits leader out of the Hall-of-Fame because of something he did as a skipper.
Scott - I don't take what you said personally, please do not worry about that. But I'm am still going to have to disagree with you on alcoholism. I don't know if you have ever watched someone close to you suffer from it. I have. It is not a pretty picture and it becomes something that people can not control. The physical and mental craving for that drug is real and for too many NOT something they can control. Unlike someone who decides to inject themselves so they can hit the ball harder, people who fall into the depths of alcohol abuse don't often know they are doing it until it is too late. I don't think this sort of abuse is a cop out to taking responsibility - it is an illness that people need help with. I don't know enough about the "follow up" to Tommy John's surgery to know if steroids use is a temporary or permanent condition. I don't know what the solution to this problem is - but I do know that, sadly, it will be something that we will be dealing with for years to come. And please, never worry about disagreeing with me! I live in a household that is ALL male - I rarely have anyone agree with me! :-)
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
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Good to hear. Especially since you're the only one who pays attention to my blog anymore since I pissed off Jane.
My uncle is currently struggling with alcohol abuse and I didn't even realize the severity of it until his health began to deteriorate. Doctors basically said to him, "stop drinking or you will die!" Alcohol had a great effect on not only his life, but his personality. That kind of problem is not something that is easy to let go of, but it IS possible and we DO have control over it, even when it seems like we don't. Fortunately - as I hope it is in your situation - my uncle has been sober for two months.
I don't mean to trivialize addiction and the struggle it is to overcome. I myself was a cigarette smoker, another dangerous addiction, and I know the feeling of having cravings all-too-well. It does seem to take control over us sometimes, but we do possess the will power and control to beat it back, no matter how severe it has become.
The addiction is a struggle, but the cause is a choice, and accepting that is the first step toward recovery, right?
Everything is a choice. I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself when I say once you accept the concept, it makes you stronger.
My best wishes to whomever it is in your life who struggles with addiction. They already have the tools to overcome, they just need to learn how to use them.
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Scott - thanks for your best wishes, but in my case - one was my dad's brother and one was a member of my husband's close family and both of them ultimately died from complications of their drinking. I hope that your uncle can continue on his path - it is a very difficult one. Not everyone can fight the demon and win. And continue NOT smoking! I'll keep pulling for you & D (Rockpile Ranter) & his wife. And your uncle will be in my prayers. I'm not sure what you did to Jane - but I will always read all the blogs you write! I enjoy them!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
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I don't know what I did to Jane either. It seemed like friendly arguments turned ugly pretty quickly. Thanks for reading.
I am truly sorry for your losses. My uncle was lucky. I actually quit smoking about a year ago and haven't touched a tobacco product since. I appreciate your best wishes.
I guess I have funny philosophies sometimes. I do believe in God and I do believe that we ultimately don't know jack about anything, we only think we know. Yet, I still believe that when God put us here, he gave us the ability to do absolutely anything so long as we believed we could. Some things in this world are meant to be inexplicable, but I still believe that we all have the power to make a difference in our own lives and each other's.
Call me crazy.
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Hey Scott, came across your blog today and decided to give my 2 cents.....
I have watched many people whom I love deeply suffer from the effects of addiction. I never blamed the drugs for being too addictive, I blamed the person for making a decision that ultimately changed the course of their life. Someone who is addicted to alcohol had to make the choice to pick up that first drink - They weren't addicted before it, so you can't blame the addiction. A lot of people will then blame peer pressure for picking up that first drink - "I was at a party and everyone was doing it" - and that is just deflection. It is ultimately the person who is taking the drug who is responsible for the addiction and not the addictive nature of the drug to blame.
<deep breath>
Now that I got that monkey off my chest, its on to the PED debate... I am for the banning of any PED user from the HoF, but there needs to be PROOF that they actually took PEDs.... I know Mark McGuire took Androstendione, but he took it with a doctor's note for asthma even after it was on the "Banned Substance" list - and he has admitted as such. This, to me, is knowingly breaking the ruled of the game and as such, I agree with his banning of the HoF.
-Big Jay
http://jerseybombers.mlblogs.com/
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Have to agree with Scott...Pete Rose for sure should be in the Hall. And as for steriods, I've taken them too...should I be banned from blogging? It was doctor prescribed for a medical condition and when it went away, I stopped taking them. THIS should be legal under MLB standards. If it is doctor prescribed for a VALID condition, then I don't get what the issue is unless they take it beyond the prescribed time, which can be a major health risk. That, we do not want to see. But MLB continues to recklessly ruin people's careers and reputations under many false circumstance, like poor JC Romero...and thanks Scott for your comments on that one. I just got an e-mail from JC & his wife (spoke to her last week about this) thanking me for my support...she is very sweet. I really hope they get this overturned. It is making a mockery of the whole system. So sad. Anyway, I promise to blog drug-free from here on :O) Ha, ha!
Jenn
http://philliesphollowers.mlblogs.com/
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Hey Scott,
Don't you wish you could steriods in MLB 'the show?' lol. Or is that what are actually doing by gaining those attribute points? Ya, 'the road to the show' is a long process, especially if you are a hitter. I played a lot of 'the show' online this summer, so my game was pretty good. I've finished school and now I'm unemployed, so there has been a lot of time for me to get into the 'Hall of Fame,' along with looking for a job. I still haven't done it, though I made the All-Star game a couple times. Contact and power are definately what you need to get better at it. Good luck.
http://homerfoodandhistory.mlblogs.com/
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Scott,
This is a tough aspect of baseball. I agree with you that we should only weigh HOF entrees on their on-field performance and not their life outside of the game, and I also don't think steroid users should be allowed in because it's taken to directly enhance their performance in the game. I think baseball talent should be pure and natural.
I do think Pete Rose should be in the HOF.
-Elizabeth
http://redsoxgirl46.mlblogs.com
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Couldn't agree with you more. J.C. should sue MLB up to the eyeballs, but in their limited defense, I have to sympathize with their task of 'drawing the line,' so to speak. Many times, MLB tries to act like its own separate entity free from the law. But a well-functioning legal system they are not and if their efforts to 'clean up the league' as they have claimed to be doing are inconsistent, they should be non-existent. Plain and simple.
The hall is a different story. The Hall-of-Fame is an eternal enshrinement where the accomplishments of these hallowed few are celebrated for all eternity. If those accomplishments are tainted, I can see why some would want to keep them away. But on most cases they are just kidding themselves if they think Mark McGwire's career was only because of steroids. Look at video of him in high school. He was pelting golf balls 300 yards with a 9-iron at 17. He was a power hitter who needed a little help staying healthy. Just because he may have used once or twice shouldn't erase his entire career. Pro sports is all about 'performance enhancing,' and not one of us would do differently if our careers depended on it. I'm okay with performance 'enhancers,' but not performance 'creators.'
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Elizabeth - As much as I would like all sports talent to be 'pure and natural,' I've been around long enough to know that nothing is that black and white. There are always circumstances that shouldn't be ignored as baseball does time and time again. I can fully understand a ball player using steroids to help recover from an injury and I'm not going to call him a cheater for taking a cortisone so he can play in game 7 of the world series. If a player uses a banned substance once, I don't think that warrants the eradication of his entire career. Keeping a player out of the Hall-of-Fame as a form of punishment is not the sort of thing that helps baseball.
What baseball needs to do better is watch the minor leagues more closely. A guy who uses 'roids to beef up and hit home runs in order to get called up IS a cheater and should be punished accordingly. But Mark McGwire wasn't a cheater and neither is J.C. Romero.
~Scott
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You bet I wish I could use roids in 'The Show.' It might be interesting if there was an option to use, but each time you shot up, your odd of getting caught went up and if you test positive, you get sent straight back to AA and all your stats go down to zero. THAT would be far more entertaining.
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Hey Big Jay, thanks for reading, I hope you stick around. And thanks for the support on the whole addiction issue. However, I think we're quick to forget that McGwire isn't 'banned' from the Hall-of-Fame, the contingent of voters is simply just NOT voting him in. My question is their motives in that they are judging his Hall-of-Fame worth on the assumption that steroids played a significant role in his numbers. That, to me, is absurd. With Bonds, I can see the point as we watched his numbers grow rapidly along with his hat-size. With McGwire, I think saying his ENTIRE career is the result of steroid use is a bit over the top. I don't think the roids or whatever he took made him any stronger than he already was, I think they helped him play a few more games than he would have without them. Calling that cheating is a tough call that can go either way, but I don't think its dishonest. I think steroids are wrong if they make you something you are not, which in some cases, they do. But not with McGwire.
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I know this was written forever ago, but I just came across you today. All I have to say to this post is,
AMEN.
It's the Baseball Hall of Fame, not the Good Citizens' Hall of Fame. A place to reward tremendous players' achievements first, their character and morale should only be an enhancement (no pun) not the primary judgement factor.
Sarah [[ http://alwaysthejake.mlblogs.com ]]
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