Sammy Sosa for the Hall of Fame? He's a Definite Maybe

After you got over the "utter shock" of learning that Sammy Sosa had reportedly tested positive for peformance-enhancing drugs, you might have been tempted to think: "Well, there goes his Hall of Fame chances."

This Hall of Fame voter is here to say: Not so fast.

Without getting into all of the details of my well-chronicled position that I'm going to vote based on performance, regardless of alleged or proven steroid use, I'd simply like to remind people that a lot of things can change with time.

The first time the name Sammy Sosa will appear on a Hall of Fame ballot will be December 2012. Provided he gets at least 5 percent of the vote each year, his name will stay on there until 2027. That's a long time.

Right now, at the height of the media's collective indignation (read: overreaction) about steroid use, it's easy to say: "He cheated. He's out."

A decade or so from now, though, it may be different. We may have a laundry list of names of cheaters even longer than we can fathom today. There may be scientific studies that show that steroids don't really help your performance as much as we thought. Or that they aren't as bad for our health as we thought, and probably shouldn't have been banned in the first place.

Or the voters may simply be worn down by all the users. At some point, we're going to greet new steroids news with a yawn. That point may be here sooner than we think.

Some day, as current voters move on and are replaced by new ones, the group's collective opinion of steroid use may be like mine: Big deal. They played in an era of cheaters, and they were the best of the cheaters. Let 'em in.

DYST V3 test

LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers watches as Mo Williams #2 takes a shoe to the face by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers after a steal in the closing seconds of the first half at The Quicken Loans Arena on February 8, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. (David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images)

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Brazil's Diogo (L) vies for the ball with Paraguay's Hernan Perez during their U-20 South American Championship football match in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on February 8, 2009.(Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images )

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

6-16-2009 @ 9:55PM

kevin said...

first off the hall of fame is an overrated ego club .second it a club who member who are voted in by people who have never played the game on any level of it colleget or prof. or who display case are filled by items they have taken from players or teams who paid for them. yet we rush to glorify this farse of a club .i say do away with it . the true acomplishment of a players carerer is winning a championships or more than one. not being shitlisted by a bunch asshole writters .as for sammy & mark if anything they saved baseball. so if they feel that being let in into this bullshit club is what they want.then they should be allowed in just for saving the sport of baseball from itself .

6-16-2009 @ 10:03PM

Wilson said...

All these perfect hall of fame voting people out there need to go somewhere and look at themselves and their past.

6-16-2009 @ 10:28PM

carlosbalonso said...

Mr. Fletcher's comments are absurd. This man was part of a large group that all of the sudden hit over 5o HR's as if they were 30 in the old days. Of course these drugs enhanced production!
Sammy hit over 60 on three different seasons, when only two people accomplished this feat naturally.
Keep all these cheaters out of the Hall of Fame!

6-17-2009 @ 1:44AM

cdmiller01 said...

Don't you wonder about the people who would honor a cheater with the highest accolade that baseball has to offer, the HOF? Say what you want about Pete Rose, his accomplishments on the field were done legitimately. Can't say that for Sosa, McGuire, Clemens or Bonds. Hank Aaron's record is all the more impressive, as is Roger Maris'.

6-16-2009 @ 10:41PM

ronsid770 said...

R u SERIOUS? He's as phony as a 3 dollar bill. Used a corked bat and thanks to steroids , became the Hulk. Then conveniently forgot how to speak English. This clown is even lower than Mark McGwire.

6-17-2009 @ 7:30AM

marolie1025 said...

No, neither thoes Manny, Barry, Alex, Tejeda and probably half of the guys that play professional baseball.

nonny2t said...

I am going to say it for the 100th time that the substances were NOT banned when this all came about 5 years ago. If they were not doing anything illegal than this issue should be closed and not reopened. On top of that, MLB made a deal with the players union that the list would never be made public and look here. I despise several of the players on the list, but truth is, this should never have seen the light of day and some MLB person is getting rich because he released this to the scuzzy media.

6-17-2009 @ 11:18AM

sergeantruss said...

I am a little confused by your post. Are you saying that cheating is OK as long as how you cheated was not banned by the league? I hope not. Cheating is cheating no matter how you spin it. Not only should all cheaters be banned from the hall of fame, they should be kicked out of baseball and any record they achieved should be disallowed. Nobody should ever proper out of cheating.

6-17-2009 @ 12:56PM

ocbrog said...

Nonny, you are very incorrect. The substances were banned but there was just no testing or penalties for it because of the stupid players union. You and this other idiot that wrote the article, Mr I love steroids Fletcher, are morons. It is very clear on the HOF ballot that their standards and fair play are to be considered and if they cheated, they should not get a vote. What happens to all the players that didn't cheat during this era? They can't get in because thier numbers look paltry compared to Sosa, McGuire, Bonds and all the other lying cheating, A holes. Oh yeah, A-Rod too.

6-17-2009 @ 8:24AM

vince said...

baseball was a better game when you hit 20 u were a stud .. when middle infielders batted 220 and no one cared. this era of players if found to be guilty will not get voted in.. and the guys who are suspect to doing them will have a very hard time. hell Sosa did steriods and corked his bat !! no way he should get in nor will Bonds, and Mcguire

6-17-2009 @ 8:25AM

juand1998 said...

MLB may not have banned ROIDS...but they were and still are ILLEGAL!!! Sosa is worst than Mcguire and all the other CHEATERS!!!

Anyone who says ROIDS does not help your performance is in denial!!! Where are all the 60 HR Hitters now? How about even 50 HR's hitters...used to be loads of them...where are they now!!!

ROIDER's DESERVE a LIFETIME BAN!!!

6-17-2009 @ 8:39AM

JOE said...

One cheater gets in, let them all in. ATLEAST Pete Rose earned his way in honestly and to deny a man who rightfully belongs there is BS. Let Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, McGuire in along with the rest that are now coming out of the wood work, makes Baseball or any sport a Joke. Pick and choose just to keep people happy. Guess SIN is only SIN in the eye of the beholder. I played little league ball whens my induction?

6-17-2009 @ 8:57AM

Matt said...

If Sosa deserves to be in the Hall then Pete Rose does too. At least Rose didn't cheat as a player or a coach. What a bunch of F-ing hypocrites.

6-17-2009 @ 9:28AM

lumerm said...

Fletcher totally misses the point. Sosa and the others cheated- they were not playing on a level field with the non-users- so the competition between pitcher and hitter were artificially altered. Fletcher would apparently think that it would be OK if Muggsy Bogues had a confederate lower the hoop to 6 feet whenever Muggsy wanted to dunk, or to get a stadium crew to turn on a wind machine to stop the other team's field goal kicker from putting one through the uprights. How about shining a laser in a batter's eyes when he's trying to hit?

Fletcher also probably thinks it's OK to stuff ballot boxes like that scumbubble in Iran.

6-17-2009 @ 10:01AM

jim said...

Baseball is a high pressure game the object is to put up big numbers and win,It is no longer just a sport it is a busness and the object of the business is to make money. The ballplayer is always looking for better tools, better bats, gloves shoes anything to make him better at the game. His body is his biggest tool. And if sticking himself in the butt makes his body a better tool then why not. He gets paid millions to product so why not.

6-17-2009 @ 10:04AM

Mike Rath said...

Athletes in almost every sport are running faster, are stronger, jumping higher and have more endurance.
Why then do you suppose Home Run numbers continue to decrease year by year???

6-17-2009 @ 10:03AM

this might not be the place to say this but interleague play is wrong. It should not count in the standings what an americanleague team does against the national league should have no meaning in the standings. if they count why have the leagues at all,

6-17-2009 @ 10:08AM

elysianfields08 said...

we will meet or beat any advertised price or we will give ya the car

6-17-2009 @ 10:12AM

stormlewis said...

Any ballplayer or coaches, managers or whomever,
who knew or took part in cheating by the use of drugs should not be given consideration for the Hall of Fame. I would let their stats stand but that's all they would get. A-Rod, Junior, Clements or any other player that has set records in their career should be ** and stated drugs were involved. The owners are just to blame too. A sad day for America's National Pastime.