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Henry Aaron and other HOFers Weighs In on Steroid Users Entry to Hall of Fame

Henry Aaron and other HOFer's, Goose Gossage and Reggie Jackson offered their opinions today to USA Today on the potential entry into the Hall of Fame of steroid-linked players in the future.

"You put these guys in, put an asterisk beside their names," Aaron told the San Francisco Chronicle. "To be safe, that's the only way I see you can do it. I played the game long enough to know it is impossible for players, I don't care who it is, to hit 70-plus home runs. It just does not happen."

So says Hall of Famer Henry Aaron, speaking  on the eve of this year's induction ceremony at Cooperstown.

McGwire, who hit 70 homers in 1998, and Bonds, who slugged 73 in 2001, have been accused of using steroids. Aaron (755), who is second in career homers to Bonds (762), added it's a good idea to "somewhere on the (Hall of Fame) plaque or beside his name say, 'Hey, 73 home runs and he's been accused ...' "

Aaron's compromising attitude is not necessarily shared by other members of the exclusive Hall of Fame club. 

"I think if you cheated, you shouldn't be allowed in," Goose Gossage, a 2008 inductee, told USA Today. "I just think it's a bad things. The numbers just don't mean the same.

"If I was a writer, I wouldn't even consider (voting for a steroid user). It's a no-brainer."

Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson says that "it hurts," to see players linked to steroids pass Mickey Mantle and others on the all-time home run list, but he will follow Aaron's lead.

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Should there be an asterisk next to Aaron's name because he took greenies?

"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."

by mikev on Jul 26, 2009 1:59 AM EDT reply actions  

Why don't we just call it the H(*)F then?

Deadball, segregation, speed (not being fast), steroids, rule changes, ballpark inconsistencies, payroll differences, SABR revolution, etc. Baseball’s NOT a fair game, and that’s part of what the Hall is supposed to showcase. Some players are born with more talent, some are born with better minds, some are born with better ethics; the Hall is supposed to be an epic story archive that is a record of baseball history. If we’re going to tell the future generations about the history of baseball, shouldn’t they know about BOTH the best and the worst parts?

@bs_uf15bosox9be:OverTheMonster-ALLERGEN WARNING:May contain PB.

by bdalebs on Jul 26, 2009 3:05 AM EDT up reply actions  

Those things may have made the game different

But they weren’t breaking the rules or cheating.

"Look at me! I'm Tomokazu Ohka of the Montreal Expos!"

by jessef on Jul 26, 2009 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions  

True.

Well, using speed/greenies/amphetamines is cheating, in a way, because it allowed players to recover from exhaustion quicker – much like steroids do.

@bs_uf15bosox9be:OverTheMonster-ALLERGEN WARNING:May contain PB.

by bdalebs on Jul 26, 2009 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions  

Wait... so...

Gaylord Perry, who made a career out of cheating, and wrote a friggin book about cheating… is allowed to be in the HOF. But, the steroid era guys aren’t? Yeah, that makes sense. And, there’s tons of others who cheated in one way or another, but are still in the HOF.

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)

Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.

by SackMan on Jul 26, 2009 3:53 AM EDT reply actions  

Exactly.

As long as the plaques include the information in full disclosure.

@bs_uf15bosox9be:OverTheMonster-ALLERGEN WARNING:May contain PB.

by bdalebs on Jul 26, 2009 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions  

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