Ortiz only player deemed Hall-worthy

By David Mullen

While Major League Baseball owners and players remain in a lockout that threatens the scheduled opening of the 2022 season, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum opened its doors on January 25. But like facing a brisk wind, the door slammed shut after just one player was let in, leaving some of baseball’s greatest statistical players frozen in time.

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Shilling were in their final year of eligibility and were left out in the cold. Alex Rodriquez, also snubbed, was on the ballot for the first time. 

Only DH David Ortiz, a Boston Red Sox favorite nicknamed “Big Papi,” found the Hall calling. He is the lone member voted into the Class of 2022 by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), joining six players previously honored by the Era Committees.

Potential BBWAA Hall of Fame voters must be active or previously active members covering baseball for at least 10 years. Among the criteria that writers are asked to follow is Rule 5: “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” 

No doubt that Bonds, Clemens, Schilling and A-Rod exceed any measure of “player’s record, playing ability and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” It’s the subjective “integrity, sportsmanship and character” conditions of the rule that is keeping four of the greatest players out of the Hall. Bonds, Clemens and Schilling have long been suspected of steroid use. Rodriguez was caught and was suspended for the 2014 season.    

The Hall of Fame does not reveal a BBWAA member’s ballot. “Before I go any further, yes, I did vote for Barry Bonds,” wrote San Francisco Chronicle sports reporter Steve Kroner prior to the announcement of Ortiz. “And, yes, I voted for Roger Clemens, too.” Kroner also voted for Rodriquez but did not vote for Ortiz.

Bonds, Clemens, Shilling, Rodriquez and Ortiz all played in the so-called “Steroid Era.” Ortiz, despite reports in 2003 that he was a user, skated association with steroid use or at least enough to enter the exclusive club. Kroner didn’t vote for him for another reason. He is an absolutist on some baseball issues and anti-designated hitter. “I find it hard to be an absolutist about the steroid issue when it comes to determining who gets inducted into Cooperstown.”

For Kroner, it was his first time voting for the Hall of Fame. “I was really pumped,” Kroner told me after the results were announced. “I’ve been in sports media for 40 years, and when you’re in the profession that long, you’re supposed to become jaded, blasé about most anything and everything. Well, this was a thrill and an honor, I’m happy to say.

“There’s nothing that says how much weight ‘integrity, sportsmanship and character’ are supposed to carry,” Kroner said. “I think those qualities should factor into the decision of whether a player is Hall-worthy or not. Obviously, though, what a player did on the field is way more important.”

Not everyone shares the same enthusiasm. Of the nine BBWAA voters representing the Chronicle, columnist Ann Killion refused to cast a ballot. She wrote, “I resent that baseball has asked writers to solve its steroid issue and tainted legacy.” Killion covered Bonds throughout his entire 15-year tenure with the San Francisco Giants. Kroner did not discuss his ballot with any of his voting colleagues at the Chronicle.

It is easy to see the hypocrisy of the Hall of Fame voting and Rule 5. Bud Selig was commissioner during the Steroid Era. Tony LaRussa managed steroid users Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco — among others — during his stint winning championships with the Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals. Both Selig and LaRussa are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bonds hit a record 762 home runs and won seven league MVPs. Clemens won 354 games and seven Cy Young Awards. Shilling won three World Series titles and was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in postseason play.  Despite missing an entire year, Rodriguez finished his career with 696 homers and 3,115 hits. Any of those stat lines are more than HOF worthy, except for the “integrity, sportsmanship and character” clause. All four were disliked by the press and all are guilty or suspected of cheating.

Ortiz never won a league MVP, played 20 seasons almost exclusively as a DH, hit .286 with 541 home runs and knocked in 1,768 runs. To gain entry into the Hall, a player must receive 75 percent of ballots cast. In his first year of eligibility, Ortiz received 307 of the 394 votes cast or 77.9 percent. He had his best games in playoff situations and was well respected by his teammates and well-liked by the media.

In his career, third baseman Scott Rolen played for four teams, hit .281 and 316 home runs. He only finished in the Top 10 MVP voting once and never led any single season hitting category. Rolen received 50 percent more Hall of Fame votes than A-Rod.

Major League Baseball teams have recently embraced online gaming companies like DraftKings and BetMGM for sponsorship deals. All-time hits leader Pete Rose remains banned from the Hall of Fame for gambling on his team during games he managed. So, given baseball’s new promotional partners, should Rose get Hall consideration?

“Absolutely not,” Kroner said. “There’s doubt about whether players who took PEDs thought they were doing some wrong or were doing something simply to make themselves better and to keep pace with their peers. There’s no doubt betting on baseball is wrong. It ranks as just about the cardinal sin of the game. Plus, if Rose had shown real, consistent remorse and contrition, I perhaps might be swayed to say he should get into Cooperstown.”

I believe what Rose did needs to be revisited, as do the great players that excelled during the Steroid Era. The Hall of Fame must come to grips with what happened. Some players used performance enhancing drugs, many that were not illegal at the time, and stop calling banishment from the Hall a “lack of integrity.” Cooperstown is a museum first and some uncomfortable legacies still need to be on display.    

Until the Baseball Hall of Fame takes a close look at Rule 5 and prevents sportswriters from having to make a judgement call, Bonds, Clemens, Shilling, Rodriguez and others won’t join the likes of known racist Ty Cobb and noted spitball pitcher Gaylord Perry in the Baseball Hall of Fame. They will fail the “integrity, sportsmanship and character” clause.