Major League Baseball player Barry Larkin, a twelve-time All-Star shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds, was easily elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this week. Baseball writers once again debated the issue of electing admitted or suspected steroid users to the Hall when casting their votes. Larkin couldn’t even enjoy the honor of joining the Hall of Fame without being hounded for his opinion on anabolic steroids. At a news conference called to celebrate his pending induction into Coopertown, Larkin was asked if steroid users should be allowed in the Hall of Fame.
Larkin respond by saying that the only thing that mattered to him was the performance of the players on the field. He would gladly allow the BBWA to debate what to do with players from the so-called “steroid era” in baseball. But as far as he was concerned, the steroid era produced some of the best baseball players ever. Whether or not they were on steroids or not, they performed well.
“All I can interject is what I thought of these guys as players, and if these guys, in my opinion, were the best during my era. But as far as their induction, I’ll leave it to you guys,” responded Larkin. “Playing against some of these guys, they were the best, period. I can’t wait to see what [writers] say about their candidacies.”
Larkin apparently discussed steroid use with some baseball players. Larkin seemed to be forgiving of players who may have used steroids. He seemed to accept that they did certain things for the sake of their family’s well-being.
“There were a couple of instances where I know that guys came to me and talked about the situations they were in and things they had to do in order to feed their families,” said Larkin.
Larkin also suggested that some players may have been more unfairly targeted for steroid suspicions than other players. The big home run hitters are often mentioned in steroid discussions but they weren’t the only ones using steroids. Other players who didn’t participate in the home run derbies were able to escape scrutiny.
“How about those guys that it wasn’t so obvious, that were able to hang on to that slider just that much longer and make that ball break, so instead of hitting the ball off the sweet spot, you miss the sweet spot by that much,” asked Larkin.
Larkin received 86% of the vote in this year’s election to the Hall of Fame. He was the only player elected in this year’s election.
Larked was the shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004. He help his team win the World Series against the Oakland Athletics in 1990.
Source:
McClatchy-Tribune. (January 10, 2012). Larkin demurs when asked how steroids will affect future Hall votes. Rerieved from http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/larkin-demurs-when-asked-how-steroids-will-affect-future-hall-votes/
