Rafael Palmeiro thinks that the Baseball Hall of Fame loses credibility if it fails to include two baseball players linked to anabolic steroids. Palmeiro would consider it a great honor if he were elected to the Hall of Fame but he has accepted that he will likely never be inducted into Cooperstown because of his positive steroid test for Winstrol. But he thinks that two players, who were also linked to steroids, played on an entirely different level than he did. And they should be inducted, steroids or not.
“It’s going to be interesting, but you’re talking about, in my opinion, the best pitcher of all-time and the greatest player of all-time,” Palmeiro said. “Keep them out and then the Hall of Fame has no credibility.”
Palmeiro was referring to Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. The two legendary baseball players were each pursued by the federal government in separate indictments. Federal prosecutors in California indicted Bonds for lying about knowingly using anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (hGH) in grand jury testimony. Federal prosecutors in Washington D.C. indicted Clemens for lying about his use of steroids and hGH at a Congressional hearing on steroids in baseball.
“Ten years before they retired, they were the best players in the game,” Palmeiro said. “These guys dominated the game before anything was ever mentioned about anything.”
The feds thought they had enough evidence to convince a jury that the baseball players lied about their use of steroids. Yet Clemens was acquitted of all charges and Bonds was only convicted of obstruction of justice but not for lying about his steroid use (perjury).
The government spent tens of millions of dollars on their steroid witch-hunt involving Clemens and Bonds. The failure to obtain convictions on the perjury charges was a major embarrassment for federal prosecutors.
The government has likely ended their witch-hunt of baseball’s suspected steroid users. However, the voting members of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America (BBWAA) is intent on continuing its own witch-hunt by denying players linked to the Steroid Era entry to Cooperstown.
Palmeiro thinks the BBWAA will be making a serious mistake that will irreparable harm the Hall of Fame if they deny Clemens and Bonds entry to Cooperstown because of steroids.
Photo credit: UCinternational via Wikipedia
Source:
Davison, D. (August 10, 2012). Rafael Palmeiro: Hall of Fame loses “credibility” if Bonds, Clemens aren’t voted in. Retrieved from http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/foul_territory/2012/08/rafael-palmeiro-hall-of-fame-loses-credibility-if-bonds-clemens-arent-voted-in.html
