we’ve heard it time and time again during the steroid era — “if you held a hall of fame vote, would you vote for x or y player who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug?” the overwhelmingly response is no. when three-time drug treatment offender manny ramirez retired this past week, the dead horse beating began again. no way manny. not getting in. well, i think it’s time we get real. there are hall sportsmen who made plenty of mistakes. the brand isn’t perfect. what about restocking the hall with a few more characters? otherwise, we’re heading for a hall of same.
dictionary.com defines fame as “the condition of being known or talked about by many people, especially on account of notable achievements.” few players were and remain as colorful and hotly discussed as manny ramirez. he was enormously talented as a baseball player. his statistics are undeniable for their quality and rank historically. perhaps as or more important to his fame was the buzzphrase “manny being manny” — pertaining to a long lore of bizarre and fun-loving behavior over the course of his career. in short, his talent and personality were larger than life to the game. they are very much the stuff of a hall of fame.
let’s talk about the negatives. yes, it’s inexcusable that manny tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs an unprecedented three times. if he hadn’t retired, ramirez would have become the first player in the history of the game to receive a 100-game suspension. it’s a shocking development when you consider that the same person is also one of the top five to 10 greatest right-handed hitters of all-time. yes, he had a checkered history as a teammate. he didn’t always put in a consistent effort on the field.
here are a few things to consider. there are a number of high profile players in the hall of fame who have less than clean records. many of the hall’s members abused alcohol (a.k.a. used performance-detracting drugs). babe ruth. jimmie foxx. some used performance-enhancing drugs. willie mays. some were hated for less than upstanding behavior and demeanor. ty cobb. here’s the opportunity i see for letting the big names from the steroid era into the hall of fame. they made huge mistakes, but they also exposed holes in the sport’s testing policies and practices. they helped the game move towards right, which is a positive from a negative. there is a way to let in the stars from this era and allow the fans to make their own judgments about their legacy.
the baseball hall of fame is a collection of the stories left behind by the sport’s greatest talents and personalities. manny adds to the fabric. if you take out all of the characters from the steroid era, then you flatten out the story of the 1990s and 2000s. i’m not a fan of ramirez. let it be known that he is one of my least favorite contemporary stars. i’m also huge on integrity, and he has disgraced the sport in that category. however, i believe that fathers and mothers can leverage the lesson of one of the game’s top players who messed up not once, not twice but three times. parents can show youngsters what NOT to become. they can also offer a balanced response — wow. what a great player. too bad he did x, y and z.
