This coming July will be a quiet one at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Just last week, the Baseball Writers Association of America decided not to elect any new members to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Fomer Houston Astro Craig Biggio received the most votes from the writers but the number of players associated with performance enhancing drugs made this outcome even more intriguing.
Many of the infamous steroid-era players are in the beginning years of their eligibility and the baseball writers and the members of the Hall of Fame decided that none of them should make the cut.
Some baseball fans argue that the writers focus too much on moral standards and not just on statistics. However, it is the players who advance the game and uphold these moral standards who deserve the call to the hall.
As the old saying goes, "winners never cheat and cheaters never prosper." These words ring true not only in baseball but in all aspects of life. If a student cheats on a few questions do they only lose points for those questions solely? No- they usually receive a zero percent for the whole test. Just as when a golfer cheats on a single hole, he is disqualified from the whole tournament, or when a person cheats in a relationship on just a single night, they usually lose the trust of their significant other.
If one day the writers decided that cheaters would be allowed into the Hall of Fame, what would stop others? Kids playing in the sandlot would look up to players who took shortcuts and players looking to make the jump into stardom would have no incentive to be clean.
Players who have failed drug tests or admitted to taking PEDs should join the ranks of Pete Rose and should be banned from Cooperstown. There should be no asterisks on records or middle ground on right or wrong. These players filled stadiums like never before and deceivingly captured the imaginations of millions of baseball fans. These players cheated the game and these fans and many of them tried to lie in court to get away with it. Our society - or at least the Writers' Association - should not reward those who cheated to get an edge in competition.
As a baseball player and a devoted fan of America's pastime, I have grown accustomed to hearing about players being linked to PEDs. I have grown a deep respect for players who play hard, hustle and carry themselves properly off of the field. Players who act differently and decide that it is all right to cheat should not be allowed to sit in glory alongside those who have followed the rules.
While some people may see this problem as a baseball-only problem, there have been doping problems in other sports too. Most notably, cycling legend Lance Armstrong has admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs to help him win the Tour de France. Armstrong has faced major criticism for his actions and has been stripped of all of his medals. It is important that baseball continue to follow suit and punish those who break the rules to set a precedent for future athletes.
- Forde is a freshman from Chicago majoring in economics.
