Comments on: Great moments in the Hall of Fame’s Character and Integrity Clause: Curt Schilling edition

By: tfoz5150

tfoz5150 — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 05:55:50 +0000

Because timing is everything and some of the biggest roid using stars of our era are coming up for election. It’s the biggest debate for baseball in some 50 years. Of course it deserves attention. Especially when you consider it permeated the sport for a decade. It wasn’t just the Bash Brothers in Oakland.

By: anxovies

anxovies — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:21:31 +0000

It’s called the fallacy of converse error:

1. Some men lied in their testimony before congress.
2. Schilling testified before congress.
3. Therefore, Schilling lied before congress.

Idiot reasoning.

By: hockeyflow33

hockeyflow33 — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:20:35 +0000

Schilling is one of the nicest and most genuine people you could ever meet. Most start-ups never even reach the levels of success his did; I’m not sure why he’s responsible for an entire company’s downfall but there was many business people above him who also failed that company.

By: sysi45

sysi45 — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 05:38:42 +0000

Anyone that cheered when Sosa and McGuire went for 60 or Bonds when he broke the records or Conseco when he was hitting home runs with the As or Brady Anderson when he hit over 50. I could go on and on. Fans and Sportswriters are stupid or had their heads up their you know what. Now everyone is complaining when their eyes told them something was wrong when guys that hit 5 home runs one year were hitting 40 the next. This is a stupid discussion. Sportswriters are just mad because they knew what was going on and did not say anything.

By: DelawarePhilliesFan

DelawarePhilliesFan — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 02:21:32 +0000

Jack O’Connell, for this gem right after Bill Conline was accused:

““Bill Conlin has been a member in good standing of the BBWAA since 1966. The allegations have no bearing on his winning the 2011 J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which was in recognition of his notable career as a baseball writer,” O’Connell said.”

By: stanleyfrankmusial

stanleyfrankmusial — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 01:53:25 +0000

Keith Law and his Cy Young vote for for Javier Vasquez a few years ago, thereby sabremetrically boning Adam Wainwright. Law can “smoke a turd in hell for that one”*

*quote courtesy of Jerry Reed

By: DelawarePhilliesFan

DelawarePhilliesFan — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:29:02 +0000

@blacksables “The Hall has always stated that under their rules, anyone on the ineligible list is not allowed to be voted in.”

That’s not correct, before 1991 there was no rule banning inelgible players.

http://baseballhall.org/hall-famers/rules-election/rules-history

RULES CHANGES
Feb. 8, 1991
Persons on baseball’s ineligible list cannot be eligible candidates.

By: drewsylvania

drewsylvania — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:06:21 +0000

I wonder if reporting these clowns’ disingenuous arguments is just giving them what they want.

By: dirtyharry1971

dirtyharry1971 — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:02:54 +0000

Not once did i ever believe him that he wasnt a steroid user. look at his career numbers and see how he was very average at best and then almost 10 years into his career he became a superstar. 31 is not the age you get better its the age where you should be in your prime but this guy got way better amazingly. Even with that said he doesnt have the career numbers to make the HOF anyway, so case closed.

By: lumpyf

lumpyf — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 13:45:42 +0000

Does Calcaterra consider himself one of those hard-working baseball writers? Not sure. Now if he would have used the description of condescending wimp who talks with a lisp then yes, we would have known it was him.

By: blacksables

blacksables — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:26:07 +0000

Joe Jackson is on the ineligible list. As are all of the other Black Sox and many other players.

That’s the MLB ineligible list. The Hall has always stated that under their rules, anyone on the ineligible list is not allowed to be voted in.

That was part of the original charter, to make sure none of those guys got in.

Any votes for them would have been write-in votes and not valid towars election. That’s why there is a push by some people to get Jackson and Buck Weaver off of the inelibile list and get them reinstated, so they can be voted in.

By: howitzer819

howitzer819 — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 06:32:34 +0000

I love this article strictly for the use of the phrase “weapons grade stupid”

By: paperlions

paperlions — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 04:29:04 +0000

Pete Rose also has received write-in votes. His name has just never appeared on the ballot.

By: BigBeachBall

BigBeachBall — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 03:30:02 +0000

The hall of fame is a fraternity of good players that did it the right way…if the popeyes get in then it would diminish the words “baseballs hall of fame”

By: raidafan

raidafan — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 02:54:40 +0000

Congress lies to us everyday and it’s ok. We should be able to lie to them every now and then.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 02:43:22 +0000

Why wouldn’t you? The hall has never concerned themselves with that clause before. Say it with me now: the hall has elected bigots, racists, a man who jumped into the stand and attacked a multiple amputee, admitted cheaters like Sutton and Perry, illicit drug users like molitor, and performance enhancing users like mantle, Mays and Aaron. So why more bring it up?

By: natslady

natslady — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 02:01:28 +0000

Don’t care who is in or out of the Hall of Fame, who who votes for whom. Do want to wish Calcaterra and all the bloggers a happy Holiday season. Have enjoyed their work this year (except for Hall of Fame stuff).

By: DelawarePhilliesFan

DelawarePhilliesFan — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:33:30 +0000

@jw – fair enough on the 5% rule, but my point was that he was eligible, just not voted in. And he was eligible for the Veterans committee until 1991

By: abaird2012

abaird2012 — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:24:07 +0000

ARGH! Now I know why so many posts here angrily decry the lack of an EDIT FUNCTION! Somebody remove that second “then” for me, willya?

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 00:31:36 +0000

Knock knockl!

Who’s there?

Interrupting cow.

Interrupting….

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

By: yahmule

yahmule — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:35:34 +0000

So much wrong with this post. First off, “most” insiders do not claim 90% of professional athletes use PEDs. Second, yes I do believe a convicted felon with a blatantly obvious agenda like Victor Conte would lie about just about anything that suited his purposes. Third, the increased muscularity seen in many Americans, athletes or not, has a lot to do with the growth hormones being fed to cattle over the last 50 years.

Merry Christmas.

By: fuddpucker

fuddpucker — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:09:17 +0000

Okay, let’s be reasonable. Most insiders say at least 90% of all professional athletes use PED’s. How can we, the average fan have any idea if this is true or not? I just take a look at their bodies and compare them to the 70′s and 80′s and there are so many striking differences it’s almost impossible to ignore unless you just want to be an Ostrich. Yeah, there were roids in the 70′s and 80′s but it wasn’t nearly used as much as today and they didn’t have all the stacks and doses figured out so scientifically.

Is Victor Conte, one of the biggest experts on PED’s in the history of sport lying when he says “you have to be stupid to get caught?”

And Schilling? he’s one of the biggest D-Bags to ever walk on grass infields. And after what he did to those people in Rhode Island I can’t wish him any goodwill..ever.

By: zzalapski

zzalapski — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:05:40 +0000

And an alleged child molester! Lucky for him the character clause doesn’t apply to sportswriters.

By: tfoz5150

tfoz5150 — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:01:28 +0000

All he’s trying to say is that he wants them to drop Rule 5. The Curt Schilling thing was just an example of how it could fly in the face of Rule 5. He’ s saying the process is a joke. I would say he’s right. I wouldn’t vote in any of those guys either if they admitted or were found to be using roids, based on what the Hall considers for induction. The rules are the rules.

By: Isaac

Isaac — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:35:45 +0000

Bill Conlin. Bonus points: He’s in the actual Hall of Fame, too!

By: cogitobaseballergosum

cogitobaseballergosum — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:01:16 +0000

In this case it’s even weaker – Bagwell is suspected because Curt Schilling lied about using chew. It’s as obvious as 1 + 1 = 247.63.

By: dcfan4life

dcfan4life — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:46:46 +0000

If we were to use such rationale to qualify a person as a steroid user that Brookover wants us to, then half the HOF inductees in the last 10 years would be out. Everyone says Barry Bonds head got bigger, played with known users, and best friend sold steroids. Well Ricky Hendersons head got bigger, along with his legs, and played with known users. Cal Ripken played with multiple known users, came back from unjuries to play following days. I dont believe these guys are users, but with such rationale from this idiot writer, im willing to bet he voted those 2 in and ignored his own logic. Even more reason to not listen to this writer.

By: Tim OShenko

Tim OShenko — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:55:32 +0000

It’s actually very easy to lie in front of Congress. Just tell yourself beforehand, “When in Rome…”

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:41:43 +0000

Delaware, The less than 5% and you’re out rule wasn’t established until 1979. Joe Jackson was eligible for BBWAA election until the 1946 election.

http://baseballhall.org/hall-famers/rules-election/rules-history

By: cur68

cur68 — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:41:01 +0000

Pedro Gomez does not deny that I’d vote for him. Often.