Baseball Hall Of Fame

Baseball holds standing as one of the most unique and historic sports in America and throughout the world. It is a game simply stated as “catch the ball, throw the ball, hit the ball”, yet paradoxically difficult. It is a sport that unites the rugged, down-and-dirty with the elegant, cutting-edge and fuses the rudimentary with the intricate. Major League Baseball, the sport’s pinnacle, is one of the most respected sporting organizations in the world and is known for its deep 19th century roots. Baseball’s Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York, epitomizes baseball’s historic respect; honoring both the foundation of the game and the players that best exemplify the skills of the game. Currently, players who have used Performance Enhancing Drugs …show more content…
Baseball has long been seen as an integritous union in a world of flawed sports, being dubbed by some as a “gentlemen’s game”. However baseball has a somewhat troubling past, including many people who have cheated the game and even been celebrated for it. In fact, the Hall of Fame is riddled with players who have blatantly circumvented the rules. From Gaylord Perry’s spitball to Mickey Mantle’s amphetamines players have tried to gain a competitive edge on others for decades. These players are perennial all stars and in baseball circles it is considered blasphemous to discuss them in the same sentence as the Steroid users of the 1990’s. Currently, a prime argument against allowing performance-enhancing drug users into the Hall is that voters do not want players who have cheated alongside those who have played the game with integrity.This line of thought is what enables the journalists of the Baseball Writers of America, whose job is literally to appease fans, to create a double standard in between decades. The fact of the matter is that cheaters “already are” (Rymer) given the same honor and recognized in the same way as players who have abided by the rules. (Nightengale) The contradicting mindsets should be dismissed, the pattern of competitive edge should be recognized in a historic way and reconciled as an inevitable storm due to decline in the sport. No one person or player should …show more content…
However, confidence remains for the fact that these players will be remembered, because induction only need occur once, and it is highly probable that at least one group of open-minded voters in the future will concur that these superhumans of their time be recognized for the vital role they played in writing a story synonymous with America. Though the action is universally condemned, the legacy remains, the records bear the evidence and the world knows. It is time to accurately record the past and come