Proof positive that sometimes there is justice in the world.
Two new members of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame were announced yesterday.
Cal Ripken Jr., the longtime shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles who broke Lou Gehrig’s record of playing in 2,130 games before ending his streak of consecutive games played at 2,632.
And Tony Gwynn, the eight-time batting champion for the San Diego Padres – the most batting titles since Honus Wagner.
Both, from all reports, good guys who brought credit to themselves, their teams and their sport.
Rejected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America was Mark McGwire, the former St. Louis Cardinals slugger who in 1998 was the first person to break Roger Maris’s single-season home run record, but who virtually destroyed his own reputation when, before a Congressional committee investigating steroid use, famously said that he was not there “to talk about the past.”
Two new members of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame were announced yesterday.
Cal Ripken Jr., the longtime shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles who broke Lou Gehrig’s record of playing in 2,130 games before ending his streak of consecutive games played at 2,632.
And Tony Gwynn, the eight-time batting champion for the San Diego Padres – the most batting titles since Honus Wagner.
Both, from all reports, good guys who brought credit to themselves, their teams and their sport.
Rejected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America was Mark McGwire, the former St. Louis Cardinals slugger who in 1998 was the first person to break Roger Maris’s single-season home run record, but who virtually destroyed his own reputation when, before a Congressional committee investigating steroid use, famously said that he was not there “to talk about the past.”
- KC's View:
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The thing is, the Hall of Fame is all about past accomplishments. And hitting 70 home runs while on steroids (and let’s face it, while this hasn’t been technically proven, this is as close to being a fact as can be imagined) only proves that one is accomplished with a syringe, not a baseball bat.
We only hope that when pumped-up Barry Bonds completes his career, it is an equally ignominious finish.
Justice.
