Should Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens Be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?
When the 2016 inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame are announced on Tuesday, three of the greatest players of all time will be left out. Pete Rose, who had more hits than any other player, has been banned from baseball since 1989 for betting on his team’s games when he managed the Cincinnati Reds. Accusations of steroid use against Barry Bonds, who hit more home runs in a career and a year than any other player, and Roger Clemens, who won seven Cy Young Awards, have so far kept them from getting the 75 percent support of baseball writers needed for selection. Election is “based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” But are the accomplishments of these three players so great that they should be admitted despite questions about their character and integrity?
* inductee = (조직의) 초년생; (군대에 갓 들어 온) 신병, 초년병/ Hall of Fame = 명예의 전당/ leave ~ out (out of ~) = ~을 빼다[배제시키다]/ ban sb from ~ = ~에게 ~을 금(지)하다/ bet (sth) on ~ = ~에 돈을 걸다/ accusation = 혐의 (제기), 비난; 고발/ integrity = 진실성; 온전함/ admit = (단체, 학교 등에서) 받아들이다, 가입[입학]을 허락하다
업적이 대단한 선수들은 그들의 인격과 진실성에 대한 의문에도 불구하고 명예의 전당에 가입되어야 하나요?
1. Let Them All In
The best players should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Tell their stories, the good and the bad, and let history be the final judge.
2. Let in Bonds and Clemens, Keep Rose Out
The hall, which preserves baseball history should acknowledge the steroid era, not pretend it didn't happen. Rose, though, is another issue.
3. Keep Out All Three
By gambling, cheating and lying they compromised the game. Their omission from the hall is their own fault.
4. Let in Rose, Keep Out Bonds and Clemens
What counts is playing with integrity. There's no question that Rose did so. Whether the other men did, remains in doubt.
Sample Essay
Let Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Pete Rose Into the Baseball Hall of Fame
Barry Bonds was the greatest hitter of his generation, and there’s a good argument to be made that he was the best overall player in baseball history. Forget the career home run record. Bonds is the only player to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases. He won eight Gold Glove Awards for his defensive play in left field and he was voted the National League M.V.P. seven times in 22 seasons.
Like Bonds, Rogers Clemens dominated the game in the 24 seasons he played, all as a starting pitcher. Six times he had the lowest American League earned run average. Six times he won the American League Cy Young Award. When he switched to the National League late in his career, he mastered that league, too, winning the E.R.A. title and Cy Young in 2005. He struck out 4,672 batters in his career, the third most in baseball history.
Neither Bonds nor Clemens is expected to garner the votes necessary for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year, their fourth on the ballot. With the Hall of Fame’s approval, if not its tacit urging, many voters have relied on the hall’s character clause to justify excluding Bonds and Clemens because of suspicions that they used steroids during their playing careers. Neither player ever failed a drug test.
Maybe performance-enhancing drugs helped Bonds and Clemens perform better on the field, or recover from injury off of it. Maybe they didn’t. Maybe Bonds and Clemens competed on an even playing field, because so many other players used P.E.D.'s, too. Maybe they didn’t. We don’t know. What we do know is what they did on the field, the records they set, and their importance to the game for more than two decades. That should be more than enough to enshrine them in the Hall of Fame.
The same can be said for Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball for betting on games. Rose has never appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot, because banned players aren’t eligible. Rose holds the record for most career hits, is second in career doubles, and sixth all-time in runs scored.
The hall features plenty of players who wouldn’t meet today’s voting criteria. Ty Cobb has been accused of espousing racist views, intentionally tried to hurt opposing players on the field, and was prone to violent attacks off it, but was elected in 1936. Same for Babe Ruth, who reportedly injected himself with hormones from sheep’s testicles to increase strength. Tris Speaker was elected in 1937, despite his ties to a game-fixing scandal and the Ku Klux Klan. Even after the character clause was added in 1945, the Hall sought fit to enshrine Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle, all of whom reportedly used amphetamines throughout their careers.
The best players should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Tell their stories, the good and the bad, and let history be the final judge.
