These last few weeks, punishments for the Houston Astros were being decided and finally implemented, and the ramifications affected not only the Astros but the Mets and Red Sox, too.
With all the suspensions handed down, the Astros are still allowed to keep their now-tainted 2017 World Series title. But the league and the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown won’t acknowledge the alleged steroid users, which is another argument for another time. The biggest slap in the face from MLB lands on the all-time hits leader, the man who is still living out his lifetime ban, Pete Rose.
Regardless of how you feel about Rose, the leniency in the Astros’ punishment should reopen the conversation on not necessarily his lifetime ban, but his induction into the Hall of Fame.
The baseball purists have zero tolerance for cheaters, suspected steroid users, and, as in Rose’s case, gamblers.
While gambling on games he played in and managed legitimizes his lifetime ban, making him eligible for Cooperstown should be a separate argument.
Will anyone associated with the Astros be held ineligible for Cooperstown regardless of their stats?
Winning the World Series is baseball’s ultimate team achievement. The sign-stealing directly led to Houston achieving that as the results of MLB’s investigation revealed that the Astros cheated during the 2017 regular season and into the postseason.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was brought to the Red Sox months before they won the 2018 World Series. Whether or not that will taint the statuses of Mookie Betts and other players who starred on that team remains to be seen.
To save face, the punishment should have been to take away the World Series title and give it to the Dodgers. This circles back to the league’s entire argument when it comes to Pete Rose and it revolves around one word: integrity.
Commissioner Robert Manfred’s statement on Monday read, “While it is impossible to determine whether the conduct actually impacted the results on the field, the perception of some is that it did cause significant harm to the game.”
That statement should ring true in the case of the league’s all-time hits leader in Rose, and his Hall of Fame consideration. He and the Astros both committed the biggest sin in the eyes of baseball, but only one of them was given a lifetime ban. A.J. Hinch or Alex Cora could potentially be a manager of a team at this time next year.
In one way or another, the Hall of Fame will be forced to acknowledge the Astros’ 2017 World Series title and allegedly Boston’s 2018 title, which are both tainted by cheating. But Rose’s lifetime ban means he can’t get inducted into the Hall.
When it comes to the integrity of the game, shouldn’t it be a solid line across the board and not erased for all? Steroids, cheating, and gambling should be all or nothing, not separated by what form of cheating was used.
Regardless of the facts or the assumptions, the career home run leader, a seven-time Cy Young winner and the all-time hits leaders are all enshrined in Cooperstown.
The Astros are going to keep their title, no matter how tainted it might be. The Hall’s exhibit honoring the league’s 2017 World Series championship is part of a permanent exhibition there. That just adds more fuel to the whole argument.
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and especially Pete Rose belong in Cooperstown. To prove their integrity of showcasing the best to ever play the game, you have to first include the best.
