Who Should Have the Final Say on Acceptance Into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

By Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel

CHULA VISTA, California — There is an old joke that most rabbis probably know: From where in the Torah do we know that God is a great baseball fan? The answer is simple: Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim v’et ha’aretz: In the big inning, God created heaven and the earth (Gen 1:1).

Some years ago, politicians in Congress vowed to “clean up baseball” over the use of steroids, I must share with you my initial reaction: Who decided to make this dishonest group of senators and representatives judge, jury, and arbiters of ethics when it came to enforcing a code for Major League Baseball? This same group of politicians became multi-millionaires due to exploiting the law so they might benefit from insider trading and other lucrative opportunities.

The arrogance of our leaders is something we should have never tolerated. Their behavior makes an excellent case for why term-limits must eventually be passed in this country.

But a more profound question deserves to be asked about the Hall of Fame. How many of our greatest baseball players are without sin? Asked differently: There are scores of famous players who did not always follow the rules of playing ethically and fairly.

One of my favorite books that I heartily recommend is Derek Zumsteg’s breathtaking book, “The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball.” When you read this book, you will find yourself amazed and perplexed why so many of the esteemed and legendary baseball players of history should be thrown out of the Hall of Fame, if we were to apply our contemporary standards of morality.

Here are some examples.

In the 1890s, baseball used to be more of a contact sport, almost akin to football without the padding. Players would physically block runners from reaching the base , make them trip, sock them in the mouth while holding a baseball, doing their best to win at any cost. John McGraw, a Hall-of-Famer, became a legend for his antics. Ty Cobb used to sharpen spikes on his shoes when stealing bases. He stole a career 897 bases and that record stood until Lou Brock broke the record in 1971 for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Hall of Fame never thought of putting an asterisk by Cobb’s record that lasted for several decades. One wonders: Would Ty Cobb have been accepted in the Hall of Fame if today’s baseball writers were evaluating him? Probably not.

During the Great Depression, baseball served to lift the nation’s sagging spirit. Babe Ruth, considered by most to be the greatest single player of baseball history, used a cork-bat to hammer his home-runs. A corked-bat is illegal by today’s standards. Yet, that wasn’t the only thing Babe Ruth did. The baseball teams would often move the fences before the start of a game to ensure Babe Ruth would hit more home runs.

Perhaps the pious guardians of baseball purity should reassess how many fair home runs Babe Ruth actually hit. By the way, Micky Mantle also used a corked bat. Gaylord Perry used the spit-ball incessantly, bragged about it. Yet, nobody ever denied him entry into the Hall of Fame.

Teams would often mix sand and water to slow down fast runners known for their speed. Many teams got away with this trick. Using astroturf with an underground irrigation system is yet another sophisticated way to take advantage of a visiting team.

People seem to have short memories when it comes to baseball lore. But ever since I was a child, I always had an almost encyclopedic recollection of baseball trivia and lore. In 1994, a baseball strike began on August 12, 1994; it lasted 232 days and ended on April 2, 1995. The 1994 strike was a long battle between MLB owners and players, but the real victims were the fans. I was so upset with the baseball league, I decided I would not watch another baseball game again.

The politics of the MLB turned off a lot of people like myself. But within three years, the excitement came back to baseball. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa began one of the most memorable competitions to see who would hit more home runs in 1998. These two ballplayers, in particular, brought people like me back to the ballparks. These two players carried the league on their shoulders alone; and the MLB owes these two players a debt of gratitude.

In the final analysis, baseball is a part of the entertainment industry. Just like we don’t expect our actors to always behave as model citizens, it is not realistic to expect baseball players to be saints either. History indicates that players have always gotten away with illegal shtick — even many of baseball’s greatest players whose names remain enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

It seems that the older generation understood that ballplayers served a higher purpose in keeping the country’s morale upbeat.

If allowing certain players to utilize corked-bats and take advantage in other ways, the game might have been flawed—if we measure it to the ideal expectation one might have for baseball. Yet, such perfection can exist only in a Platonic world where the ideals are personified and perfected. In the real world, baseball players like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are entertainers and may not always be the ideal role models. Yet, in baseball, the same standard has not always applied to others who were accepted and are venerated in the Hall of Fame. Watching pitchers walk Bonds with the bases loaded over 35 times is proof positive why he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. The same can also be said about Clemens.

Instead of letting an exclusive club of baseball writers decide who is worthy of being accepted in the Hall of Fame, the time has come to democratize the process. Let the people who are fans decide who is worthy.

The self-righteous politicians and baseball writers must not have the final say. Let the people make that choice. And those who live in glass houses should be careful not to throw stones at people they don’t like.