The Big Story: Sammy And Cooperstown

A daily look at the big story of the day in sports as seen through the eyes of writers and bloggers all across the internet.

Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run in Arlington last night. That was why he came back this season, why the Rangers brought back the kid they signed from the streets of the Dominican and why he kept playing in spite of an on-base percentage akin to a cadaver. Until Mark McGwire's paltry vote totals in this year's election, such a number would seem to make him a lock for enshrinement in Cooperstown. After all Sosa's just the fifth player to reach that lofty plateau and he won a MVP, went to seven All-Star games and is the only player to have three 60 home run campaigns. That's a pretty good argument for a plaque, even if Sosa was probably never considered among the very best players in baseball for more than a year or two of his lengthy career. But like McGwire and fellow 600 homer man Barry Bonds it's not going to be that simple for Sosa. The steroid cloud that kept McGwire well below the level needed to join Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn later this summer hangs over Sosa's head as well.

He was at that sham hearing in Washington, pretending not to speak English and mumbling about how clean he was throughout his career. He was asked thousands of times about using performance enhancing drugs, was challenged to take a drug test by Rick Reilly and his career fell apart on almost the exact day they started a testing program in the majors. Yet he never failed a drug test. Neither did McGwire. Unlike Rafael Palmeiro, who has both the resume and the positive test, the two 1998 icons are only subject to innuendo, albeit innuendo that kept McGwire from getting the votes for Cooperstown. Will the same thing happen to Sosa?

We hope it doesn't. If you want to crucify Sosa and McGwire for allegedly using steroids, that's fine by us but that means you have to hold every player who played during their era to the same standards. Sosa still has 600 home runs, has still driven in more than 1600 runs and if you believe steroid use was rampant in the 90's no one else can claim those things. The same goes for McGwire and Bonds, although Barry's still got a little further to go before he can make the same claim as the other two.

Baseball in the late 90's was Sammy - his popularity was through the roof, columnists praised his up from the bootstraps Horatio Alger story and he and McGwire were credited for bringing baseball back to popularity after the strike. All of that plus his on-field accomplishments should be enough for him to get to the Hall of Fame. Will he? Not unless McGwire's vote spikes in the next five years. They are as close as two cases could be with the same strengths and weaknesses and you can't have one without the other.

Whether baseball and the jackass writers that vote on the Hall of Fame care or not, they were in many ways equally responsible for letting the steriod era exist and thrive. Columnists couldn't get enough of McGwire and Sosa during the home run race. They wrote that the two men saved baseball and were changing the face of the game. Baseball looked the other way because it needed to be saved. Neither the writers nor baseball seemed to care about steroids, even though McGwire and Sosa looked like cartoon superheroes. Then suddenly when steroids became an issue, the writers and baseball suddenly switched gears. This is bad, this is horrible, let's hang them from a tree. In other words, where can we find a scapegoat? Even though I'm no fan of steroids, the Hall of Fame stance taken on McGwire and the questions currently being asked of Sosa are ridiculous. (100% Injury Rate)

Surprisingly, almost everyone at ESPN thinks he should be in, which is odd, we think. The majority of "voters" say that because he's never tested positive for any steroids, they shouldn't be a factor in any decision making. Which doesn't make any sense, because McGwire never tested positive either, and no one's rushing to put him in the Hall. We're not saying Sosa shouldn't be in, or he should, but any decision you'd make on him, you'd have to apply the same to McGwire. (Deadspin)

Getting into the Hall of Fame is not a right or an obigation that automatically accrues to any player who reaches a certain benchmark set of numbers.  If that were the case, we wouldn’t need to vote at all. Rather, the Hall of Fame is an honor–the highest honor it is possible to bestow in this game–and it should not be bestowed on anyone unless we are absolutely, 100 percent positive that they deserve it. (UmpBump)

Jim Caple: Yes, Jerry Crasnick: No, Tim Kurkjian: Yes, Keith Law: Yes, Buster Olney: Yes, Steve Phillips: Yes, Enrique Rojas: Yes, Jayson Stark: Yes. (ESPN)

Yay! Now let's call up Jason Botts. (Lone Star Ball)

Welcome to the 600* club, Sammy. Yes, it happened against the Cubs and that will be called everything from poetic to poignant in tomorrow’s papers but as a fan of that cursed ball club I really have only one thing to say: good for him. (Bugs and Cranks)

A few years back Don Sutton seemed to be barred from the Hall even though he won 300 games because he had the temerity to be a pitcher representative of his era. Sutton pitched in a five-man rotation and would not always finish his games. Looking at Sutton's numbers today, it seems ludicrous that any of these things were ever mentioned. Sutton amassed 200 innings twenty times in his 23-year career, with a career-high of 293.1 in 1969. Of the three season he missed 200 innings, one was a strike year (1981), one he missed by just 8.1 innings (1987), and the third was his last season (1988) when he was 43 and lasted just 16 starts. I have to think that history is going to look back on all this tempest in a teapot talk about various players and their unfounded steroid use in a similar way. (Mike's Baseball Rants)

I am so sick and tired of watching the media fall back in love with Sammy. This love affair is disgusting. If there has ever been a player whose career achievements reeked more of performance-enhancement, I have yet to see him. Sammy Sosa is the biggest fraud in baseball. He puts Barry Bonds to shame. He buries McGwire. He embarrasses Brady Anderson and Bret Boone alike. And he has no place in the present day Hall of Fame. (Larry Brown Sports)

Al I know is, 1500 miles away, in a city i’ve never been to, in a stadium i’ve never watched a game at, a player whom i’ve idolized for many years of my life reached one of the great milestones in baseball history. Unfortunatey though, where Sosa was once an Icon and a hero to many, I found myself standing under the moon with a beer raised to Sammy, wondering if I was, maybe, the only one. (Lost In The Ivy)

(AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

Comments

[Otro anónimo]

To Don Ramon Calderon Ramos and to whom it many concern:

1- The Real Madrid Supporters who are regular contributors to the website “Fans del Real Madrid” (www.fansdelmadrid.blogspot.com) and many other web sites wish to thank Fabio Capello the impressive results achieved with Real Madrid. He has turned around a decline which has lasted years and has excelled in his workrate, untiring faith in the team and search for victory. We wish to express the gratitude and respect of many fans to Fabio Capello.
2- We are disgusted at the campaign formed against Mr Capello since his arrival in Spain. It has been unjust and mainly based on personal reasons. Even when footballing reasons have been argumented other teams practising the same footballing concepts (like Valencia) have been painted with a totally diferent brush in the media.
3- We reject the idea that football should have an ideology. Football is a diverse sport and can be played in many different ways. We don’t accept the dubious criteria used to describe different styles of playing the game.
4- Furthermore we also reject the idea that Real Madrid has been playing poorly or the current style is alien to the essence and values of the club, the current display of discipline and team work are examples of areas where we have excelled. In the league not only have we beaten all of our closest rivals but have achieved the all time record of points away from home.
5- We wish to ask Don Ramon Calderon, president of Real Madrid, to end this period of uncertainty and the distain the architect of our footballing resurrection has been submitted to. We wish to remind Sr. Calderon that in his election manifesto he promised to abide by the strategy of the technical director. The club needs a long term and well structured strategy. This isn’t achieved by the constant change of coaches or changes because of a whim.
6- We reject the excessive influence given to a certain sector of fans which are not necessarily either a majority or correct in their views. We respect the senior members and ex players but we stress that the club is not owned only by them. The current success of the team is not a miracle or due to some sort of spiritual healing session with deceased players. The Internet has shown us a concept of a Real Madrid fan which many wish to forget. The Real Madrid Fan base is international, enthusiastic and young.
7- We also reject the excessive influence of the media on the day to day running of the club. We strive for an independent club which is able to guide itself, staying away from meaningless controversy and external self interest. We ask the club to actively defend itself from the constant attacks and negative media campaigns the club is subjected to.

We ask Don Ramon Calderon to reflect on the above points and avoid making a historical error. We also ask all Real Madrid Fans and those identified with the team to sign this petition. Our objective is to give strength to this message which is of vital importance to the future of our club.

You can sign this petition at

http://www.gopetition.com/online/12876.html

Hala Madrid!