Open Bar: Some Quick Thoughts On The MLB Hall Of Fame

I don't want to go too in depth with my feelings on this subject because if I did I might find myself at the 2,000-word mark before I even began to make my point, but on Wednesday it was announced that nobody had been elected to MLB's Hall of Fame.

In the eligible class were a home run king who had won 7 National League MVP awards and 8 Gold Gloves and there was a pitcher who won 7 Cy Youngs and was also one of a few pitchers to also be named his league's MVP in 1986.

Neither of them got in. In fact, nobody got in. And it's absolutely idiotic. There is only one reason why Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens aren't being inducted into the Hall of Fame and it's not because they were assholes. It's because they did steroids.

They did steroids while the writers who have decided that they're suddenly the legislators of the game rather than its documenters helped build their legends while ignoring the mountains of evidence surrounding them. The same writers who were giving Bonds his MVP votes and Clemens his Cy Young votes during their careers have abandoned ship.

All to make a point. Unfortunately the point they're making is "look at my, I'm a hypocritical asshole."

Here is the very first thing you read about the Hall of Fame in its Wikipedia entry.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York and operated by private interests. It serves as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, displays baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, and honors those who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations."

It's a museum. A museum to preserve the history of the game. And that's exactly what a museum does. There are museums around the country that document some terrible things about American history. It's not hidden. It's there for all to see.

That's what a museum does.

What the BBWAA is now doing is trying to cover up its own shame for playing along with the fantasy of steroids for so long, which is more shameful than turning a blind eye.

I hope it's proud of itself.