Because all four would be lower-tier Hall of Farmers, the fact that their careers may have been drug-boosted is treated as reason to deem their statistics below the line.ĭoes that approach make sense in general, let alone in the case of mere HGH injury rehab users like Pettitte? Probably not, but it is an understandable position.Īnother obstacle to Pettitte’s entry is the fact that Bonds and Clemens, arguably the best pitcher and best hitter of all time, have not been inducted. In the case of Pettitte, McGwire, Sheffield and Sosa, the obstacle may be those who take a middle of the road position on steroid use. We have reached a point where PED use is not an absolute barrier to Hall of Fame induction, but it’s still a major roadblock.Īnd so far, no player overwhelmingly believed to have used PEDs has overcome it. Penalizing individual players for assimilating to the atmosphere almost amounts to victim blaming.īut while this ideological shift is underway, it is far from complete. Steroid use is understood as a fundamental part of 1990s baseball culture. There is good reason to take this position. The vote climbs by Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in recent years suggest that younger voters are willing to disregard (or at least forgive) PED use. The fact that they are all suspected (or known) users of performance enhancing drugs, however, has held back voters from honoring their accomplishments. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Gary Sheffield were overwhelming power hitters. However, Pettitte shares a statistical and situational plight with several other players who’ve failed to get voted into the Hall. NFeDpHgibs- Jimmy Traina January 22, 2019 Joe Girardi sending out Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter to get Rivera in his last game ever will always be one of the most awesome things for Yankees fans. He doesn’t make the cut by much, but he makes it. When I learned to put Pettitte’s career into context of steroid-era Yankee Stadium, however, I realized he was an all-time great. As a kid who looked at stats like wins and ERA, I saw Pettitte’s career as accomplished, but far from profound. My change of heart was the result of learning to embrace modern baseball statistics.

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