SHOULD ROGER CLEMENS HAVE BEEN "SHUT OUT" OF COOPERSTOWN?

It's been a few days since the Hall of Fame voting... and I have to tell you, I needed to get my point of view into this discussion, I just need to think about it first. Here it goes...

For the first time in seventeen years, the Hall of Fame decided not to vote anyone in, shutting out several players. Among the players that were up for first time eligibility were Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and our own Roger Clemens, affectionately known as “The Rocket.”

According to policy, a player must receive 75% of the votes in order to win a slot in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Clemens earned only 37.6%. Why would a seven- time Cy Young Award winning pitcher with 354 games won and a recorded 4,672 strikeouts be excluded from one of baseball’s cherished titles? With such an illustrious career, Clemens should have been an automatic candidate and winner for the HOF.

Welcome to the Steroid Era.

The facts:  Clemens admitted to “unknowingly” using performance enhancing drugs during his career. He was also convicted on "Obstruction of Justice" during the steroid investigations and narrowly escaped prison time after being charged with 6 felony perjury counts, which he was later acquitted on. However, Rocket didn’t exactly behave in very sportsmanlike manner during the scandal. The fear here is that the black marks on his character may overshadow the pitching career that named him, The Rocket.

However, despite evidence and even a conviction, Clemens holds true to his denials of guilt. In response to the news, Clemens tweeted, “After what has been written and said over the last few years I’m not overly surprised. Thanks to all the teams I’ve worked with and to the fans and friends for all the fantastic letters, voice mails, and texts of support over the last few years. To those who did take the time to look at the facts . . . we very much appreciate it.” You can check out his twitter account HERE.

The full MLB.com story is HERE.

Are we beating a dead horse with this steroid issue? Maybe so, we’ll let you decide that. The reason that its making news again is because of the Hall of Fame voting results. So, the question remains, should Clemens have received more votes to get into the Hall of Fame? Let’s not forget Bonds and Sosa. Their careers have also been tainted by steroids. To vote Clemens in would mean the same consideration for them. Maybe I’m biased as a Yankees fan, but I wouldn’t have voted for them either. Each player had their own issues and handled them very differently. None of them were ever stripped of their records, awards or titles and, in my opinion, they should all be grateful for that.

No doubt this was a historical move on the part of the Hall of Fame and this issue will continue to be hotly debated in the future. What do you think? Leave your comments at BleedingYankeeBlue.com or visit our Facebook page.

--Christy Lee, BYB Features Writer

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