Any Baseball Hall of Fame without Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens is fodder for the slings and arrows of super-heated debates for any baseball fans worth their passion for the pastime. Selection to the hallowed halls of Cooperstown should not be confused with being named a Nobel laureate, a Supreme Court justice or a saint.
In full disclosure, I was a marketing executive for the Oakland A’s from 1981 to 1994. You know, the team with the “Bash Brothers” Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and so on. I can say with absolute certainty that I never saw a hypodermic needle, clear, cream, pill or patch being used in any way for the muscular betterment of any player. However, I was part of the institution of baseball.
Any part of American culture that has been around since 1869 is clearly defined as an institution. The constituencies that make up Major League Baseball are players, managers, coaches, commissioners, team owners, league executives, team executives, front office staffs, player agents, members of the media, medical staffs, fans and anyone else who has paid or been paid to be involved in any level of the game.
The same discussions will continue to occur the day after the Baseball Hall of Fame announces its class. The well-defined sides of the debate on whether known or alleged juicers should be able to walk in the front door of the hallowed building on 25 Main St. in Cooperstown goes on with no resolution. It is maddening to those who love the game.
The Baseball Hall of Fame was founded in 1936. Are we going to have to wait until the centennial celebration in 2036 to figure out an equitable solution?
Here’s a scenario for you: I have been selected as the non-voting chairman by the board of baseball’s prestigious organizational think tank, the Red Stitch Institute.
I have been entrusted with the institutional power to once and for all clear up this “institutional failure.” I will be empaneling a Horsehide Hall of Fame Summit representing the constituencies that make up Major League Baseball. Baseball fans will have the ability to vote for their representative from each constituency through the website enoughalready.com.
The constituent categories: MLB commissioner; league president; team owner; general manager; manager; coach; current player; veteran player, hall of famer; veteran player, non-hall of famer; beat writer; electronic media baseball reporter; team business executive; umpire; radio play-by-play broadcaster; TV play-by-play broadcaster; radio analyst; TV analyst; team doctor; leading medical authority on the effects of steroids on baseball players; team traveling secretary; team trainer; team equipment manager; team strength and conditioning coach; team director of security; fan older than 60; fan 40-59; fan 20-39; fan 15-19; and Little Leaguer.
There is a single agenda item for the panel:
“Should the Baseball Hall of Fame amend its voting language so that any player from the Steroid Era will have their PED priors erased so they can enter the Hall of Fame without any asterisks?”
Simple majority carries the question with each representative having one vote. If yes, then open the doors; if no, then this summit will reconvene every three years to address the question. First meeting this summer.
Enough already!
Andy Dolich (andy.dolich@gmail.com) is managing director of U.S. sports practice for Odgers Berndtson and has held team executive posts in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NASL.
