Hall of Fame in any sport. what should it be based on? on-field play, off-field conduct or both? i'll thow my .02 in. On the field only! i know over the years there have been some shady folks in sports but do we judge others/oursleves according to personal life in our jobs? Political Leaders - i would say more so now than 50 years ago Hollywood - no cause we keep going to see their movies Musicians - its almost expected that they mess up Artists - creativity without drugs??? guess what im saying is that there have been greats from the list above and they were considered great for their jobs, not personal life...
agreed. First thing that came into my head. Somebody got those 4,256 hits and it should be recognized in the hall of fame IMO. Wait... do I get an opionion not being a baseball guy? Anyway... I do have mixed feelings about players making the hall of fame that did things to enhance their performance and gain an "unfair" advantage. How do you even compare numbers (fairly)? Or where do you even begin wading through it.
I believe that it should be judged by both. I dont think that you can seperate each other. Take Peyton Manning for example. You never hear of any antics off the field. He is the greatest to play the game as well. Im just going to throw this name up, I dont think he belongs in the HOF. You wouldnt want someone like Adam Jones representing what the HOF is about. Now this also brings into question the players who have been inducted then have major issues. OJ ring a bell. Its just kind of hard to swallow, when you read all the names in the HOF and think he is in prison now. I just dont think those who invented the HOF invisioned these outstanding athletes would lack so much in the normal citizen department. Now as for Pete Rose, I am so torn with whether he should be in or not. Hands down one of the greatest to play the game. But he bet on baseball while he was a manager. You just cant do that. Its wrong. I guess If I had to really decide whether they belong or not, Ill leave it up to the voters. If their peers are able to over look the antics that created off the field then I guess I will have to live with it. Also Bud Selig is a prick and should let the voters decide Pete Roses fate. Or maybe the should create a Hall of Shame. For great players, but bad people.
I personally like Bob Costas take on it. He says everyone with numbers should get in and have "disclaimer". Something to the effect of this... "Over the course of the game, there has been many changes in styles and technologies of the game, many of which have changed statistics." His reasoning is that players in the early era never faced a middle reliever, or had the technology to increase strength or hit a "live ball", etc. etc. Makes sense to me.
Hey NY........non-baseball guys are not unlike a broken watch. Even a broken watch is still right, twice a day. We agree on Pete.
Charlie Hustle was the man. When do you see a guy get walked and sprint to first base? I grew up a huge Orioles fan and watched Home Team Sports with my father, I have a huge respect for Cal and for Charlie Hustle for what they did while they played the game. They have had very different lives after their playing days but both played with love and dedication to the game which you rarely see these days
on field play, and on field play ONLY. If you dont like what they do off the field, don't buy their posters or give them Nobel Peace prizes. OJ, Pete Rose, Ray Lewis, Brett Favre all deserve to be in the Hall no matter what they do/did off the field. The Hall is not a role model collection, its about players who played the game great. Thats said, how are some people who are in the hall of fame even there?
On field play...unless something life altering happens, like if Ray Ray was convicted etc... I agree on Pete needing to be there, I really do...but the offense only receives the death penalty. Look up Shooless Joes numbers in the series he supposedly threw, not a chance, he later said he took the money but never threw the games. It was a death penalty in a time when betting/mob/bookies could get to anyone because they had the money, not the players. Jeff, you know that baseball has stuck to it's guns, right or wrong, same or indiffferent more than any sport. that is the reason I believe pete will not get in. This site is pretty much composed of people who do stuff with our hands, get dirty etc...we always complain the world is too fair, people should be left behind because everyone is not equal, does not work hard enough etc...Pete broke the one rule everyone knows keeps you out, lied about it and then ask for forgiveness when he realized being the all time hit leader AKA Cahrlie hustle was not enough. We want asterisks for guys who we know are guilty of steriods, but never failed a test...EVER, but we want to let Pete slide because he made us smile, a working man's player if you will, can't have it both ways boys. With all that said, should he be in the hall of fame...Yes
