MLB Special Report: 2013 Deserving Hall of Famers, most likely not to be inducted due to drug use
Roger Clemens made the news, causing uproar once again after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of false statement. Well Rodger isn’t the only one this year who has been accused of taking performance enhancing drugs, along with him are many to be Hall-of-Famers who have been flushed down by the media.
Let’s take a brief look at some of the veteran All-Star players who might not end up in the Hall-of-Fame due to their apparent indiscretions relating to drug use:
Barry Bonds, where does one begin when it comes to him? When he came to the MLB in 1986, it did not take long before baseball fans started worshiping him. He started winning NL MVP awards and starting hitting homeruns, as if he was born to do so. He retired with a record of 762 career home runs and 73 home runs in a season.
Sadly Barry was made part of an investigation in 2003 for taking drugs and was indicted on perjury and obstruction of a federal grand jury by late 2007. The scandal took place when Bond’s trainer was charged with supplying anabolic steroids to athletes. Bond’s trail for obstruction of justice is scheduled to begin on 21st March, 2011.
Samuel Pelralta Sosa famously known as Sammy Sosa is a former Texas Rangers Right fielder, with 7 All-Star selection and a 6 time Silver Slugger award winner, he was unquestionably one of the most consistent hitters in the MLB. He was nicknamed “Slammin Sammy” and finished right after Bond in 2001 64 home run hits.
Saso’s claim to fame slowly began to down after he was tested positive for performance –enhancing drugs in 2003 according to the New York Times. However, Adam Katz, Saso’s agent declined the rumours and it was later claimed that the MLB had no proof or copy of the results. Many fans were furious with the Medias recent reports stating Sosa will not be inducted into the Hall-of-Fame due to his drug related issues. Sosa will become eligible to enter the Hall-of-Fame by 2013, however, Sosa seems to be extremely chill about the situation and stated in an interview that he will “calmly wait” for his induction.
Jose Canseco joined the elite All-Star team a year after he came to the league; with the Oakland Athletics, he won his first World Series championship in 1989 and three Silver Slugger Award, Al MVP and the Al Rookie of the Year award. He was the first to steal 40 bases along with 40 homeruns in 1988. Canseco retired with a batting .266 batting average and 462 homeruns.
Lamentably Canseco faced a few injuries over the course of his career and due to his foolish behaviour, sports analysts believe his chances of being inducted into the Hall-of-Fame is close to nothing now. In 2005 the All-Star outfielder admitted to the use of anabolic steroids in his Book “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big”, he also claimed along with him Jorge Delgado, Manuel Collado and Damaso Moreno were also users performance enhancing steroids. However, most denied the claims, besides Jason Giambi and Mark McGwire who admitted to the grand jury they had used drugs previously in their career.
Roger Clemens, the most recent to be Hall-of-Famer was indicted yesterday of obstructing Congress, making false statements and perjury. Sports Analysts say he should admit to using like Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi and move on. It might be a hard path to take but if Clemens has some respect he will certainly do so, he is already in a destructive relationship with his wife who does not want to be around him. He wouldn’t want his fans to feel that way now would he.
Nevertheless, Clemens might have a lot of issues in his life at moment, he is unquestionably one of the best pitchers ever to step foot in the Major Baseball League. He ranks with the third best record in the league with 4,136 strikeouts. He has won two World Series back to back, once in 1999 followed by another win in 2000 with the New York Yankees.
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