Rafael, Rafael, O-wherefore art thou Rafael?
At the risk of enraging the Boalt-only posts on Nuts and Boalts believers out there, Disco Stu is going to attempt, on the day he is set to return from his steroid-suspension, to salvage Rafael Palmeiro’s reputation.
First, some of you may know that Disco Stu is a hardcore Orioles fan who widely predicted an O’s Senators World Series and still believes deep down it could happen. Secondly, DS has been a long-time fan of Palmeiro and realizes that his views are entirely skewed as a result. Nonetheless, Palmeiro should be given the benefit of the doubt and become a first-ballot Hall of Famer or at the very least, allowed to come back to the game to which he has given so much with the realization that he has done his time.
People everywhere are criticizing Palmeiro because he testified with such force in front of Congress. Even Congress now wants to pursue perjury charges—something that is so asinine DS will refrain from commenting on it further. No, wait, he will—doesn’t Congress have more pressing issues than finding out if one baseball player happened to lie? Anyway, people now believe what Jose Canseco said in his book about introducing Palmeiro to steroids in 1992 when both were playing on the Texas Rangers is true. Let’s go with this thought. Let’s assume that Palmeiro has been taking steroids since 1992. He came into the league in 1986, though ’86 and ’87 he played just quarter and half seasons. His first real season came in 1988. His career stats - http://sports.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/3897/career - indicate he had his most single-season hits with 203 and second-highest season batting average at .322 in 1991, before he was supposedly introduced to steroids in 1992. In fact, since 1992 his hits/season, doubles, average, and on-base-percentage have not increased at all. The only stats that have increased, starting in 1995, are his home-run totals and consequently his RBIs and slugging percentage. Now, DS can think of several reasons why these stats increased. (1) Everyone’s homerun totals starting increasing this same period (perhaps due to steroids spreading around the league—but if this is true than no player with inflated homerun numbers can be allowed in the Hall if Palmeiro’s not)? (2)Perhaps it’s the hitter friendly ballparks that starting popping up everywhere, Palmeiro has played his entire career in two—Camden Yards in Baltimore starting in 1994, and the Ballpark in Arlington starting in 1999. (3)What about the era of the compressed ball? (4)The homerun happy era that we are just starting to come out of now? (5)Or, perhaps, it’s the age at which baseball players finally started really taking care of their bodies, lifting weights and taking supplements (not steroids) designed to prolong their careers. Afterall, Palmeiro is just one of several players over 40 still in the majors having good to great seasons—Jamie Moyer (42) and Julio Franco (47) come to mind.
My point is that the stats from his first four full-major-league-non-steroid-fueled-seasons are great numbers. Comparable to Derek Jeter's first four seasons. If he continued on those first seasons he would likeley still have 3000 hits, and be very close to 500 homeruns. If Canseco is lying--as he most likely is--then who knows when Palmeiro actually started useing. Could be when he was 35 or 40? Point is Palmeiro has put up great numbers and there's no use second-guessing them without proof. Okay, so he got busted this year, don't count this years stats among those he gets voted in the Hall with. He'll be just shy of 300 hits, and still well over 500 homeruns.
My second major point is that Palmeiro is a good guy who should not be vilified and ostricized from the Hall of Fame because he has been caught cheating at the end of a great career. Here is a guy who has happily played greatly in obscurity his whole career. He has played on good but not great teams and those teams have not been in the major markets. He has never demanded outrageous salaries. Unlike the aforementioned Jeter who has become a star simply because he has played on a great team in a major market and despite his mediocre fielding and good batting ability, Palmeiro has never had nor craved the national spotlight. For this reason he was already considered a fringe hall-of-famer. It's a sad day when the national pastime requires flashiness to get in the Hall. A player's stats should be all that matter when getting in, and Palmeiro's are great any way you look at it.
First, some of you may know that Disco Stu is a hardcore Orioles fan who widely predicted an O’s Senators World Series and still believes deep down it could happen. Secondly, DS has been a long-time fan of Palmeiro and realizes that his views are entirely skewed as a result. Nonetheless, Palmeiro should be given the benefit of the doubt and become a first-ballot Hall of Famer or at the very least, allowed to come back to the game to which he has given so much with the realization that he has done his time.
People everywhere are criticizing Palmeiro because he testified with such force in front of Congress. Even Congress now wants to pursue perjury charges—something that is so asinine DS will refrain from commenting on it further. No, wait, he will—doesn’t Congress have more pressing issues than finding out if one baseball player happened to lie? Anyway, people now believe what Jose Canseco said in his book about introducing Palmeiro to steroids in 1992 when both were playing on the Texas Rangers is true. Let’s go with this thought. Let’s assume that Palmeiro has been taking steroids since 1992. He came into the league in 1986, though ’86 and ’87 he played just quarter and half seasons. His first real season came in 1988. His career stats - http://sports.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/3897/career - indicate he had his most single-season hits with 203 and second-highest season batting average at .322 in 1991, before he was supposedly introduced to steroids in 1992. In fact, since 1992 his hits/season, doubles, average, and on-base-percentage have not increased at all. The only stats that have increased, starting in 1995, are his home-run totals and consequently his RBIs and slugging percentage. Now, DS can think of several reasons why these stats increased. (1) Everyone’s homerun totals starting increasing this same period (perhaps due to steroids spreading around the league—but if this is true than no player with inflated homerun numbers can be allowed in the Hall if Palmeiro’s not)? (2)Perhaps it’s the hitter friendly ballparks that starting popping up everywhere, Palmeiro has played his entire career in two—Camden Yards in Baltimore starting in 1994, and the Ballpark in Arlington starting in 1999. (3)What about the era of the compressed ball? (4)The homerun happy era that we are just starting to come out of now? (5)Or, perhaps, it’s the age at which baseball players finally started really taking care of their bodies, lifting weights and taking supplements (not steroids) designed to prolong their careers. Afterall, Palmeiro is just one of several players over 40 still in the majors having good to great seasons—Jamie Moyer (42) and Julio Franco (47) come to mind.
My point is that the stats from his first four full-major-league-non-steroid-fueled-seasons are great numbers. Comparable to Derek Jeter's first four seasons. If he continued on those first seasons he would likeley still have 3000 hits, and be very close to 500 homeruns. If Canseco is lying--as he most likely is--then who knows when Palmeiro actually started useing. Could be when he was 35 or 40? Point is Palmeiro has put up great numbers and there's no use second-guessing them without proof. Okay, so he got busted this year, don't count this years stats among those he gets voted in the Hall with. He'll be just shy of 300 hits, and still well over 500 homeruns.
My second major point is that Palmeiro is a good guy who should not be vilified and ostricized from the Hall of Fame because he has been caught cheating at the end of a great career. Here is a guy who has happily played greatly in obscurity his whole career. He has played on good but not great teams and those teams have not been in the major markets. He has never demanded outrageous salaries. Unlike the aforementioned Jeter who has become a star simply because he has played on a great team in a major market and despite his mediocre fielding and good batting ability, Palmeiro has never had nor craved the national spotlight. For this reason he was already considered a fringe hall-of-famer. It's a sad day when the national pastime requires flashiness to get in the Hall. A player's stats should be all that matter when getting in, and Palmeiro's are great any way you look at it.
posted by Disco Stu at 9:28 AM
6 Comments:
A wise man once said, "Cheating isn't wrong because you're getting a better grade for less work... Cheating is unethical plain and simple." Let's just hope that Mr. Palmeiro doesn't show up in your Con Law class next semester.
Even before any of the steroids mess erupted, many baseball analysts were arguing that Palmeiro was a hard case to make for the hall of fame.
Short of demonstrating that the test results were inaccurate or otherwise questionable, I don't think there's anyway he's going to make it now.
Assume he cheated. I think the presumption is that he's always cheated. And 4 years of good numbers do not indicate that he otherwise would have had a lifetime of them. Regardless, the fact that he cheated should be, in and of itself, grounds for disqualification from Cooperstown.
We don't let people into the Hall of Fame just for having good numbers. Just look at Rose. His betting had (presumably) no effect on the field of play, particularly his own numbers. But just the act of serious dishonesty alone is enough to disqualify him.
And don't forget: taking steroids is the moral equivalent of pretending to be handicapped in order to compete in the special olympics.
I have no retort to the argument that if you've admitted to taking steroids you are Hall ineligible. That, then, would also disqualify Bonds and other major players whose steroid controversies are soon to come to light.
Nonetheless, he should have been a first-ballot selection pre-steroid scandal. He (steroids or not) is one of the best 4 hitters of all time, 3000 hits and 500 homeruns puts him in that category, throughout his entire career (DS would like to take this opportunity to point out that Eddie Murray, yes another Oriole is also in that group). People that argued he may not have been Hall material are those who value spotlight and three or four tremendous seasons over a lifetime of good-to-great numbers. It's like saying Pete Sampras isn't one of the all-time tennis greats because he was very plain. It doesn't make sense.
Palmeiro is a good guy? Wasn't this the same guy who so arrogantly tried to blow off testifying before Congress with the laughable excuse of saying it was his wife's birthday the same day? I didn't know hitting 500 homeruns makes you above the law.
Hey 8:27, suck it! I'm with Stu, Palmeiro is a good guy. He never held out for more money or tested the free agent waters to see what team upped his salary the most. He's quiet off-the-field and a leader in the clubhouse, though that may be eroded now. He goes about his day-to-day job through hard work (or steroids) and doesn't complain. I think the fact that he isn't considered a first-ballot hall of famer because he's so quiet is testimony to what an outstanding guy and player he is.
Palmeiro cheated and dishonored the game. Any baseball purists would agree with the above statement.
Palmeiro is not an outstanding guy. Someone like MSG Gary Gordon is an outstanding human being. Palmerio hits a ball for a living.
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