AP survey says McGwire out but Bonds in the Hall of Fame? That’s just unbelievable and completely pathetic. One guy gets knocked down because he had the misfortune of getting called before Congress while the other guy skates because he didn’t get called in front of Congress. Even though the reason he wasn’t subpoenaed was likely because of his his connection to an ongoing federal investigation. Absolutely pathetic. I hope that the HOF voters aren’t this stupid. Either you taint them both or you taint neither, it’s pretty much that simple. We have similar proof to indict both of them. It would be unfair and a miscarriage of what the hall is supposed to represent to separate the two men with different fates simply because of Congress’s choice.

It’s especially galling because the two men have had such different impacts on the game itself. McGwire and Sosa rallied fans around the game after the strike. They were accessible and a positive influence on the game. They helped baseball with their feats and with their accessibility and work off the field. Bonds, quite simply, is a jackass. I can’t think of a player of his stature that has done less to help his sport than this man. If the Hall is a reward for excellence and part of the excellence is helping or hurting the game, Bonds is a worse candidate than McGwire.

I hope the HOF voters do the right thing by doing the same thing to both. I don’t particularly have an opinion on whether they should or should not be denied acceptance, but I know that I think of both of them as part of the “steroid question” in baseball. In general, I think if we were to know, somehow, that they knowingly broke the law, I would agree that they should be denied the Hall. While the evidence is all still circumstantial, though, I think they should stand on their on-field performance only. I don’t really respect either guy as much as I used to, but that seems like the only principled choice here.

Update: AP also published some quotes from a number of the BBWAA HOF voters.