[thehef]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

The good news? Bonds, Clemens, Schilling, and Sosa are all off the ballot, each having failed last year in his 10th try on the BBWA ballot.

These guys should be in, IMO. Although in the case of Bonds, and less so, Clemens, I am glad they aren't in simply because they are jerks... I'd put A-Rod in, too.

I don't know if Curt Schilling is HOF-worthy based upon his stats, but if his exclusion is based to any degree on the fact that his political leanings do not jibe with those of the majority of HOF voters, that is complete BS.

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Andre Ethier - "a 12-year career as a dependable right fielder for the Dodgers."

I've no delusions on his HOF worthiness, but he was a favorite of mine. Class act, solid player. Was bummed he retired when he did after successfully coming back from two major injuries to join the Dodgers for playoff runs (in 2016 & 2017)... had hoped he'd play another season.

Originally Posted by Amazin69

K-Rud probably deserves some votes thrown his way; he disappointed as a Met and he punched his in-laws. Neither is uncommon.

This ^^^ is pure gold

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Alright, I will ask the question directly. Sheesh, I get no cooperation around here ().

Should Carlos Beltrán be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

No way. As far as the notable scandals go, ranked worst to least-worst, IMO:

1. Black Sox
2. BlackStros
3. Pete Rose
4. PED's

For HOF-worthiness, I draw the line at Pete Rose. Sorta right through him since I'm on the fence. His 24-year career as a player is unquestionably first-ballot HOF, and only slightly tarnished by some gambling as player-manager. IMO, there should be some mention in the Hall of his HOF-worthiness as a player, but he should not actually be a member. To me, it's kinda sorta not sure...

Originally Posted by pilight

Beltran showed great leadership in taking all the blame for Houston's 2019 cheating scandal so that his teammates who still had careers would not be punished.

If he did, he was the only one... Even if the BlackStros organization and players had been contrite (which they were decidedly not), IMO Manfred should've stripped the title, named the Dodgers and Yankees as co-champs, prohibited the BlackStros from selling or displaying any WS merch, and suspended all involved players for a year, give or take... Perhaps some of that is extreme, but not as bad as how far the other way Manfred went with his his combination of wrist-slap penalties and non-penalties.

BTW, I get the need to monetize & advertise, but baseball-reference.com has almost become unusable due to the number of ads. It's not so much the volume of ads, but the intermittent loading of them... Very annoying. Sometimes feels like I landed on click-bait site...