Rozner: Familiar battle lines drawn for Baseball HOF vote
A new year, another new can of worms for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The latest was opened by Joe Morgan, of whom it is has long been thought that he believes in a Hall of Fame of one.
That would be the Joe Morgan Hall of Fame, for those unfamiliar with his singular conviction.
Just before Thanksgiving, Morgan sent a letter to Hall of Fame voters with a plea that they keep performance enhancers far from Cooperstown.
The letter was cheered by many voters and fans, but derided by most of what now accounts for the national baseball media, which believes all the steroids guys were great for the game and enhanced the fan experience.
There is much groupthink in the game today and anyone who disagrees with any position they espouse is scorned at every turn.
The conflagration quieted for a while, but is heating up again now that the votes are in — due a week ago — and the announcement of this year's class is about two weeks away.
What was once a great honor and experiment in democracy has become like every other election we experience in this country.
In other words, a nightmare that no baseball fan can escape, one filled with hatred and hysterical diatribes that cross lines no one — voter or not — could have imagined.
While it's one voter, one vote and one opinion, should you disagree with those who yell the loudest, you are a fool, a seam head, a numbers fanatic, a dinosaur or a steroids lover.
Nearly everyone with a thought also has an agenda — witness the most recent comments by Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.
“Joe and I are really close. He's one of my best friends,” McCovey told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I went back and forth with him on it. I told him how much I disagree with him.
“I told him I won't let that hurt our friendship, but don't include me on the (list of Hall of Famers) who are not going to show up if (PEDs users) go in.”
McCovey is very close with Barry Bonds, thus shaping his decision.
(I've always voted for Bonds, a decision I've explained many times before and will again in a column this week.)
Meanwhile, other Hall of Famers asked about it recently have stated publicly that they don't really care, probably because they don't want the avalanche of criticism they would receive if they offered their actual feelings.
No fan am I of Joe Morgan, but he took a bullet here for the sitting Hall of Famers who wholeheartedly agree with him.
Having spoken to several, the reality is that dozens were prepared to sign the letter with Morgan and as a group decided it was best to have Morgan speak for all, so as not to isolate those who did not want the association by signing.
To the chagrin of many — those who believe that there is only one opinion — these Hall of Famers are entitled to theirs, just as is McCovey, but most who played it straight don't want to share a stage with those who didn't.
They believe it tarnishes the museum and rewards those who gained in numbers and in dollars at the expense of so many players who attacked the game and their opponents without enhancing pharmaceutically.
Sorry if it offends the groupthink's delicate sensibilities, but Hall of Famers are allowed a voice, just as are those who genuinely believe Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa would have reached ridiculous heights without drugs.
What's most disturbing is how verbally violent the discussion gets, but we have seen it at every level of politics, the same frightening and angry hyperbole filled with exaggeration and dishonesty when people disagree.
It's no longer one person, one vote, no manner of civility in conversation because there really is no conversation or reasoned disagreement.
One person must be right and the other must be wrong.
We can't be surprised any longer when the same insanity invades sports.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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