…when I laid the foundations of the earth?”–Job 38:4
Joe Morgan
So Joe Morgan has decided to chastise the rest of us concerning Hall of Fame voting. It seems we fans, as much perhaps as the voters, have made a mistake. We’ve allowed a bunch of steroid junkies to run amok on our favorite Hall of Fame ballot and may be close to electing one, or more, of their ilk to the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. Well, Joe, where the heck were you 10 years ago?
It’s not that I disagree with Morgan. I think the steroid boys should be rejected and left to purchase a ticket to the Hall of Fame if they want to get in. But I wonder why the “Morgan Letter” wasn’t written 10 years ago when a lot of these guys were first coming onto the Hall ballot. How’s come, oh, great arbitrator of our morals? From my point of view guys like Morgan, who could have weighed in more strenuously years ago are at least partially at fault if the evil, nefarious steroid villains get into the Hall because guys like Morgan needed to send the letter a long, long time ago. I recognize that Morgan has spoken out previously, but the letter is a much for formal and concentrated format that has more punch than mere comments.
So don’t get too upset, Joe, if one of the steroid bunch gets in. You should have yelled more strenuously a long, long time ago.
Tags: Joe Morgan
Verdun2's Blog 
November 30, 2017 at 7:45 am
This is an important post. You and I disagree on whether or not steroid users should be allowed in the Hall, which is why my word on Morgan’s message may be less important than yours. When you agree with his point but disagree with the timing, as you do, it sends a critical message. Also, there are steroid users in the Hall, right?
And there are TONS of PED users in the Hall. I continue not to understand how amphetamines aren’t considered performance enhancing drugs to Morgan (and to you?). The sole reason players took them was to enhance performance.
November 30, 2017 at 8:30 am
As an arbiter of the Hall’s standards and those of the game in general, Joe remains a hell of a second baseman.
November 30, 2017 at 10:38 am
Joe Morgan is a classy and intelligent guy. When he was on the Reds, I was always extremely impressed every time he was interviewed on NBC during the 70s. I was always knocked out by how articulate he was.
Thus, when Morgan says something, I usually give him the benefit of the doubt.
Now, I don’t understand what’s going on here, as I haven’t read the baseball news lately and, unfortunately, I have a lot of other things worrying me and baseball isn’t one of them. So I’ll go look at the news and read what this Joe Morgan stuff is all about, and I’ll come back with a more educated reply. I have a lot of upsetting things going on in my crumby life, and baseball isn’t one of them, unfortunately.
November 30, 2017 at 12:43 pm
Okay. I’m caught up. I read Morgan’t letter. I agree with it. Maybe he should have written it ten years ago, but to me that’s not the issue. Kids have DIED from taking these steroids. I remember when Lyle Alzado, YEARS AND YEARS AGO, in a cover story in Sports Illustrated, said that he believed the cancer that he had (not long before he died of it) was caused by steroids. DID the steroids cause the cancer? Who knows. But the point is that this should have perked up ears back then. Apparently, it didn’t, because these moron baseball cheaters decided to put their game above their safety. They set TERRIBLE examples for youngsters. So I agree with Little Joe. Let’s keep ’em out, to set a good example for the youngsters. The youth are very impressionable. Imagine if they thought, “I can do the steroids because Barry Bonds took the steroids, and he’s in the Hall of Fame. (Shudder)” Putting The Steroid Morons in the Hall of Fame sends a message to kids that it’s okay to risk your life for a stupid game.
V, with all due respect, I don’t really understand why it is such an issue WHEN he wrote the letter. The fact is that he DID. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Yeah, maybe he shoulda written the thing ten years ago. But he’s writing it now. And it’s one of the most brilliant letters I’ve ever read, FAR better than any of the letters that Dear Abby or Ann Landers ever received. Joe Morgan is definitely a “man of letters.”
November 30, 2017 at 2:40 pm
Hi Glen and all,
Lots of people have died from amphetamines too. And I never hear anyone clamoring to get Willie Mays and Hank Aaron out of the Hall. They used amphetamines, which kill, when they weren’t banned by MLB. Bonds and Clemens used steroids, which kill, when they weren’t banned by MLB. Each of the four players used them to enhance their performance on the field.
Just curious what others think.
November 30, 2017 at 2:41 pm
I found the article written by Lyle Alzado about his brain cancer, which he blamed on steroids. It was in the July 8th, 1991 issue of Sports Illustrated.
https://www.si.com/vault/1991/07/08/124507/im-sick-and-im-scared-the-author-a-former-nfl-star-has-a-dread-disease-that-he-blames-on-his-use-of-performance-enhancing-drugs%255D
November 30, 2017 at 5:20 pm
The hypocrisy of MLB runs too deep when guys like Bud Selig and Mike Piazza are making the HOF. The PED users “saved” the game when it was, quite frankly, the least popular it had EVER been. Also, how was it considered “cheating” when the drugs were legal? MLB and the owners profited immensely off of the home run chase between McGwire and Sosa and now the players are being crucified for simply wanting to be a better player and hence, make more money. I think we all have to remember that ultimately this is a business.