Baseball Writers - Complete Joke

Ken Rosenthal and I think Jason Stark (or maybe it was Jeff Passen) both wrote excellent opinion pieces on the steroid issue.....people shook read both. They make very compelling arguments for their respective sides.....and maintain respect for the other side of the debate.....great pieces

Fantastic post!!!!   I've screamed this from the rooftops for since I was a kid..    Why the hell a bunch of "never weres" outsiders get to to determine the post season awards or HOF or anything of subjective importance is beyond me.  

I can go back to grade school and remember wondering how half the kids on our all star teams ever even remotely had a right to be with us, the truly best players would never have had the last few picks if given the choice, but the ol' coaches pick always seemed to corralate extremely high with the kids parents participation level.

Later on down the road, at the high school level. we got our first taste of this via local sportswriters during tournaments with the "all city, district, state honors at the end of the year.  I remember looking at some of these guys and thinking " I didn't even consider you above average, let alone 1st or 2nd team all whatever."  How in the hell did you get on this team, and I knew at least 80% of the other guys on these teams felt the exact same way I did.

At the next level you could really see the relationship between beat reporters and "media friendly" players.  It was clear that just as important as your on field/court talent and results were, was how popular you were to the press.   So many better players went unrecognized post season to undeserving ones simply because of media popularity or lack of it.   The actual players who played with and against many of these guys would just smile and agree, but out of earshot of outsiders it would be a bash session over lots of liquids.

I never really had a problem with when the coaches would be the ones who made these type of all- tourny all-anything stuff, although there was still the danger of  "best kiss behind" nosing out someone who was more valuable, but not a rah rah type of guy.  but I still thought that it should have been the competetors only who voted,,,, still do.

I'm just throwing a thought.  OK,  the writers are jock sniffing idiots who have no idea who is a hall of fame player although the Baseball hall of fame is the only Hall of fame in sports that is special and exclusive.  It's special to get into the Baseball hall of Fame. The thing is it takes 75% vote  to make it. A very few can get in. I'm fine with that.  But....

Doc,

What a wonderfully well written, well thought out take on the HOF issue. One can see that a lot of time and energy went into expressing your viewpoint. Look forward to reading your future posts.

Good Luck.

Something you all missed is that these very same writers voted Bonds and Clemens all those MVP and CY Young awards!!!!!!!!!!

They are extreme hypocrites--they knew more than anyone during the steroid era that these guys were juicing and NEVER said or wrote anything about it, plus voted them all of the season-end awards.

But once the conspiracy between the league and the media to keep steroid use from the public started collapsing, the media bailed and feigned outrage over how steroids ruined the game and its integrity.

All Baseball Writers of America should forever be banned from voting on awards and Hall of Fame inductions.

Great point you make. I totally agree.

Good Luck.

Interesting discussion, but mostly by what it lacks, not accomplishes. 90% of the posters on Covers never played, coached or managed competitive baseball beyond the Little League level and yet would make radical changes to a system because it did not honor the heroes of their particular lifetime or favorite era. Jock sniffers? That is exactly what you guys are that want the steroid era players elected. As for the BBWAA, you apparently have no idea the background and knowledge of the game required to even be invited in. Not only is your invitation not in the mail but Warren Buffett will not be asking you to CEO one his companies either. The job of the BBWAA is not just to elect players, it is also to protect the integrity of the game and the HOF. Players elect themselves? Yeah, and while you're at it why not turn the asylum over to the inmates or decide that only convicted murderers will sit on the juries of those being tried for murder, since they know far more about murder than twelve average jerks off the street? As usual, just when you think you have seen it all on Covers along comes another thread that gets filled with ignorant excrement. "Possibly the greatest player of all time"? Thanks for the laugh. Of course a great athlete with a highly talented body wasn't curious about what was in "the cream" or "the clear" while his head was expanding and his gonads were shrinking. Yeah, these guys ingest crap all the time they don't know the contents of. I guess that is why he stood at the plate admiring his home run shots and looking like "Damn man, that sheet really works!"   

There in lies the problem.   There is no integrity left for basball to claim.  When Bonds was being pillaged in the media when the allegations first came out, none of his contemporaries said anything.  Zero outrage.   Why?  because the use of PEDs was clearly rampant throughout baseball.  So its easy for those who want to exclude bonds, clemens, etc, but the more difficult ? Is what is the standard for the steroid era.  Piazza does he get in on stats or excluded because of suspicions.  And to suggest that the steroid era is over seems ridiculous.  Braun, cabrera failed drug tests, so what should standard be for todays players.  If bautistas #s continue does he get in or what about pujols.   Bottom line is baseball is left w a nasty mess w no good solutions.   Thus, it seems that the only reasonable standard is that unless baseball makes some kind of affirmative finding implicating a player, than they must be elected if their stats warrant.

A writer's knowledge and background?????????  Now THAT'S rich.  They are all ignorant media person. 

Just look at all this Manti Teo crap that they pushed on everyone these past few months and all along he was a fraud both on and off the field.  It was obvious to anyone with eyes and REAL knowledge that he was only an above average talent and that his story was a total fraud to hide his sexual preference, but even today all of those jock sniffers are on TV denying the truth.

Your honor, I rest my case.

Quote Originally Posted by mmac66:

Ken Rosenthal and I think Jason Stark (or maybe it was Jeff Passen) both wrote excellent opinion pieces on the steroid issue.....people shook read both. They make very compelling arguments for their respective sides.....and maintain respect for the other side of the debate.....great pieces

You are Hamilton Burger compared to my  Perry Mason.

The point of what this tread has turned into from my POV, is that this power should never have been granted to a group of non-participants.  When did the sports God from above come down and decree that this group of observers has a better handle on who is more feared, respected, looked up to, and wanted as a comrade, than the combatants themselves.
It never happened, it morphed into this state of being because of the power of the pen.  Look I don't have any allusions of this ship righting itself, but that does not mean you give up shrug and say, "Oh well you can't fight City Hall, ,,, Might makes right"    It's wrong,,  outsiders can bicker and girl all they want over a beverage or 12, but to have the power to pretend that their opinion has more credence than that of the actual people they are pretending to be experts about is silly period. 

side note:   I agree, that these cheating pukes should be looked at differently,  but how different would be the voting, it it were a secret ballet of their peirs

^^^
peirs should be peers,,, my mom is crying

anyway I'll address your "the inmates running the asylum" theory next........   great saying btw,,, I use it all the time in my current line of work...

[Quote: Originally Posted by KeyElement] BBWAA elect themselves? Yeah, and while you're at it why not turn the asylum over to the inmates or decide that only convicted murderers will sit on the juries of those being tried for murder, since they know far more about murder than twelve average jerks off the street?

One word change,,,,      
come on now,,, your words not mine,

that's all I have Key,,,  I think you are dead nuts on your betting philosphies, and I have to admit I do respect the hell out of your opinions on most things gambling related....    we just are probably never going to see eye to eye on this topic...  

I've had enough, dead thread for me.