BASE-BALL

[Flint1979]

The biggest difference with David Ortiz was that he was a really likable media darling.  Bonds was a total asshole to the media most of his career and Roger Clemons wasn't all that great either.  I say put all of the suspected/confirmed steroid users in this discussion in the Hall states or none at all.

To say the least, I'm glad Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame. He and Clemens now join Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose as the greatest players to be banned from the sport's highest honor. However, it's sad (at least from a Cubs fan's point of view) that Sammy Sosa didn't get in either, considering that he has more 60-HR seasons than anyone else and is a beloved sports figure in Chicago.

Corky Sosa falls under the same category as Bonds and Clemens.

[jp the roadgeek]

The biggest difference with David Ortiz was that he was a really likable media darling.  Bonds was a total asshole to the media most of his career and Roger Clemons wasn't all that great either.  I say put all of the suspected/confirmed steroid users in this discussion in the Hall states or none at all.

To say the least, I'm glad Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame. He and Clemens now join Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose as the greatest players to be banned from the sport's highest honor. However, it's sad (at least from a Cubs fan's point of view) that Sammy Sosa didn't get in either, considering that he has more 60-HR seasons than anyone else and is a beloved sports figure in Chicago.

A little bit apples to oranges.  Shoeless Joe and Charlie Hustle are banned and ineligible for any type of consideration.  Bonds and Clemens (along with Schilling and Sammy) could conceivably get in as early as next year if the Today's Game committee elects them when they vote later this Fall.

[Ted$8roadFan]

I wonder if Bonds and Clemens will get in at some point in the future, once a younger generation with comparatively little memory of the steroid era are in a position to vote.

[Alps]

David Ortiz get into the baseball HOF on the first ballot but all the other steroid cheats are shut out. Apparently, in sports, cheating doesn't pay unless you play in New England.

Really glad I got to visit the HOF this summer while it was still clean.

He tested "positive" for an unknown or (as Rob Manfred) said, possibly an even legal over the counter med. Never tested positive in the real world and was never accused by anyone otherwise.

Stop crapping all over New England. I bet you get REAL friggin' silent when it comes to Peyton Manning's "wife" getting HGH mailed to her home.

I'm a Yankees fan and I'm fine with Ortiz.

[DTComposer]

Players have been looking for an edge since the beginning of the game. I guarantee there are dozens of players in the Hall from pre-1980 who used uppers and what not; had modern steroids been around in 1950 they probably would have been encouraged - better living through chemistry and all that. Look at how smoking was perceived at the time.

Meanwhile, I don't recall Selig doing anything substantial about the issue in the '90s, while roided-up Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa were nearly single-handedly putting eyeballs back on the screens and butts back in the seats after the 1994 strike. He was happy to let them save the sport then...pretty hypocritical.

I don't honestly care if these particular players get in or not - but if you want the Hall to tell the story of baseball and not just be a monument to statistics, then they should get in, along with Rose, Shoeless Joe, and the others.

[Roadgeekteen]

Bonds needs to make it in someday

[Alps]

Bonds needs to make it in someday

The Hall of Cheaters is open for him and Brady/Belichick.

[I-39]

The biggest difference with David Ortiz was that he was a really likable media darling.  Bonds was a total asshole to the media most of his career and Roger Clemons wasn't all that great either.  I say put all of the suspected/confirmed steroid users in this discussion in the Hall states or none at all.

To say the least, I'm glad Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame. He and Clemens now join Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose as the greatest players to be banned from the sport's highest honor. However, it's sad (at least from a Cubs fan's point of view) that Sammy Sosa didn't get in either, considering that he has more 60-HR seasons than anyone else and is a beloved sports figure in Chicago.

Beloved? Not so sure anymore. I certainly don't like Sammy after his arrogant comments and the arrogant way he left the team.

[jeffandnicole]

The biggest difference with David Ortiz was that he was a really likable media darling.  Bonds was a total asshole to the media most of his career and Roger Clemons wasn't all that great either.  I say put all of the suspected/confirmed steroid users in this discussion in the Hall states or none at all.

To say the least, I'm glad Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame. He and Clemens now join Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose as the greatest players to be banned from the sport's highest honor. However, it's sad (at least from a Cubs fan's point of view) that Sammy Sosa didn't get in either, considering that he has more 60-HR seasons than anyone else and is a beloved sports figure in Chicago.

Beloved? Not so sure anymore. I certainly don't like Sammy after his arrogant comments and the arrogant way he left the team.

Bonds and Clemens aren't banned.

[Henry]

The biggest difference with David Ortiz was that he was a really likable media darling.  Bonds was a total asshole to the media most of his career and Roger Clemons wasn't all that great either.  I say put all of the suspected/confirmed steroid users in this discussion in the Hall states or none at all.

To say the least, I'm glad Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame. He and Clemens now join Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose as the greatest players to be banned from the sport's highest honor. However, it's sad (at least from a Cubs fan's point of view) that Sammy Sosa didn't get in either, considering that he has more 60-HR seasons than anyone else and is a beloved sports figure in Chicago.

Beloved? Not so sure anymore. I certainly don't like Sammy after his arrogant comments and the arrogant way he left the team.

Bonds and Clemens aren't banned.

I take it back. They can still get in AFAIK, but most likely never will.

[Henry]

Time is running out on getting the season started as scheduled. While I like that the two sides are continuing to negotiate, I'm beginning to worry more and more that we'll have yet another short season, which would be the second such one in three years (of course 2020 was due to the COVID pandemic). But as always, we'll need to stay tuned for the latest updates.

[Billy F 1988]

I always find this as ridiculously laughable because money is the only thing important to MLB shareholders, not giving a hot elephant's tusk about the fans who purchase season passes or are semi-regular attendees of games. They're always fighting about who gets what, how often, how much, and so on. It's like c'mon, Major League Baseball! Get your *POOP* heads out of whatever hole you crawled in to, give the players the fair share of what they will be payed for so they don't have a reason to jump ship and go to another sport! What Major League Baseball needs is a SINGLE chief arbiter, not multiple ones bickering and bitching to the owners and presidents of the major teams and their shareholders! Get it figured our or just shut the sport down completely and we'll raise funds for a new major baseball governing body that doesn't gig players up the backside and leave them out in the cold, that gives players of all nationalities a fair opportunity to try out for a major team, and so on. No more of this bull*POOP* from MLB! Either Manfred and company gets this done soon or there won't be ANY baseball. And my, my, what a mess that'd be for the kiddos moving up in Little League and the high schoolers moving through spring and summer Legion leagues, and NCAA college baseball if MLB were to teeter on the brink of collapsing. But, I guess that's just pipe dream of sorts.

See, that's my issue with MLB. They're always fighting for money. See, at least the NBA, NHL and NFL dole out fair and honest collective bargaining agreements. Are they perfect? Oh, heck no, son. But you don't see NFL owners and managers bickering to Roger Goodell about how much to pay prospective draftees and veteran players. Most have a very good idea on how much to pay and for how long, unless you're the clueless Lost Brokers Raiders and J E T S. NBA owners and managers have some idea on how much to pay their star players. And the same can apply for most NHL teams. With those three, they already figured out their CBA's, or are in the process of restructuring their CBA's. Yet, MLB has one and they can't figure out what in the Sam Hill they're supposed to do. Seems like things go well one day, then they yank that out from underneath at the very last minute just to delay it longer and make fans turn off baseball completely, or watch global baseball, which I'm sure MLB fans would rather not do.

[triplemultiplex]

MLB owners are all nostalgic for the "good ol' days" when they only had to pay players an upper-middle class salary and could treat them as property.

[Max Rockatansky]

MLB owners are all nostalgic for the "good ol' days" when they only had to pay players an upper-middle class salary and could treat them as property.

Or not even that.  My Grandpa found it way more profitable to be a lumber yard manager than signing a playing contract with the Detroit Tigers.  Considering his pension was fantastic it was right decision easily for the era.

[KCRoadFan]

I heard some progress was made today!

My view is this: whether 162 games are played or not, I will be happy if some baseball is played in 2022.

[kevinb1994]

I heard some progress was made today!

My view is this: whether 162 games are played or not, I will be happy if some baseball is played in 2022.

Same here. I'm looking forward to seeing the Jumbo Shrimp (AAA Marlins affiliate) play the Iowa Cubs late in the MiLB season.

Meanwhile, the Shrimp will open their season against the WooSox. Not sure if I'll be at the ballpark downtown that early in the season yet. We'll see.

[Billy F 1988]

Well, if MLB owners are so ultra nostalgic, it's about time they get a reality call. Straight up. This ain't the 30's, this ain't the 40's, not the 70's, not the 90's, this is two thousand klatzniking twenty two! Man, these teams need fresh faces to run the front offices, they are stale as dried, crusty pretzels. Life isn't always forever, MLB owners! You're not always going to be around forever! There will be younger faces to come in to take the very seat these old hats are in now in the not-too-distant future that can usher in a fresher demographic that will get more kids involved in baseball, grow them through the farm leagues, and groom them to be future MLB players themselves. Shoot, if I had an inkling of knowledge on running MLB, I'd put my foot down and told these hapless boys in the front offices to quit their squabbling and make a decision on whether we play 162, 144, or not instead of continuing these nonstop charades that they've been so vilified for years.

[Henry]

I'm guessing this is it: Since the two sides are still too far apart to salvage the season as originally scheduled, be prepared for a shorter season again. Hopefully this lockout will not go the NHL route of 2004-05, but I am not holding my breath.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Baseball is in trouble regardless of how MLB's self-imposed debacle ends.

https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Baseball-A-Changing-Landscape

[Flint1979]

I wish that Jerry Reinsdorf would sell the White Sox. I've been wishing for that for about 10 years now. Look the guy just turned 86 years old and he never was a very good owner. If we could get rid of some of these owners we might be in better shape.

[CtrlAltDel]

Baseball is in trouble regardless of how MLB's self-imposed debacle ends.

https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Baseball-A-Changing-Landscape

There's some interesting information in this article, but also quite a bit of old-man ranting as well: There are too many statistics in baseball today; here's some statistics to prove it!

[Henry]

I wish that Jerry Reinsdorf would sell the White Sox. I've been wishing for that for about 10 years now. Look the guy just turned 86 years old and he never was a very good owner. If we could get rid of some of these owners we might be in better shape.

Probably because he was more focused on running the Bulls and making them the best basketball team in the world, with Jordan, Pippen and Coach Phil Jackson being the main reasons why. See, this is the trouble with owning multiple franchises in different sports: While the Sox were actually pretty good in the 90s, they were somewhat overshadowed by the success of the NBA team that won six championships in eight years. And while neither the United Center nor Guaranteed Rate Field is in a good part of town, I'd feel safer in the former venue than I would the latter.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Baseball is in trouble regardless of how MLB's self-imposed debacle ends.

https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Baseball-A-Changing-Landscape

There's some interesting information in this article, but also quite a bit of old-man ranting as well: There are too many statistics in baseball today; here's some statistics to prove it!

It's baseball....there's always old-man ranting.

[CtrlAltDel]

Baseball is in trouble regardless of how MLB's self-imposed debacle ends.

https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Baseball-A-Changing-Landscape

There's some interesting information in this article, but also quite a bit of old-man ranting as well: There are too many statistics in baseball today; here's some statistics to prove it!

It's baseball....there's always old-man ranting.

You got me there! 

[thspfc]

If the regular season ends up being 30-40 games per team and the World Series happens in August, I might be interested enough to watch.

But nah, the World Series has to go up against the NFL and college football because traditionalism and pastime.