Rafael Palmeiro has had an outstanding career; he is one of only 4 members in the entire history of Major League Baseball to have over 3,000 hits and 500 homeruns. He is 15th all-time in RBI’s with 1834, and 10th all-time in total bases with 5385.
Despite all of those numbers, the one thing that people will always remember about Rafael Palmeiro was that he was tested positive for steroids by Major League Baseball.
Rafael tested positive for Stanozolol in May 2005. Stanozolol is a very potent steroid, and the chances that Rafael did not know he was taking it in a dietary supplement are slim to none. When Rafael was tested positive for the drug there was a secret arbitration in June, to decide if he was guilty of the charges against him. Only a few members of Major League Baseball and The Players Union were aware that Rafael had tested positive. Major League Baseball wanted to make sure that he hit his 500th homerun and his 3000th hit before they released the news that Rafael had tested positive for steroids.
So if Rafael was caught cheating, why should he be allowed to enter into the Hall of Fame?
Rafael should be put in the Hall of Fame because the numbers that he put up over the course of his career are outstanding, and he belongs to be there. Rafael Palmeiro was not banned from the sport of baseball; he was not barred from all baseball related activities, Rafael Palmeiro was suspended 10 days for breaking the rules
If Julian Tavares (who was suspended for using tar on the bill of his cap) was a hall of fame caliber player, should he be banned from the hall of fame?
There are plenty of players over the course of history that used spitballs, vasoline balls, pine-tar, anything they could find to get an edge. A lot of those players are currently in the hall of fame. In the 70’s it was reported that the players were using many different types of stimulants, and that a lot of the time the winner was generally the team that out-doped the other team.
Is Major League Baseball going to ban Palmeiro from the hall of fame and allow everybody else because their ability to monitor cheaters has gotten better?
I am not promoting steroids at all of any kind, but if you are going to ban someone from the hall of fame for cheating you have to be consistent. You would also have to ban Sammy Sosa (for cork) and Barry Bonds (for admitting that he took a steroid).
The bottom line is that Rafael Palmeiro should be in the hall of fame because he was one of the best players of this generation. Rafael made a mistake and took steroids to get an edge, but he would not be in the only one in the hall of fame who cheated to get an edge on their competition. 3,000 Hits and 500 Homeruns, the numbers should speak for themselves.
Benjamin Nicholson
Baseball Scout and Sports Analyst
www.grinnation.com
http://www.grinnation.com/palmeirohalloffame.htm
benjamnicholson@aol.com
Benjamin Nicholson has covered Major League Baseball for 10 years. He is currently a scout and sports analyst, and most recently has been covering the Rise and Fall of Rafael Palmeiro.
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