Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa & Others Denied Entrance to Baseball Hall of Fame

Today was the day some of baseball’s best were supposed to get inducted into Cooperstown, Baseball Hall of Fame… Among the folks listed were home run champs Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa along w/ pitcher Roger Clemens... That did not happen.. baseball writers decided to stand on principle and not admit folks who were surrounded by the controversy of performance enhancing drugs..

Here’s the AP story

Barry Bonds

NEW YORK — Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa have been denied entry to baseball’s Hall of Fame with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades.

Bonds received just 36.2 percent of the vote, Clemens 37.6 and Sosa 12.5 in totals announced Wednesday by the Hall and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. They were appearing on the ballot for the first time and have up to 14 more years to make it to Cooperstown.

Craig Biggio, 20th on the career list with 3,060 hits, topped the 37 candidates with 68.2 percent of the 569 ballots, 39 shy of the 75 percent needed. Among other first-year eligibles, Mike Piazza received 57.8 percent and Curt Schilling 38.8

Jack Morris led holdovers with 67.7 percent. He will make his final ballot appearance next year, when Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are eligible for the first time.

Sports writer Dave Zirin

We interviewed sports writer Dave Zirin who pulls no punches in expressing the fallacy of MLB and the hypocrisy of baseball writers..especially those who like to uphold the notions of integrity, sportsmanship and character as criteria for induction… Zirin rattles off a variety of glaring examples of folks voted in the Baseball HOF who easily run counter to these lofty notions.. he aslo speaks on the widespread illegal drug use in other eras..involving some of baseball’s then best.. many are in the HOF to this day without a word being spoken or their inductions challenged.

Zirin gives a full and thorough breakdown of what was at stake and what was driving this crusade against Bonds and company… Zirin points out this has more to do with currying political flavor vs the deep concern for drugs.

We also talk to Zirin about the awful decisions made by the Washington ‘Skins’ to keep Robert Griffin 3 in the game which resulted in a season ending and possibly career changing injury..

You can peep the interview at the link below

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