A member of ClutchFans put this together. It's a blog dedicated to making the case for Jeff Bagwell to be elected into the Hall of Fame. http://www.bags4hof.com/
I do believe Bagwell should be in the Hall of Fame however I also feel there is enough circumstantial "evidence" to make you believe he did do steroids. His body expanded from his rookie year to 94 in the same way Bonds' did. He was teammates and good friends with Ken Caminiti for years. His numbers were in line with the offensive explosion in that era and he did a lot of that in the cavernous astrodome. I fully acknowledge that none of this is direct evidence. Given that era was full of steroids though, he should make it in the hall of fame. He was still one of the best out of those guys and could hit the ball like no ones business.
It's weird to me that anyone would even have to put together a case for Jeff Bagwell in the HOF because there isn't a serious case against him being in the HOF. The HOF voters have made a joke out of the entire process.
Awesome blog. Bobby's right it shouldn't even have to exist, there's no case at all against him being there in the first place.
If barry bonds and Clemens aren't in I don't know if any one really "deserves" to be in. Even without the PEDs those guys are probably HOF. Maybe Bonds doesn't hit 70hr, but I think he is easily 400/400 which should be a HOF lock.
The question is should they be punished for what they did? Similar to Rose, who would easily be a HOFer. Now that the voting has changed to 10 years, I think voters will need to quit waiting, and make a decision whether he is a HOFer. The only question is steroids, but we've got nothing but guilt by association. What is more important? Keeping possible roiders out, or making sure non-roiders are included?
I'm surprised this article doesn't address the claims that after he got bigger from his rookie season he very quickly got smaller when he retired. But then he has a chronic shoulder condition that explained this (couldn't work out anymore due to the pain, if I recall). So many people point to his shrinking frame post-retirement as evidence to steroid use during his playing days, and not just to his relationship with Cammy or the era in general.
I always think it's funny when people post his rookie picture then another picture of him 15 years later as "evidence" that he used. It was well known that he was a gym freak, and that he used andro when it was legal, why would it surprise anyone that his body would get larger after more than a decade of being a professional athlete?
There shouldn't even have to be a case for it. bagwell belongs there. the national writers always allude to them (biggio and bagwel) being friends with ken. but they look the other way when jeter was besties with giambi and other juicers. If they want to punish everyone in the 90s- mid 2000s then that's fine but don't be drooling all over jeter, east coast 'journalists'.
I've never understood why people make websites like these. They almost never seem to work. Anyway, it should be Biggio before Bagwell.
He's likely in; doesn't need any advocacy. But by no legitimate measure should Biggio go in ahead of Bagwell. He's borderline; Bagwell is a legitimate first ballot selection.
I would quit touting the "andro when it was legal" line. Technically, all steroids were "legal" as there was no testing for it... and andro is a testosterone precursor, every bit a steroid as there can be without a Rx. If Bagwell wants to clear his name from "guilt by association", I'm sure everybody is willing to listen. Unfortuantely, his silence echoes that of other "users" of his era... some of which are not only still in the game, but coaching in the playoffs (McGwire). I'd really love to believe that Bagwell never used anything... and I know there's zero evidence directly implicating him... I just don't think its plausible.
Why? Him using a legal substance shouldn't be held against him. It wasn't against the rules, so why would it matter? I'm not going to knock a player for not going along with the BS witch hunt led by a bunch of self righteous sports writers. Odds are EVERYONE used something to get ahead, this is baseball we're talking about. Until the witch hunt, no one cared. Do we knock the players in the 70's and 80's for using illegal amphetamines? No. Do we knock guys like Ted Williams and Babe Ruth for using corked bats? No. The first known PED user was inducted into the HOF in 1965 and he played his last game over 110 years ago. The PED witch hunt needs to end. A HOF without guys like Clemens, Bonds, and Bagwell isn't a relevant HOF.
Steroids weren't tested for, but were banned. Andro was not. He has been emphatic that he didn't use.
Well, you're the biggest Bagwell homer on this board and oddly you posted your email to Barry Bloom regarding Steve Garvey and this writer cites... Barry Bloom regarding Steve Garvey. Maybe you have a long lost twin? Mysterious! Maybe we can get the blogger's thoughts on Schaub pre meltdown. That would be telling! Actually the only problem I really have with the blog is omitting the fact Cammy and Bagwell weren't just teammates, they were great friends. It's not a stretch to believe Cammy didn't out Bagwell because of that friendship. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=6560049&postcount=356 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=5860710&postcount=121 From Blog http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=5865369&postcount=180 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=5866362 From blog
