The key to being recognized as a "clean" player in the PED era was by not being too good while on the juice. It's a joke that he's in and Bonds isn't. These nonsense after the fact backroom small council votes need to go away.
This was an absolute joke. ‘Despite what Clemens and Bonds did regarding PEDs, they belong in the HOF. They didn’t do irreparable damage to the game. And yet the so-called gatekeepers, the baseball writers will keep them out, but will vilify the Astros for sign stealing and turn a blind eye to Ohtani and the betting scandal and never question his involvement (or the reported lack thereof). What a bunch of hypocrites.
I was at this game sitting in section 305. The crowd was so loud when Kent hit that homerun that we didn't even hear the fireworks go off! Really thought that team was gonna go to the World Series that year.
So assholes can get in (see Kent) and people with strong suspicions of steroids can get in (see Ortiz, Bagwell), but assholes with strong suspicion cannot (see Bonds, Clemens). Seems logical...
I guess being the all-time HR leader among 2B is why they elected him. If he's a HOFer, so are Berkman and Oswalt, and I'm not arguing for those two. This is a guy that was basically just a solid regular until he turned 30 and became an all-star player.
Kent should have every bit the suspicion as most, but it goes beyond suspicion of those guys. Bonds admitted it under oath. Multiple people have said Clemens did while they were under oath. They used.
Of course they did. So did Kent (as you say, turned into an All-Start after 30), Ortiz (named in the Mitchell report), Piazza and others. Having a committee of people guessing who did and who didn't is absurd.
Steroids should be a non-factor. It's just part of the game. There are too many factors that impact performance to hate on one or two. Sign stealing, steroids, greenies, big market advantages,. It goes on and on. It's impossible to account for all of them, or even know about all of them. And Bonds may have been using to be a better hitter, but Clemens was using to be a better pitcher. Hundreds of hitters, hundreds of pitchers. Even race. Prior to Jackie Robinson, white players played against less than the best talent pool impacting performance and results. The HOF is about what happens ON the diamond. Keep it that way.
Altuve>>Kent. I think Altuves selection is independent of Kent’s. Altuve has been great in the playoffs as well and has an MVP
So the Stros now have two 2B in the HOF, and the best to play the position for the franchise likely never gets in because of BS
