Three months ago I wrote that since Alex Rodriguez was found to have used steroids, the baseball Hall of Fame was eventually going to have to let in anyone who had the numbers to warrant induction. That included guys like Mark McGwire, who if not for the pall cast over his career by steroid-use suspicion, would already be in Cooperstown. Not to mention Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, who may soon be unequivocally found to have used PEDs throughout their careers.

(OK, a little over-the-top)

Guys like Bud Selig, Bob Costas, dozens of holier-than-thou baseball writers, and plenty of other dinosaur media members though have continued to intimate with their words and deeds that confirmed (and suspected) steroid users should not be afforded the honor of entering the Hall.

But now with the news today of Manny Ramirez using PEDs, it’s getting to the point where if we don’t let steroid/PED users into Cooperstown, there won’t be anyone left to induct.

You won’t hear any of those hypocritical media members backtracking about the Hall of Fame today. Not yet. But I can guarantee you that the Ramirez revelation, regardless of his claims of innocence, will have an impact going forward on who is seriously considered for the Hall of Fame.

It has to, ‘else you might as well furlough HOF workers for the next decade or two.

The double-standard when judging guys like McGwire for the Hall is one of the most outrageous examples of hypocrisy ever wrought by the sports media. The HOF is littered by some of the most profound scoundrels to put on a uniform, yet those scumbags are shielded by revisionist baseball *traditionalists*.

Cooperstown beacon Ty Cobb is universally regarded as one of worst human beings to every succeed at sports. And that was without the benefit of the hyper-media coverage that we so much *enjoy* today. Can you imagine what we would know about him if he was playing today?

I’ve read several long accounts of Cobb’s life, and based on a mountain of circumstantial evidence, I have no hesitation in saying that Cobb cheated as a player and also bet on games - on both sides - during his playing and managing career. The guy truly was a wretch in every sense of the world.

Anyone who has studied him and doesn’t see that is blind.

Also, if steroids were around, do you think Cobb, who would punch his mother in the mouth to get an edge over his opponent, would’ve not used them? Please.

So to leave out a guy like McGwire, while protecting people like Cobb is nothing short of a disgrace. Especially considering that guys like Selig, Costas and others consider themselves to be baseball historians. (I know McGwire’s numbers pale next to Cobb’s, but they’re still easily good enough to get him into Cooperstown - especially considering his contribution to the renaissance of interest in the game.)

The news about Ramirez today I hope is finally a turning point when it comes to how we judge the game historically. It’s time to stop demonizing players over the use of PEDs. Yes, it’s abhorrent to the game, but it’s happened for decades - and will continue to happen.

Get over it.