The Hall of Fame: For Good Players or Good People?

Through the years, there have been a few instances of players not getting into the baseball hall of fame because of controversial events that had little to do with their baseball skills or statistics. The most popular case is that of Pete Rose, who was permanently banned by Bart Giamatti in 1989 for allegedly betting on baseball. Former Chicago White Sox great "Shoeless" Joe Jackson also has yet to be elected to Cooperstown after he was found guilty of the 1919 scandal to fix the world series.

Examples such as Rose and Jackson raise the question of whether players should get into Hall of Fame solely on statistics, or if character should be taken into consideration. Based on numbers alone, Rose and Jackson should certainly both be in the Hall of Fame. Rose was a career .303 hitter who also holds the all-time record for games played, plate appearances, at bats and hits. He also won three world series titles and was a 17 time all-star. I'll say that again...he made the all-star team 17 times. Shoeless Joe Jackson was a career .356 hitter and would have undoubtedly been one of the better hitters of all time if not for his lifetime ban from the game.

In my opinion, both of these men deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Last time I checked, players got into Cooperstown for being great players, not great people. I'm not defending Pete Rose's gambling, but his numbers say he is a shoe-in hall of famer. The same can be said for Jackson. In fact, there has never been any proof that Jackson was knowingly involved in the fix. He was illiterate and likely did not know the papers he was signing were documents to throw the series. In addition, if character is such a big requirement for getting voted in, then how did less than reputable people such as Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio or Ty Cobb get in?

There is one group, however, that I believe should not get in despite their gaudy statistics: the steroid users. Barry Bonds may be the all-time home run king, but he more than likely used performance enhancing drugs to help him get there. That is much different than just being a jerk (even though he has a reputation as being surly) or gambling on baseball. He did something that physically helped him put up such large numbers. The same can be said for players like Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire. Make no mistake, these guys are talented, but they did things to give them an edge on the field.

While the steroid users shouldn't be allowed in, I believe players like Rose and Jackson should get there, and I hope to see both of them inducted someday.