It appears clear that even if Roger Clemens is acquitted of lying to Congress about steroid use, he will face a Sisyphean struggle to make the Hall of Fame. Perhaps one of the 10 greatest pitchers of all time, Clemens' conduct is considered so detrimental to baseball that he should be barred from immortality.
I think Clemens is a jerk -- I've always thought that -- a liar, a philanderer and a cheater. But he was still one of the best pitchers ever.
Now contrast him, and the others whose entry to the Hall appear blocked -- Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro -- and compare them to a man whose Hall pass is already stamped: Manny Ramirez.
Ramirez makes Roger Clemens look like Prince Charles. He is a juvenile, narcisistic twit. Is there a sin in baseball worse than literally quitting on your team? On two different teams? Can a player be called "great" when, in the prime of his career, two different teams were willing to give him away? For all his considerable boorishness, Barry Bonds was never more trouble to the Giants than he was worth.
Let's review the record. In 2003, Ramirez was benched for a game after he was found faking illness that had put him on the shelf for a week. After the 2005 season, he demanded a trade and threatened to boycott spring training if his demand wasn't met. The Red Sox, only too happy to oblige, couldn't find a taker for his massive contract.
In 2008, Ramirez came to blows with Red Sox personnel twice -- once with teammate Kevin Youklis and another with traveling secretary Jack McCormick, whom Ramirez shoved to the ground. Later, he sat out a crucial series with the Yankees, claiming a sore knee, though MRI exams he was forced to get showed no damage. In the subsequent series, he failed to run out grounders or hustle after flies in the field. At one point, he went to the plate and refused to swing the bat, striking out on three pitches. In my line of work, and yours too, that's grounds for instant dismissal.
But wait, there's more. Last year, immediately after signing a $45 million, two-year contract, Ramirez turned the key on a brand new 50-game suspension for using a steroid companion drug. Following that, the NY Times reported that he was one of the 104 players who tested positive for steroid use. Many writers vow they will not elect Alex Rodriguez to the Hall for that reason, but Ramirez, who continues to lie about his involvement, suffers no such stain.
This year, apparently bored with the Dodgers' struggles, Ramirez has found a home on the disabled list. Upon his return, with rumors swirling of a trade, he got himself ejected after taking one pitch, the baseball equivalent of suicide by cop.
Manny Ramirez, at .313/.411/.589, with 554 home runs and 12 seasons of .950+ OPS is unquestionably a giant among hitters. But his brain, his heart, his integrity and his pride could fit in a sesame seed with enough room left over for two gnats to polka. The idea of Ramirez making a victory speech in Cooperstown, while Mark McGwire is banned, disgusts me.
Didn't we long ago agree that idiots, drunks, creeps and thieves could still earn enshrinement with their play, as long as they didn't throw games? It seems to me that Manny Ramirez's loafing, sandbagging and mid-game quitting is a lot closer to throwing a game than anything Barry Bonds ever did.
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