I don't understand a lot of different things. I don't mean to put myself down, there are just aspects of life that don't compute with me. Some of those things fall under the broad category of "sports."
I don't understand Andy Pettitte. I also don't understand Marlon Byrd, though I admit it's to a lesser extent.
Pettitte is one of the most beloved Yankees to ever play the game. He's had an illustrious career in which he's racked up impressive stats, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. He never won a Cy Young, was only named an all-star three times, never led the league in strikeouts and only led the league in wins once (in his second season). He posted an ERA above 4 in exactly half of his 18 major league seasons.
He was also extraordinarily consistent throughout his elongated career. He started at least 26 games all but four seasons, and pitched over 200 innings in 10 of them. He never lost more games than he won, and only recorded single-digit win totals in his two injury shortened seasons. BaseballReference lists his career WAR at an impressive 60.9 (55th all time) ahead of Hall of Famers Whitey Ford (53.9, 79th) and Sandy Koufax (53.2, 82nd) and just behind Juan Marichal (61.9, 50th) and Dennis Eckersley (62.5, 46th).
Depending on who you ask, Andy Pettitte is either a shoe-in to be inducted into Cooperstown or is at least on the border.
Andy Pettitte also admitted to using HGH.
Marlon Byrd has obviously had a less illustrious career. In 11 years prior to 2013 he made one all-star team and batted over .290 five times. He was never a very patient hitter and therefore never had gaudy on-base numbers. He hit 39 and 43 doubles in 2009 and 2010 respectively, the only times he hit more than 30 in a season. Byrd was always a productive hitter who could stabilize the bottom half of the order and a quality outfielder who added legitimate value to any team.
Then this year in his age 35 season Byrd suddenly found his power stroke. He hit 24 home runs in 579 plate appearances after hitting 22 in his previous 1265. His .511 slugging percentage and 272 total bases are the highest of his career, and he just batted fifth for a team that's one win away from the NLCS.
Marlon Byrd was suspended for testing positive for the PED Taximofen in 2012.
Somehow, the fact that both of these players admitted to steroid use never seems to get mentioned. I'm already on record saying that steroid users should not be vilified for their past mistakes, nor to I blame them for seeking out a competitive advantage. I have found that I'm in the minority in that regard.
Baseball media and its fans have completely trashed numerous players' careers due to admitted (or in some cases, perceived) steroid use. Just ask anyone who was on this year's Hall of Fame ballot.
Somehow, Pettitte and Byrd have escaped this scrutiny. While I don't think it's necessarily deserved, the media seems to have decided that these two likable players are exempt from the career blemish of steroid use. Barry Bonds was a jerk to the media and never tested positive for steroid use. If inducted with an asterisk, his plaque would read "may or may not have cheated, we think." That's all hypothetical though, because I would bet that he's never even going to sniff the Hall.
Being a nice person shouldn't make you above scrutiny. Apparently in today's baseball media though, it kind of does.
You may be right, but the part you're missing is that the people who vote on Hall of Fame ballots are the writers; specifically, the Baseball Writers Association of America. If you're a jerk to the media, they're the people who are going to decide your Hall of Fame candidacy. I agree that the Hall should be more about stats than personality, but I also know that it's not always easy to just forget about that side of things.
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