But maybe George Brett should have, in this instance, shut the hell up instead of saying “guys in the 500-home run club, guys like Schmitty (Mike Schmidt) and some other guys like that, if those guys [“PE”D users] make it in then they’ll…never go back and attend (the Hall of Fame inductions) if the cheaters get elected.” Because, as we’ve pointed out here repeatedly, virtually everyone who has played since the mid-80s has played with steroid users. This includes George Brett (Wally Joyner and Phil Hyatt, if you’re interested). Steroid use in baseball dates back to Brett’s heyday in the 1970s. And there’s an excellent chance that someone has been enshrined in the Hall of Fame who used illegal drugs designed to help them play better. And as Craig Calcaterra pointed out this morning, it’s Mike Schmidt actually believes the exact opposite of what Brett alleges.
Hell, we know that dozens of Hall of Famers, including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle, used amphetamines in their careers specifically so they could play better. It wasn’t against the rules, necessarily (much like steroids weren’t against the rules for much of the so-called steroid era), but the intent and the form is essentially the same.
What’s more, cheaters are most certainly in the Hall of Fame. John McGraw, King Kelly, Whitey Ford, Leo Durocher, and Gaylord Perry all cheated. Hall of Famers, every one.
So again, George Brett. We love you. You’re a worthy Hall of Famer. But stop pretending that you’re not in a club that let’s in any criminal, racist, degenerate, cheating jerkwad who was good at baseball but who didn’t bet on the game.
4 comments:
"I'll take 'Dumb things I said' for $1,000, Alex."
George Brett, please, get over yourself.
Further to Calcaterra's points, Schmidt has admitted using greenies in his career and also wrote in his book that the elimination of amphetamines could have "possibly far greater implications for the game than the crackdown against steroids."
Watch the use of apostrophes. Let's in the second to last paragraph should be lets. Let's is short for "let us", which is not what you wanted to say there.
Thank you, anonymous punctuation nazi. Obviously, The Common Man went out and re-read Eats, Shoots, & Leaves so he would never again forget the important distinction between "lets" and "let's." Indeed, just to be safe, TCM bought himself a 2nd grade grammar workbook and reminded himself of all the contractions. I mean,, alternatively, I could have spent last preparing for my fantasy draft tonight. But I thought obsessing over a single grammatical error in a five paragraph post from three days ago was a much better use of my time. Please help me make this blog better by keeping track of my additional errors and pointing them out at every opportunity. That will be lots of fun.
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