Manny Ramirez and the Baseball Hall of Fame

Dare We Hope that Manny May be Famed?

Ron Washington, manager of the Texas Rangers, shares a view point that a lot of baseball’s most respected minds have had recently – all in regards to recently defamed slugger Manny Ramirez.

“Until the past couple of years, I thought he was on his way to the Hall of Fame,” he told theAssociated Press. “I don’t think many guys got as many big hits in their careers as he has. There weren’t many guys who had as big an effect on a game as he had.”

The issue that has plagued Ramirez now since early April is the fact that he retired so swiftly upon the public announcement that he had failed another test for performance-enhancing steroids.

Don’t let his paltry .059 batting average with 0 home runs in 17 at-bats this season fool you. Ramirez has legitimate claims to the title of greatest slugger of his era and as one of the greatest sluggers of all time.

On Apr. 8, Ramirez decided to abruptly retire from the game altogether rather than face a 100-day suspension for violating, for the second time, Major League Baseball’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

With discussion on PEDs already rampant in the media, an issue less documented is whether or not Ramirez – despite the black eye on his name – can expect to prove Washington wrong with an enshrinement in Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

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The Numbers

Making a case for Ramirez’ place in the Hall of Fame is easy. His career stat line boasts a number of the benchmarks necessary for Hall induction. In his 19 years as a Major Leaguer, Ramirez hit more than 500 HRs (555), more than 1,500 RBIs (1,831) and was named a Silver Slugger a whopping nine times. His 12 All-Star nods, two World Championships and .996 career OPS (ninth best of all time) only solidify his case.

What’s more, Ramirez separated himself from other prototypical sluggers who often traded outs for home runs; his .312 average is fourth best in the history of baseball among players with 500 or more home runs. That certainly isn’t the extent of his statistical mastery, even in the numerically-inflated, steroid-ridden 90s, but the rest doesn’t really matter. Aside from his PED record it’s quite obvious that Ramirez is a first ballot Hall of Famer in any generation.

This isn’t any generation, however.

The Steroid Era

Baseball fans of today are all too familiar with a time when it wasn’t uncommon for players to abuse performance enhancing drugs (such as anabolic steroids) to recover from injury faster, hit the ball further and more often than in any generation before. The fact that Ramirez is himself a proven PED abuser certainly affects his potential as a Hall of Famer. But how?

A look at how other known PED abusers, who would otherwise have been locks for Hall induction, gives us some insight into how we can expect those same voters to treat Ramirez.

In a career that included 583 home runs and 1,414 RBIs Mark McGwire set both the rookie home run record at 49 and the then-single season record (70). While some critics claim that his poor career batting average (.263), low hit total (1,626) and injury issues may have kept him out of the Hall anyway, rest assured that the slugger with the best at bat/home run total in the history of baseball (10.61) should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Mark McGwire is not in the Hall today because he used PEDs. Even though he played at a time in baseball when such means were not restricted voters have insisted on holding McGwire’s reputation as a cheater against him.

In his first year of eligibility McGwire gained 23.5 percent of the vote (where 75 percent is required for selection). He was up slightly in year two with 23.6 percent. In 2009, however, he dropped to 21.9 percent and in 2010 rebounded to 23.7 percent. This year McGwire finished at 19.7 percent.

To some extent, the trend indicates that the 20 percent or so eligible voters do believe there’s a place for McGwire in the Hall. Many arguments have been made about voting in known steroid abusers who still managed to remain ahead of their contemporaries in an era where countless players have admitted to using PEDs.

Still, the prognosis is grim for Ramirez when his Hall eligibility is viewed alongside other cheaters.

While it was expected that, with his 2010 apology and endorsements from the likes of A’s and Cardinals long-time manager Tony LaRussa, the court of public opinion would begin to sway in a positive direction for McGwire, it hasn’t. In fact, his recent vote total indicates that voters are becoming less likely to name known cheaters amongst the greatest in baseball history, especially when they can cast their votes for greats from this era who have not been linked to steroid abuse.

Court of Public Opinion

McGwire isn’t the only known steroid abuser who has received an icy reception from voters.Rafael Palmeiro finished his career with 3,020 hits and 569 home runs to go along with a .288 average and a positive test for PEDs. He had fewer All-Star appearances and no championships but his career numbers are much better than McGwire’s.

In Palmeiro’s first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame his vote share was recorded at 11 percent.

Compare that to a suspected, but not known, PED user like Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell received 41.7 percent of the Hall of Fame vote in 2011. With a career .297 average, 449 HRs and over 1,500 RBIs. The case can be made that Bagwell was just short of being a lock for first-year induction. His strong but still short vote share tells us a lot about voters and the steroid era; as of yet they are not willing to open the Hall of Fame doors to drug users, suspected or proven.

It has been theorized that McGwire and Palmeiro’s poor showings on the Hall of Fame ballot are linked to their having refused to answer fully questions posed to them at Congress during a 2005 hearing on PEDs. As an increasing amount of players who’ve since admitted to using steroids – or even tested positive for PEDs outright – become eligible for Hall induction we can reasonably expect that they too will not be inducted. The list includes the likes of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa; a trifecta of players who defined the 90s baseball environment.

Ramirez has tested positive for PEDs twice. It is now suspected that he abused them throughout his entire career.

There are two reasons, however, that may still lead to his induction. Considering his strange escapades, frequent demands for trades, strange comments to the media and lazy play in left field, Ramirez has been described as both loveable and frustrating.

In the eyes of the public, which impact Hall voting to a great extent, McGwire and Palmeiro are viewed as fallen superheroes. Bonds and Clemens have polarized the fanbase with their spiny personalities and rampant denial. Ramirez, however, sits in his own realm as a player that we’ve come to expect odd things from.

Despite his quirks, fans have loved his legendary clutch hitting and light attitude concerning all things baseball. He’s the class clown, the Spicoli, the Stiffler, the guy you watch to entertain you with his antics. After all, isn’t his second positive test just Manny being Manny?

His title as baseball’s jester may not be enough for Hall voters to look beyond his two positive drug tests. But the way in which he endeared most who watched him play has to make him easier to vote for.

Another reason why Ramirez may be voted into the Hall eventually is timing. McGwire and Palmeiro have the unfortunate luxury of being the first few known PED users to be eligible for induction. Bonds and Clemens will be the worst villains to face scrutiny due to their persistent denial.

Ramirez and a slew of other known and suspected PED users will come up for eligibility at a time when voters, young and old, will be forced to take a look at the whole era and decide whether or not those who stood head and shoulders above their competition, drugs or no, are deserving of induction.

At some point voters will be forced to come to terms with the Steroid Era, the era that rejuvenated fan interest in baseball and that they themselves as members of the sports media owe their careers to.

Though Manny Ramirez isn’t likely to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, it would be a shame if he never ended up as one eventually.

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