Hall of Hypocrisy Pt. 2: An Open Letter to Ken Gurnick

Ken Gurnick, "As for those who played during the period of PED use, I won't vote for any of them."

Who is Ken Gurnick? He’s the beat writer for the Los Angeles Dodgers who voted for only Jack Morris this year, denying Greg Maddux a well-deserved unanimous selection in today's Hall of Fame voting. He also will not vote for anyone who played during his self-proclaimed period of PED use. Here is latest example of a holier than thou baseball writer who seems to think they are the guardians of MLB’s virtue and ethics.

Memo to Mr. Gurnick: You’re not.

Nor should you qualified to vote for the MLB Hall of Fame. Why? Because you’ve abused your voting right Mr. Gurnick, and turned your ballot into some kind of weapon against everyone who played baseball during the "period of PED use". And when did that begin Ken? 1985? 1990? 1995? Kudos for you to having the rare ability to demarcate the exact time MLB was infiltrated with PED's. Oh, and Ken, what is your definition of a PED? Steroids? HGH? Or anything, such as amphetamines, that affects a player’s performance on the field. What’s your stance on sports drinks?

You are the kind of self-righteous hypocrite that has made the yearly Hall of Fame voting process your own personal bully pulpit. Yeah, I know usually you’re stuck in those locker rooms at Chavez Ravine shoving a microphone into the face of Don Mattingly (did you vote for him?), or chatting it up with Hanley Ramirez (do you consider him a PED’er because he started pre-Mitchell report?), or maybe you have been lucky enough to interview the legendary Sandy Koufax. Now there’s a ballplayer. A shining beacon to the high standards and virtues you use to justify your insipid behavior.

On its own, it’s asinine to omit Greg Maddux from your ballot but to exclude every player who stepped on the field during your arbitrary view of the PED era is a farce. The one person you did include, Jack Morris, is as borderline a candidate there is, I don’t care how great he was in the World Series. He was helped by run support and longevity. Yes, he was a big game pitcher. But so were David Cone and Doyle Alexander.  Cast any votes in their direction? Morris is the only name on your ballot because he played before the “PED Era” you so loudly rail against.

Players like Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Frank Thomas, and Tom Glavine all spent several years of their lives going out on the field of play for 162 games a year-that’s not counting spring training and post-season contests. None of them appeared in the Mitchell report. Yet you will not vote for any of them. In Thomas' and Glavine's case it doesn't matter since they're likely to be inducted today-no thanks to you. Aside from some backacne on Piazza none of the four were ever associated with PED use. Combined this quartet laced ‘em up and took the field year-in and year-out, achieving remarkable things on the diamond that rank them in the upper echelon all-time at their position. 

Where does Morris rank among pitchers? 159th according to baseball-reference.com.

Here’s a quote for you to read Ken:

After he retired, _______ admitted the he was often “half high” on the mound from the drugs he took for his ailing left arm.

Half-high? Here’s a Hall of Famer who is quoted as admitting to be under the influence of “drugs” while stepping on the pitching rubber. Should his plaque be taken away or should he be looked down upon for trying to extend his body to its limit just so he could throw a baseball? Ask yourself that question Ken. 

As for the identity of the Hall of Famer quoted above-Do you know who said that Ken? It wasn’t one of those who played during an era that you as judge and jury find everyone guilty of PED usage in. It was the Dodger great himself, Sandy Koufax! Yep, and do you know what was included in those “drugs” he was taking---wait for it….STEROIDS! Yes, they were of the non-anabolic kind but by his own admission he was using PED’s. Why do I say that? Because those “drugs” didn’t enhance his performance because without them there'd be no performance at all. Koufax wouldn’t have been able to take the mound-so battered and worn was his prized left arm by ’66. Arguably he wouldn’t have had any stat lines his final two years without those “drugs” because Koufax would’ve been unable to pitch. His Hall of Fame chances would’ve been much smaller if he hung ‘em up in 1964. 

This isn’t an indictment on Koufax, but it does raise the point that “drugs” were being used in the game decades before the "PED Era". How widespread was it? Who knows, but in 1969 Sports Illustrated did a two-part series on drugs in sports. They even mention anabolic steroids. 

Here’s a quote from the article:

“The case history of the anabolic steroids, drugs that 10 years ago were almost unknown to American athletes but now are used and/or gossiped about in virtually every sport, serves as a classic example of how drug fads spread.”

Think about it Ken the mainstream sports press were talking about anabolic steroid usage happening in virtually every sport by the late ‘60s. You don’t think it’s possible they hadn’t already reached MLB locker room by that time? Hmm, something to ponder, no?

What about “greenies” Ken?  Ever heard of them? Pep pills they were called. Helped players perform at a faster pace, keep going through a rigorous 162-game schedule. Many players used to eat ‘em like tic-tacs, even Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Willie Stargell indulged. You know why? So they could get an edge, so they could remain standing for a season that runs from February through September and onto October if you’re lucky. 

Did taking “greenies” make the ball go farther or skew baseball statistics to the degree that occurred in 1990s and early 2000s? No, but that’s not the point. The point is that it’s another example of players pre-PED Era using drugs to increase performance and maybe most important of all stamina. So when did the PED Era begin again Ken?  Or do you discount anything besides anabolic steroids or HGH as performance enhancing drugs? Fine, if that is what you have a problem with, then why punish pitchers? You didn’t see 300K seasons and record-breaking pitchers winging it 105 miles an hour with regularity. 

But in your own cocoon of self-righteous, “it’s my vote and I’ll do with it what I want” you come across as a petulant child. Instead of respecting this privilege you have as Hall of Fame voter and researching or investigating the facts of these players such as Maddux. You take the lazy way out and write in Jack Morris. Yes, Ken, you are lazy. You are too lazy to wrap your mind around a complex and contradictory issue. You are too lazy to give consideration to any player who played during your self-defined “PED era.” After Jack Morris falls off the ballot you can just skate your way through the next decade or so of elections. 

Speaking of Jack Morris. Did you vote for Dennis Martinez? Dennis Leonard? Mel Sottlemyre? I’d mention Andy Pettite, but we already know where you stand on that one. Anyway, these are the pitcher’s who according to Baseball Reference match-up careerwise with ole Jack. As for Greg Maddux: His closest matches are names like Seaver, Jenkins, and Spahn. But please support a lesser player all in the name of upholding the virtue and honor of a game that ostracized an entire race for decades. Maybe everyone in the Hall of Fame who played before the early to mid 60’s should get an asterisk attached to their plaque since they didn’t play against the best of the best, but rather, against the best of their race. 

Yes, Jackie Robinson broke the color-barrier in 1947 but it would be another 15 years or so that MLB was truly an integrated sport.  Or does the fact that many Negro League players were later honored with Hall of Fame plaques cover up that gaping wound in the side of MLB credibility during its golden era? 

 

It’s a slippery slope when you start up that moral hill Ken because you can’t judge a certain segment of the game in the name of credibility and integrity, without tackling the other outliers which have impacted the numbers as well as history of the game. To do otherwise is hypocrisy. You are a blatant hypocrite Ken, one who should not be allowed to vote for the Hall of Fame. Of course, after Jack Morris fades away that won’t be an issue. 

It’s time for all this moral policing of the MLB Hall of Fame to cease because if you really want to pay it more than the lip service of being another PED Era bandwagoner, you’ll uncover truths and facts that would make the MLB Hall of Fame a very empty place.