Recently former baseball player and Hall of Fame member Joe Morgan penned a straight laced letter to Hall of Fame voters regarding his feelings on the possible induction of players from what many call the steroid era. This is of no surprise because here is a guy who has always had strong opinions about the game and those involved with the game. No one denies his knowledge of the game and all that he accomplished as a player but his pompous attitude is something I have never liked.
He lost my respect during a game in 1998 during an on the air discussion (many times he would ignore the game and just rant about things on his mind) disregarded all of the home runs and offensive stats put up by Negro League star Josh Gibson (remember, this was the year of the home run) simply because he did not put up those numbers in Major League Baseball. Thankfully John Miller reminded Morgan that he played in the Major Leagues and was in the Hall of Fame so he was able to be acknowledged for what he did while Gibson's color at the time he played kept him having the chance to show the baseball world what he could do in the Major Leagues (I won't say the highest level because many Negro League players showed on many occasions during exhibitions games that they were in fact just as good as MLB players). One would figure that Morgan would have more appreciation for such a player because he came into the picture after players like Jackie Robinson, which meant that he didn't have to endure all of nonsense that Gibson and many other African America baseball players had put up. Then again, that pompous attitude of his got the better of him.
That is why one of the greatest moments of my life as a baseball fan was in November of 2010 when ESPN did not renew his contract. That meant we didn't have to hear the same old tired nonsense that we had to endure every time Morgan was on the air, which would include the following:
1) It always took him several innings to make his point about a disputed play. He would all but ignore the game that needed to be called so we can see the same replay over and over again, especially if he disagreed with the umpire's call. By the time he was done the horse was beyond dead; it was now a pile of dust.
2) His long standing love affair with Sparky Anderson. Sparky Anderson said this, Sparky Anderson said that...Joe, just write the book already! I have the perfect title: Sparky and Me. Get it all out at once and for all so we don't have to hear about it anymore. Geez!!!!
3) He reminded us at least once or twice a game that he won two consecutive National League Most Valuable Player awards. Yes Joe, we know.
4) The 1975-1976 Cincinnati Reds were the greatest team ever and that his teammates were the best ever at their positions. Ugh, no! In fact, how can anyone say that when there were in fact three teams in the 70's that won back to back titles including the Oakland A's who won three in a row with one of those titles being against his beloved Reds? Also, everyone knows that if the A's had been in a different city with a different owner that their legacy would be without question.
In other words, no one loved to hear Joe Morgan talk more than...Joe Morgan!!!
Okay, enough of the barber shop smack talk. Let's deal with the current issue at hand. Now that we are in a time where players from the steroid era are eligible to enter the Hall of Fame Morgan had some choice words to say about it. You can read a copy of his entire letter to Hall of Fame voters right here: https://sports.yahoo.com/joe-morgan-really-doesnt-think-steroid-users-belong-hall-fame-163744968.html#comments However, I would like to focus on something specific that he said because he sort of puts his foot in his mouth:
But it still occurs to me that anyone who took body-altering chemicals in a deliberate effort to cheat the game we love, not to mention they cheated current and former players, and fans too, doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. By cheating, they put up huge numbers, and they made great players who didn’t cheat look smaller by comparison, taking away from their achievements and consideration for the Hall of Fame. That’s not right.
I don't necessarily disagree with Joe Morgan on this point but when he uses the word cheating I do have a problem with the fact that he only focuses on those who used steroids. Now while there is so much I can't prove with what I am about to say I do believe that there is enough material out there to prove that Morgan and many other baseball people are in fact hypocrites with their wanting to keep steroid era players out of the Hall of Fame.
Was It Really a Secret?
While Morgan rips the steroid era I have a hard time believing that he, his fellow broadcasters and most other baseball people knew nothing about it. It's no secret that the steroid era saved the game after the strike in 1994 and that would include Morgan's job as a then broadcaster (https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/14/we-cant-ignore-the-steroid-era-it-just-might-have.aspx). And while people like to pretend that no one knew about steroid use (just like public figures who don't recall groping their accusers) there is a very interesting part in Tom Verducci's book titled The Yankee Years that tells us otherwise (quote from former Yankee manager Joe Torre):
Though I don't remember ever having heard of this at the time, apparently former Texas Rangers pitcher Rick Helling was one of the first to blow the whistle on the steroid issue, at a players' union meeting in 1998. He challenged his fellow players to crack down on PEDs, to help make sure the game was played the right way, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. He repeatedly stated that, at least in his opinion, the increasing prevalence of steroids in baseball was forcing some otherwise clean players to consider using PEDs themselves, just to remain competitive.
I have a hard time believing that Morgan and many of his peers didn't at least hear whispers about steroid use being as close to the game as he was. And, if he did hear such whispers did it even come to mind every time Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa came up to bat before a packed stadium of fans waiting to see the next moonshot? After all, how many of those home runs did Morgan see in person while he was also getting paid to be an announcer on national television (and ranting about the same old nonsense)? And let's not forget that Morgan started his broadcasting career in 1988, which was the same year people began speculating the use of steroids by Jose Canseco.
I would go as far as saying that Morgan not only knew about it but that he and many in the business of baseball didn't care because at that moment steroids were saving the game. Plus, at that time these players were still active so the possibility of them getting into the Hall of Fame was the furthest thing from anyone's mind. Well, perhaps everyone but Rick Helling. Of course Canseco would spill the beans years later on what was going on during the steroid era in two books as well as several interviews with many accusing him of lying. With enough patience and time it was revealed that Canseco was in fact telling the truth and was willing to break the code of silence due to the fact that he was giving it back to baseball since he felt that he had been blackballed. Man, that must have hurt since so many people to this day can't stand Canseco.
It was all about hype and making more money. Have we forgotten that in 1999 McGwire was named one of the greatest players of all time during the festivities at the 1999 All Star Game and World Series? Perhaps MLB was rewarding him for all that he did the previous year when he helped save the game since they were still counting all of the money that they made that year. Of course years later the truth reared its ugly head because...McGwire was now eligible for the Hall of Fame!
Now all of the sudden the same people who praised McGwire for what he did because they...didn't know he was using steroids (with how many of them being Hall of Fame voters) now referred to him as a one trick pony along with him being a cheater, which now meant that he wasn't Hall of Fame material. Right, the one trick pony that helped save the game.
Meanwhile, Morgan and all of his baseball brilliance was unavailable for comment.
What are Body Altering Chemicals?
Does Morgan have a problem with body altering chemicals or just steroids? I ask this because we all know that his era featured many players who used amphetamines, which were popularly known as greenies. What exactly are greenies? Here is a quote from the following article: https://www.alternet.org/drugs/5-drugs-major-league-baseball
"Greenies" (Dexedrine) were a club house staple for decades beginning just after World War II, when ball players drafted into the military returned to the diamond having been exposed to the stimulant pills, which the armed forces dispensed by the millions. Another incubator of baseball speed-freakery was the winter Caribbean baseball circuit. There, players on seasonal hiatus discovered the two coffee pot system, where each club house had one pot with regular coffee and one with an amphetamine additive. Talk about a morning wake me up!
According to: http://www.espn.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kreidler_mark&id=2225013 greenies are ...amphetamines are classified by the federal government as a controlled substance (and that) it has been a federal crime since 1970 to use them without a prescription. Of course it gets even edgier when people identify greenies by their other nickname, speed.
If this article is true we have a major problem here especially since claims that Hall of Fame players such as Willie Mays and Willie Stargell supplied players with this substance. Of course the article also says that such players denied using or supplying this substance to other players and since its Mays and Stargell, who by the way also played the game for several years while Morgan was an active player, we know that without question that they are telling the truth.
Interestingly enough, the article also tells us that Tony Gwynn stated that 50% of players during this time in the game used greenies before every game so are we to believe that the same wasn't true before his era? Or was greenie use something that reappeared during Gwynn's era after Morgan and his other righteous peers had already retired from the game? Hardly, and if Gwynn was aware of what was going on around him who would really believe for one second that Morgan didn't know the same thing while he was playing? This could also lead many to wonder how many of those hallowed Cincinnati Reds (including Morgan) were also using this illegal substance. Or was it okay because they had a prescription?
The implication is right in front of our faces so why don't we just accept what is most likely the truth? Consider what is stated in this article: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/doc-darryl-dives-deep-into-strawberrys-amphetamine-use-goodens-struggle/
It's not breaking news that Strawberry used amphetamines, or "greenies," during his playing days, as did many players of his and prior generations (does this include Morgan's era). We've also known for a long time that greenies seem especially tailored to the six-month rigors of the season. They wake you up. They sharpen your focus.
Of course if you talk to players and coaches who will actually speak only about what greenies do for a player (I had this conversation with a neighbor of mine who is a former minor league manager and now a major league coach) they will tell you that it's the equivalent of several cups or coffee. Really?
Well one interesting thing that was stated by Darryl Strawberry in the 30 for 30 Doc & Darryl documentary was: "You take amphetamines, and the ball looks so big. It's like you could hit anything."
This is very interesting because one of the things that many throw at players like Barry Bonds who were accused of using HGH was that this substance improved a batter's vision at the plate, which again gave him an unfair advantage. Ahem, and how many players were known to use greenies? And how many of these great hitters are currently in the Hall of Fame?
Perhaps Morgan should have been a little more particular with his choice of words because if he really has a problem with body altering chemicals then he also needs to call out many other players, including some of his own peers (and who knows, maybe even himself) who willingly cheated by using greenies.
The Elephant Grows Larger
Of course there are those who will defend the achievements of some of the old time players when they take a particular back door route by saying that greenies, weren't banned by MLB at that time. Really? Do you know how long it took MLB to ban steroid use? That also means that certain players who padded their stats before the steroid ban also didn't break any rules so does that give them their pass to the Hall of Fame based on a technicality?
In other words, when it comes to doing good business MLB has shown in so many ways that they don't care what players do to their bodies or to the game. But now there is a problem with the fact that these cheaters who brought millions of dollars to the game are now eligible for the Hall of Fame. I disagree because I see not only a problem with those who are eligible for the Hall of Fame but also with many of those who are already enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Reap what you sow MLB and while this is something that keeps many of you up at night know that you have more than enough funds to pay for the therapy.
Of course no one wants to go down the road of holding players accountable for using other body altering chemicals. No one wants to call out the cheating that we know existed before the steroid era because that would taint the images of the baseball gods that we have revered for decades. I think we should because after all, we as a society are doing the same thing with other parts of our hallowed history. Are there not statues coming down and schools being renamed because of the truths that are coming out about other historical figures that we know and accept weren't quite as special as we once thought? Why should baseball be spared of the same thing if we know for a fact that crooked players go back further than the steroid era?
Now let's see if Morgan and others are willing to step up and take this argument even further.
Carlos Arthur Solorzano
@csolorzano18
