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It was great to see the Padres acknowledge one of their all time greatest players Ken Caminiti. Last night the Padres put him in their Hall of Fame, and it was well deserved. After dormant years of the "Swap Meet" era, Cammy pretty much singlehandedly strapped this team on his back and resurrected this franchise. It could he argued that he was the catalyst that set the wheels in motion to an eventual World Series berth in 1998. The town was on fire and for a brief time he even eclipsed the great Tony Gwynn.
I know a lot of people are understandably down on him because of his admitted steroid use. I used to be one of those people. However, I kind of feel like now that he, and others like him, were simply a product of the environment. I believe MLB not only knew about the steroid abuse, but even encouraged it (by staying silent). They certainly did nothing to curtail it, benefitted greatly from it (who could forget the McGwire/Sosa home run fest of 1998?) and I'm starting to feel like that era of players should be considered for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. I mean, their records still stand as the record. To me, Barry Bonds is the HR champ, and qualifying it by blaming him for utilizing a system that baseball really did nothing to stop is unjust. Even so, the black balling of him and guys like McGwire, Sosa, etc., I think has been punishment enough. If they're going to acknowledge their records I think they should be in the Hall.
Anyway, I'm glad to see the Padres, for once, go on the cutting edge of public opinion and embrace his legacy. It is a well deserved induction.
I know a lot of people are understandably down on him because of his admitted steroid use. I used to be one of those people. However, I kind of feel like now that he, and others like him, were simply a product of the environment. I believe MLB not only knew about the steroid abuse, but even encouraged it (by staying silent). They certainly did nothing to curtail it, benefitted greatly from it (who could forget the McGwire/Sosa home run fest of 1998?) and I'm starting to feel like that era of players should be considered for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. I mean, their records still stand as the record. To me, Barry Bonds is the HR champ, and qualifying it by blaming him for utilizing a system that baseball really did nothing to stop is unjust. Even so, the black balling of him and guys like McGwire, Sosa, etc., I think has been punishment enough. If they're going to acknowledge their records I think they should be in the Hall.
Anyway, I'm glad to see the Padres, for once, go on the cutting edge of public opinion and embrace his legacy. It is a well deserved induction.