Steroids in Sports likened to Cheating in Bridge

I was fascinated by an article I just read in the LVRJ which covered the election of Alomar and Blyleven to the coveted Baseball Hall of Fame with "Steroids Era sluggers gain minimal support" as a sub-caption in this Associated Press release.

"New York — After a narrow miss last year, Bert Blyleven told voters they finally got it right by sending him into the Hall of Fame with Roberto Alomar."

"All-star sluggers Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGwire and Juan  Gonzalez didn’t come close in Wednesday’s election.   No telling if they ever will, either, after Hall voters sent a message:   The drug cloud isn’t going to cover Cooperstown."

"… The writers are saying that this was the Steroids Era, like they have done Mark McGwire," Blyleven said after finally making it into the Hall of Fame on his 14th try.  "They’ve made their point."

"… Guys cheated," Blyleven said.   The game of baseball is to be played clean   We went through a Steroid Era and it’s up to the writers to decide when and who should go in through that era."  A lot of them have decided.

An interesting remark by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (in an email) stated, "I will not vote for any player connected with steroid use because I believe cheaters shouldn’t be rewarded with the sport’s highest honor."

Baseball, like bridge, has had its trying moments.  My hometown hero, Pete Rose, got only three write in votes which goes to show you that the voters have taken a strong stand about violations of the rules.  Perhaps it is time our own organization cleans up its act (not only about past miscreants) but about rules, laws, alerts, unauthorized information, etc.   If any institution as momentous as the National Baseball Hall of Fame can defiantly uphold the ethics of the sport they represent, perhaps the ACBL should review some of its policies and be more open about the problems within the organization and protecting those whose salaries come from loyal dues-paying members who want to take pride in the way situations are handled.   Time for Horn Lake to stop pussyfooting and face the problems as was admirably done in Cooperstown.